Ethiopia Part 2: Simien Mountain Trek

The Simien Mountains were absolutely beautiful and amazing. A pleasant surprise for me was finding out October is the best time to visit the Simiens. The flowers are in bloom, and the landscape is green as the rainy season ends in September. I was blown away by how expansive the roof of Africa was. I took a four day trek to several peaks in the mountains with a group of three other trekkers. The highlights were the amazing ridge views with sheer drops and the Gelada Baboons. Below is a day by day account. The pictures are here.

Early in the morning of Oct 6th I was picked up by Alex, the tour organizer and met the rest of my group: Kathy, Claire, Alex and our guide Yerga. I was excited to be a part of this group to lower the trip cost and for the companionship in the mountains. Each of our group members were funny and awesome in their own right. Kathy is bubbly teacher from NYC, finishing up a Fulbright research year and teaching in Durbin, South Africa. Claire is an intelligent and passionate frenchwoman, a freelancer jack of all trades, who had a lot to say on the differences between the French and Americans. Alex was a quite a loquacious Frenchman, with a passion for travel, photography, ultralight packing and women.

From Gondor we took a 3 hour ride to Debark, a small town to pick up supplies, and get more members of our group, our cook and our guard. All trips into the park require an armed guard for protection from animals and other people. After a coffee in Debark we continued in our Land Rover to the mountains. As a side note the coffee here is really incredible. Along the ride, it was eye-opening to see the rural village life of Ethiopians along the way.

Our first leisurely hike was to Sankaber campsite, via Buyis Rat where we were almost immediately surrounded by Gelada Baboons.

I was amazed at the numbers of them, and their lack of fear of humans. Looking at these animals is unique because of their likeness to humans. The first spot we encountered them is one where researchers spend most of their time, so they are used to human proximity. They even differentiate between white people and black people. To them, black people throw stones (to protect their crops), where as white people don’t pose a danger. It was magical to watch the young ones play with each other, a mom nurse a new born, the alpha male preside over his many wives, and the beta male pack keeping a safe distance. After our first hike we settled into the campsite with snack of popcorn and coffee and relaxed the rest of the afternoon getting to know each other.

The next day we trekked along the ridge with stunning views over the foothills 800m below. The highlight of the trek was Genbar Falls, an incredible 500m sheer drop.

From the viewpoint we watched buzzards and falcons soar above. That afternoon it started to rain dampening our spirits and gear. Just before we reached Geech camp site, we to visited one of the traditional village huts for home roasted coffee and injerra as we waited the rain to slow down.

We shared space with the family, which included their goats, chickens and even one of their cows who peaked his head into to check out what was going on.

We then headed on to Geech Camp, set on a grassy plateau with a stunning sunset views.

There we had dinner, and Alex introduced us to the truth game, where one asks any question to another in the group, the other has to answer, and then that question is off limits for the rest of the game. Needless to say we got to now each other quite well, and our guide who opted not to play was thoroughly entertained.

Day 3 was from Geech to Chenek where we hit two peaks, Imet Gogo and Inyate. Imet Gogo is an incredible rocky promontory that grants 360 degree views over the Simien Range. At an altitude of 3,926m the views here are arguably the best in the Simien Mountains and the drop is terrifying.

The climb to Inatye (4,070m) rewarded us with stunning views as well. We settled into Chenek for our last night of camping together and we had a feast prepared by our excellent chef. The food was seriously amazing, especially given the limited camping kitchen setup. I was introduced to the term slackpacking which described the style of our trek, as mules carried most our gear during the day and we were cooked for. I like slack-packing 🙂

After an early breakfast the final day, we headed out of Chennek to climb Buahit Peak (4430m). The path followed a small stream for an hour or two up to Buahit Pass. At the pass the view opened up to the North East where we spotted the Wallia Ibex. From there it was a two scramble up a rocky slope to Buahit Peak. It was a challenge at the altitude but the views from the top were worth it.

After a quick lunch in Chennek, we were driven back to Gonder tired and excited for a bed and shower. It was amazing being out there, but we were done with three peaks in four days. Click here for part 1 where the rest of the Ethiopian journey continues.