Site visited April 2015. Although I could see only a fraction of this spectacular national park it was still a memorable visit. It is without a doubt one of the best natural sites I have visited so far.

Simien Mountains National Park is one of the sites of inaugural 'class of 1978' which makes it even more interesting. Visiting it is not cheap by any means. In addition to often expensive transportation to the national park you must pay an entrance fee and hire a guide and a scout.

As I was short of time I organized only a day trip from Gondar. We started early in the morning with a guide and a driver. At first we drove two and half hours to Debark where we paid all the park fees and did all the required paperwork. The mandatory armed scout joined us in Debark. Next we continued some 15 kilometers to Buyit Ras where we left the car.

We hiked slowly along the edge of northern escarpment half way from Buyit Ras to Sankaber. The route is in the height of 3300 meters and the views were absolutely stunning. The distance we walked was not very long comparing to the size of the whole national park but I saw some breathtaking sceneries over the rugged cliffs to the deep and green canyon like valley. While enjoying and photographing the views we saw some birds but what we were looking for was the wonderful gelada baboons.

Gelada baboon is an endemic species of Ethiopian Highlands. The geladas have adapted to live in the steep cliffs and high mountain meadows where they pluck and munch grass. There are large populations of geladas in the Simien Mountains. We found a large herd easily after a short search. It was a magical feeling to stand amid a large crowd of geladas who don’t care about me almost at all. You can get very close to them and hear the smacking when they eat grass. The males are very impressive looking with long hair on their heads and backs. There were also females with small babies hanging on their backs.

To fully get a grip on this natural World Heritage Site it would need at the very least two or three days trek. I didn't have time, or money, for it. Was my short trip to the Simien National Park worth all the expenses? I think it really was. But it also made me want to see more of it.