The Simiens National Park is located next to the Simiens Mountain with unique jagged peaks which makes it one of the best hiking destinations in Ethiopia. When planning for a trekking trip to the Simiens National Park, you will need to know a few things so that you enjoy your trip with less or no worries and these include:

• You will need to get a trekking permit in order to access the trek routes and these can be got form the Park office at the entrance.
• You will need boots that will take you through the trekking and appropriate dressing to avoid scratches from nearby trees.
• You cannot trek alone through the Park unless you have a trained guns man who is licensed for protection purposes.

The hikes through the Simiens National Park always take between three to fourteen days and the determinants of the time that one spends while trekking are the hours used for trekking per day, the trek routes that you use and the fitness of someone.

When you visit the Simiens Mountains National Park for hiking you need to be able to follow the rules and regulations that are in the area for example you are not allowed to trek through the Park alone at any one time. You need to be a licensed tour guide who has a gun for protection and one who will help you when it comes to translation.

When going for hiking there are different trails that were gazetted by the management and these have been listed below:

These are the smallest ethnic group of people that live in the Omo valley along the banks of the River Omo. These live in houses that can easily be folded or collapsed and re built in a matter of minutes.

This trek route is 155 kilometers long and it takes a minimum of 11 days to complete. The trail is usually used by those that are not faint hearted due to its distance and on this route you will be able to try out climbing the Ras Dashen and Buhait summits. You can also enjoy the great view of the various trees that are found in the park and a few bird species.

The Debark route takes roughly six days to finish and it starts from the Debark town and ends in the same place and it is 48 kilometers long.

This trail is 55 kilometers long and normally takes four days to complete. it is locate at the eastern gate that enters into the park. The trek tarts at the gate and ends at the Chenek camp and while on this trek you will be able to see various tourist attraction sites like the Imet Gogo look out, the jinbar waterfall and numerous cliffs and if you are lucky you might want be able to see a bird or two here.

The Sankaber trek route starts from the Sankaber town and ends in Adi Arkay. It is 85 kilometers long and takes over six to seven years to complete. The route provides you with good scenery from the animals, birds, vegetation and passes through different spots where you can see everything.

The Simiens National Park has a lot of wild life that can be viewed and most of them are endemic to the park. Gelada Monkey is one among them and looks like a baboon and most people mistake it for a baboon. Some people refer to it as the bleeding monkey and they are the only ones that feed on grass. These can easily be spotted in herds and the park has over 2500 geladas.

The park has a number of Ethiopian wolves and these are the only remaining wolf family on the African continent. These mostly feed on the monkeys but they are also facing a problem of poaching which has greatly reduced their number.

The above are some of the unique animals that can be seen in the Park and others also include the walia ibex, Menelik bush buck, golden jackal, antelopes, the hamadrya’s baboon and many more others. The best time for one to view the animals is during the dry season because during the rainy season many animals stay in the different habitats and cannot easily be spotted but during the dry season, these can be seen moving around the Park in search of food and water.

Ethiopia is known to have many unique bird species and some of them can be  seen in the Simien National park. The Simien National park has a recorded number of birds that amount to over 130 bird species. Some of the bird species include the thick billed raven, bearded vulture, the Tawny eagle, the verreaux’s eagle, lanner falcon and many more others.

Birding in simiens National Park is normally done in the morning and during the rainy season. This is the only time that most birds come out of hibernation and they can be seen at the different water sources in the park and others can be seen in their different habitats.

The Simiens National park is filled with different unique vegetation that grows in variations depending on which part of the National Park you are in. altitude is a huge factor that determines the growth of the vegetation.

The lower altitude has the afro-montane vegetation and this covers the lower part of the National park and the types of trees that are majorly in this area are the Ethiopian Tid and scerophyllous trees.

The months of June and August receive rainfall at least every day and this might deter you from going in for hiking. The rainy season makes it hard because it makes the trek routes impassable which are always slippery during the rains although during this period you will be able to watch the birds that are in their habitats and enjoy the beautiful view of the green vegetation that flourishes during this time.

The best time to go for hiking at the Simien National Park is during the dry season which runs from the months of October to March. although it gets cold especially in the mornings and in the night, it is still the best time to view the animals in the Park, hike and visit the nearby villages to get to know more about the locals and their cultures.

The park is located in Gondar and there is an airport that is found in the area. From the airport it is just a six hours drive to the park’s entrance where you will be required to  get a ticket when you get there. If you get in late the town where you can make a perfect stop over is at the Debark town where you can get a hotel to stay.

There are several places where you can sleep when you go to Simiens national park and most of these are camps. The different camps where you can stay include the chenek camp, the Sankaber camp, the ginch camp and these are located within the Park. The camps have some where you can prepare meals from and well maintained toilet facilities. There are also several other places that you can stay in like the Limalimo lodge and the Simien lodge although these  fall under the luxury category and you will need to have a heavy budget to afford them.

If by any chance you fail to get anything within the vicinity of the park, you can still get accommodation facilities in the neighboring towns. And to get the best accommodation facilities you will need to book earlier on to avoid inconveniences.