3-Day Simien Mountains Tour from Gondar with Wildlife and Castles

Arrive in Gondar, where your driver and guide will meet you at the airport. Drive north through farmland to Debark, the park headquarters, to collect permits and your park scout.

Enter Simien Mountains National Park and walk along the escarpment near Sankaber, where herds of gelada monkeys graze at the cliff edges. Continue to the viewpoint over Jinbar Falls, which plunge hundreds of metres into the valley below. Overnight at a mountain lodge in the park on a full-board basis.

Drive deeper into the park to Chenek, one of the best places to see the walia ibex, found only in the Simien Mountains, as well as lammergeiers soaring along the cliffs.

Hike towards the Bwahit viewpoint for sweeping views over the jagged peaks and the distant summit of Ras Dashen, Ethiopia's highest mountain. Return to the lodge for sunset over the escarpment on a full-board basis.

Drive back to Gondar and tour the Royal Enclosure of Fasil Ghebbi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with 17th-century castles built by Emperor Fasilides and his successors. Visit Fasilides' Bath and the beautifully painted Debre Birhan Selassie Church before your transfer to Gondar airport for the flight back to Addis Ababa.