Simien Mountains National Park
High-plateau park of cliffs, deep valleys and grassland in northern Ethiopia. Walkers go with an official scout along the escarpment edge to watch gelada baboons, and rest at simple mountain camps.
Simien Mountains National Park
Rare Ethiopian wolf, gelada monkeys and Walia ibex live among the dramatic cliffs and high peaks that draw trekkers here.
Attractive locations
Ras Dashen
Highest peak in Ethiopia, in the heart of the range. Reaching the summit takes a multi-day trek with a guide and previous experience of high-altitude walking.
Simien Mountains
Dramatic range of jagged peaks and deep valleys that drop away from a high plateau. Walkers see gelada baboons and, with luck, the rare Walia ibex along the cliffs.
Mount Bwahit
One of the highest peaks in the park, with a challenging trail that climbs through moorland. From the top, on a clear day, the views extend across the surrounding plateau and the valleys.
Airports
Gondar Airport GDQ
It is about 101 km in a straight line from Simien Mountains National Park.
Shire Inda Selassie Airport SHC
It is about 102 km in a straight line from Simien Mountains National Park.
Axum Airport AXU
It is about 132 km in a straight line from Simien Mountains National Park.
Scams and safe taxis
Taxi and scam advice for this country is on the Ethiopia page
Weather by month
Each month shows its average temperature in °C and its mm of rain per month.
- Jan16.9 °C1 mm
- Feb18.4 °C6 mm
- Mar19.4 °C13 mm
- Apr20.0 °C38 mm
- May20.2 °C53 mm
- Jun18.7 °C72 mm
- Jul16.8 °C206 mm
- Aug16.4 °C208 mm
- Sep16.9 °C74 mm
- Oct16.5 °C27 mm
- Nov16.4 °C10 mm
- Dec16.3 °C3 mm
Driest months: Jan, Feb, Dec. Wettest months: Jul, Aug, Sep.
Who can help
Emergency
Reported numbers: police 991, ambulance 907, fire 939 - confirm with your hotel or guide.
ngo
Ethiopian Red Cross Society
Helps with: Ethiopia's national Red Cross society. Its work includes round-the-clock emergency ambulance services, disaster response and family-links services for separated families. Its website gives toll-free 907 for emergencies.
Who qualifies: People in Ethiopia needing emergency, health, disaster or family-links services. The phone shown is the head office line.
Phone: +251-115-18-01-81
Email: ercsinfo@redcrosseth.org
Address: Ras Desta Dametew Avenue, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
un agency
International Organization for Migration (IOM) Ethiopia
Helps with: The UN migration agency, working across Ethiopia since 1995. It supports displaced people and safe, regular migration, and produces migration research and data for policy.
Who qualifies: Migrants and displaced people in Ethiopia, and government or other partners. It is not a help service for ordinary tourists.
Phone: +251 111301000
Address: YeMez Building, behind Zequala Building, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
local government
Police and emergency number 911
Helps with: Reaches the police and general emergency help in Ethiopia. The number comes from UK government travel advice.
Who qualifies: Anyone in the country, including visitors, can call this number.
Phone: 911
local government
Ambulance number 907 (Addis Ababa)
Helps with: Reaches the ambulance service in Addis Ababa only, as given by UK government travel advice. The page lists no ambulance number for other places.
Who qualifies: Anyone in Addis Ababa, including visitors, can call this number.
Phone: 907