Here you will find general information on tourism activities, attractions of SMNP, tourism infrastructural services, etc.
The Best of Semen Mountains National Park
- Trekking along a 60km long escarpment is the most peculiar experience of SMNP.
- Standing on top of the steep escarpment, one can easily feel the joy of viewing up to hundred km wide valleys and canyon-style gorges of Semen.
- With miles of trails you will easily find the perfect mountain hiking in SMNP.
- Spectacular sites and miles of trails await your boots. Soak those aches away in the cold waterfalls of Jinbar and many other small streams.
- Peace and tranquility are the added advantages to the awe inspiring views of SMNP
- Standing at the age of the extreme escarpment, you will suddenly find yourself in the midst of hundreds of primates. You will admire the life of the endemic Gelada Baboon – a social animal next to human beings.
What to do or share: Activities
Trekking along the edge of the escarpments from Sankaber Camp to Chenek Camp and Ras Dejen via Gich Camp offers very impressive views both on the lowlands and highlands of Simen. Trekking the trails that follow the foot slopes of the escarpments, passing through the villages of Dirni and Muchilla, also provides a breath-taking view of the other side of the Simen Mountains.
The dramatic landscapes, i.e., the steep escarpments and their extremely long sheer cliffs (1000-2000 meters deep), the famous pinnacles, the chasms and the precipices, the deep canyon – style gorges, the mountains range, the summits of Bwhayit, Imet gogo, Saha, Gider Got, Ras Dejen ( the highest peak in the horn), the Jinbar waterfall, the super viewpoints, together with the endemic mammals and traditional peasant farms, provide an extremely breathtaking scenery which visitors often describe it as one of the most spectacular of all landscapes of the world.
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Services in the Park
The visitor center is found in the park office, on the left side of the main road while entering the town. When you arrive at Debark town (2 hrs drive from Gondar), go to the park’s visitor center and obtain information, maps, brochures, local guides, mules for rent, escort gun-men and all available services. Entrance permits and the necessary services are available upon payment of the required fees. The center has also a park office which is responsible for the management, conservation and development activities in the park.
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Notes of Experience
“The most marvelous of all Abyssinian landscapes opened before us as we looked across a gorge that was like a clouded amethyst to the peaks of Simien. A thousand years ago, when the old gods reigned in Ethiopia, they must have played chess …”
