Panoramic Simiens run by Afera organised for the two of us a three-day, two-night hike in the Simien Mountains starting from Gondar. The experience exceeded our expectations. Everything was perfectly organised from the beginning till the end. The first day, our excellent guide Abel picked us up in the morning in our hotel in Gondar. As we did not have time to visit the castles of Gondar before, with no fuss they postponed our departure time, so that we could still see the castles and the beautiful church of Debre Berham Selassie. 

In Debark we met the rest of the crew: our scout (i.e. a guy with Kalashnikov), our cook and an assistant cook. In spite of a late start we had more than enough time to hike through amazing scenery to arrive in the Sankabar campsite before sunset. When we got to the camp, our tent was already pitched in a nice secluded place; hot tea and snacks were already waiting for us. All the supplies and heavy stuff made it there on a mule. Dinner was simple but tasty and the quantity of food such as to make sure that we don’t lose any weight on this hike  :). The night was very cold, but we expected that, that’s why we got our own very warm sleeping bags and inflatable mats that we highly recommend to everyone. 

The second day we walked most of the day to the Geech Camp. On the way we came across loads of Gelada baboons – it is amazing how close one can get to them – Gelada encounters made our Simien hike a truly exceptional experience. In the Geech camp Abel and the crew made sure that we had the best spot, with a beautiful view over the valley. Just before sunset we hiked to a nearby hill to see hundreds of geladas migrating towards their sleeping place on the cliffs – needless to say it was WOW. The second night was radical – minus 3 Celsius. The toilets were scary. This trip is clearly not for comfort seekers, but the views, geladas and great ambience on the way more than compensate for occasional suffering. 

The last day we hiked to the highest point – Imet Gogo (almost 4000 meters) for more breath-taking views – through fields of giant lobelias and other high altitude plants. We completed the hike in the afternoon and were back to Gondar just after dark.  We definitely recommend!

Afera guided us in Semeyen for four days. He was charming. He was full of knowledge of the region and of people and culture. He was always attentive to the needs of the whole group and tried to help us with what he could. We all enjoyed the trek with him

My husband and I did a trek in the Simien mountains - one of the highlights of our trip to Ethiopia.  Afera, our guide, was expert and knowledgeable about the geology, flora, fauna and people of the area.  (He is also an interesting, friendly and fun person whom we enjoyed spending the days with!)  The logistics of the trek were very well organized  with respect to food, gear, animals, etc.  We highly recommend Afera.