The Simien Mountains are the highest mountain range in Ethiopia, and are about a three hour drive north from Gondar. After our trek in Nepal last April, we were both super keen to do some more trekking and were both really looking forward to exploring some Ethiopian mountains.
We made our way to the Simiens via Debark, the closest town to the national park, and where we organised our permits and picked up our supplies. The first day of a four-day trip was a short one, having started at the park entrance in the afternoon, before reaching Sankaber camp (3230m elevation) before dusk. It was a relatively easy walk as we followed the edge of the steep drops, taking in the phenomenal views. We were also very lucky to come across a massive group of Gelada baboons, which are endemic to Ethiopia, and spent some time observing their curious behaviour.
next: more from the Simiens.
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| some of the amazing views |
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| one of the friendly scouts |
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| a gelada baboon |
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| lots of baboons |
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| sunset at sankaber camp |
Love the soft glow in those last few photos!
ReplyDeleteDid you have a guide and/or porter for the trek?
Thanks Janis! I'll be talking about this in my next post :)
DeleteIncredible! Every image, just wow. And those baboons - they have the best hair!
ReplyDeleteDid you get used to seeing guns casually slung over shoulders? It's always so jarring...
We saw quite a few guns down in the Omo valley, so this sort of prepared us. But it was definitely a massive adjustment at first and I didn't want to be anywhere near the guns!
DeleteI first learned about the Gelada baboons on a BBC or NatGeo TV program. They looked very intriguing! It looks like you and Andrew were the only visitors there. Such a dramatic place!
ReplyDeleteThey are so fascinating! You see great big herds of them as you trek and they make really incredible (sometimes quite human-like) noises. There were other trekkers, but it wasn't too busy which was nice.
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