Simien National Park

A nation park and UNESCO world Heritage Site with stunning landscapes.

Simien Mountains National Park is one of the National Parks of Ethiopia. Located in the Simien Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, its territory covers the Simien Mountains and includes Ras Dashan, the highest point in Ethiopia.

It is home to a number of extremely rare species, including the Ethiopian wolf, Gelada Baboon, and the Walia Ibex, a wild goat found nowhere else in the world. More than 50 species of birds inhabit the park, including the impressive Bearded Vulture, or Lammergeyer, with its 10-foot (3m) wingspan.

The Simien National Park lies in one of the most spectacular landscapes on earth. Over millennia, the Ethiopian plateau has been eroded to created a lunar vista of flat areas and peaks separated by dramatic steep-sided gorges that run down to broad valleys and grasslands.

At 4,620 m (15,157), Ras Dejen is the fourth highest peak in Africa and snow often falls in the highest areas of the park, even though it is only about 13 degrees north of the equator, and temperatures can fall below 0 C (32 F) at almost any time of the year.

The park's specialities include several very rare animals, including the walia ibex, which occurs only here and is the reason for the park being set up, gelada (bleeding heart) baboons, Simien fox and small numbers of Ethiopian wolves.

This breathtaking landscape is perfect for trekking from the lower slopes where farmers grow crops and graze animals, through the alpine forests and up to the high grasslands, where spectacular plants include giant lobelia and kniphofia. Mountain tracks between villages allow for easy access to most areas.