Simien Mountains National Park Safari Trips & Tours

What to do in Simien Mountains

Trek along the edge of sheer escarpments that plummet a dizzying thousand meters into valleys carved by ancient ice—aptly dubbed "the chess pieces of the gods" by some Victorian explorer with a flair for the dramatic. You'll share these precipitous paths with gelada baboons sporting lion-like manes and curious heart-shaped chest patches, grazing nonchalantly before suddenly galloping along cliff edges in displays that will have your heart firmly lodged in your throat. The patient might spot the magnificent Walia ibex with impressively curved horns, or perhaps the Ethiopian wolf hunting on high plateaus. Local guides lead you through villages where farming methods haven't changed in centuries, then up into Afro-alpine meadows where giant lobelias stand like sentinels that have never received the memo about normal plant proportions. As night falls, the star-crowded skies create a celestial display that makes planetarium shows seem rather pointless, while the soundtrack of distant baboon barks, whistling winds, and perhaps the eerie cry of a lammergeier completes this wilderness symphony. Dawn brings that magical mountain light photographers dream about, illuminating knife-edge ridges against a cobalt sky in a landscape that makes even the most jaded traveller reach for superlatives.