Ethiopia IV: Simien Mountains

Our guidebook said not to visit the Simien Mountains during the rainy season, lasting from May through September.  Today, August 27, 2019, we saw the wisdom of that advice.  It rained virtually all day, as we drove from Gondar into the mountains, with huge fog banks blocking views of the spectacular Simien Mountains.  Nevertheless, we spent two hours “trekking” in the mountains, arriving at the Simien Mountain Lodge at 4 p.m. virtually sodden—wet coats, wet hats, wet shoes and socks.  There were just enough bursts of clarity and light to take these beautiful pictures!

The most spectacular view on our hike was of a waterfall, which crashed down the mountainside in four separate stages.  

We had stopped in Debarak, the nearest city to the Simien Mountains, to buy a permit and pick up an armed guard.  He wore a turban, rough brown jacket, and white shawl, and he carried a rifle.  “What is he protecting us against?” I asked Bayau, our guide.  “There are sometimes cheetahs around the baboons,” Bayay said, “but they don’t attack people.  He’s here to earn some money for the community.”  

Bayau led our group and the guard brought up the rear of our procession along the Simien Mountain trails. I was often the last hiker, gasping for breath at the 10,000 foot altitude, and I appreciated the guard’s quiet, patient presence.

We also passed several families of gelada baboons, with their abundant brown fur and distinctive red spots on their chests.  We saw the families, organized around one alpha male and several mates, with their babies. 

A group of bachelor baboons who had been ostracized from their families when they were four years old hovered near the families, waiting for a chance to depose the older alpha male and steal his mates and babies for their own.

Traders were never far from us, laying out selections of baskets, hats, or whatever the local craft might be.  Mike bought a hat like the one above.

This was the way the mountain looked much of the day.

We were informed that there was “hot water and heat” at the Simien Mounain Lodge, where we stayed, but only between 6:30 and 10 p.m.  The power was off in Debarak, the neighboring town, and the lodge generator was turned on for only a few hours per day.  We were given hot water bottles to take to bed with us, since there was no heat in our rooms.  As our guidebook described the hotel, “This eco-friendly lodge stands at an elevation of 3,260 meters (10,700 feet) , making it the highest hotel in Africa.  Spacious and stylish tukul-style rooms have stone walls, thatched roofs with fiberglass insulation, warm duvets, extra blankets, and en suite showers, but do be aware that solar-powered fixtures such as hot water and underfloor heating depend on clear skies, which cannot be guaranteed at this altitude.”  This was “roughing it” for luxury travelers.  (The photos above and below are from Google Images.  It was much greener, in the rainy season, than the above photo, and we never saw the spectacular view in the lower picture, through the fog.)