Trekking Holiday: The Simien Mountains Trek in Ethiopia

Our Clients’ Reviews

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Average Review Rating: from 19 reviews.

Alastair Govan

THE SIMIEN MOUNTAINS TREK

Written February 2010
Great trip, great group and great leaders. The only thing that prevented it being a classic was that 2/3 of the group, including me, were ill with a stomach bug for a couple of days.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Reaching the 'summit' (if it really is the summit.....) of Ras Dejen, the highest point in Ethiopia and one of the highest in Africa. Also seeing a lammergeier dropping a bone on rocks and swallowing the fragments right in front of us - just like on the telly!
What did you think of your group leader?
Fantastic - couldn't have been better.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Go well prepared with medications for stomach problems. Also try to take some clothes you can leave behind for the local expedition staff - they really appreciate it.
Barbara Matthewson

THE SIMIEN MOUNTAINS TREK

Written January 2009
I hadn't been to rural Africa south of the Sahara before , so this was a very new experience for me, and it was wonderful. The scenery and countryside that we trekked through were beautiful and interesting. The local people were friendly. I enjoyed the unusual wildlife, particularly the birds and vegetation, helped by the local leaders expert knowledge.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
The summits of Ras Dejen and Bwahit
Walking through the farmland and villages, and seeing the harvest being brought in
Swimming in the pool below the waterfall
Castles, church and pool in Gonder

What did you think of your group leader?
There were two leaders - the local leader Shif, who I think leads all the Exodus trips, was great - knowledgeable, friendly, sense of humour, always helpful.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
The brochure advises you to be reasonably fit before you go, because the trek is hard work - not technically difficult, but the altitude and the long days do require a bit of stamina and fitness, and I would suggest that any potential trekkers do take the brochures advice. And take it steady up the first hills!
I used trekking poles and found them useful - and others on the trek who hadn't used them before but had bought some for the trek were really glad they had them.
I took leather walking boots, but the ground underfoot wasn't usually too bad, and lighter boots or "approach shoes" would be OK.
Platypus/camelbacks were useful.
As with all treks try to get local money in as small denominations as you can for taking on the trek
One member of the group who had gluten intolerance had asked if her diet could be catered for was told beforehand it could be, but there were problems, and she wished she had bought more with her - particularly a substitute for breakfast and lunchtime bread I think
The advise to take some energy bars for the longer days was useful - we took trail mix (dried fruit etc) and enjoyed this. I thought it might be rather hot for chocolate, but people who took chocolate didn't seem to have a problem with it melting
The whole local team of cooks, muleteers were very hard working. In the trip notes I think it says something about giving away to them old clothing at the end of the trek - we didn't want to give away "technical" trekking clothes, but took a few cotton T shirts and handed these in for the lottery at the end.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Thank you
Andrew Ritz

ETHIOPIA: THE SIMIEN MOUNTAINS

Written March 2008
The sheer splendour of the scenery in the Mountains, and the Churches in the towns are matched only by the warmth and respect of the locals who you meet.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Stepping inside some of the Churches to see the impressive paintings.
Views from Imetgogo. Views from the campsite at Sona.
The happiness / contentment of the people and local crew.
Being in such a humble environment.
What did you think of your group leader?
Efficient in getting us around and passing on bits of knowledge. Perhaps a bit fussy ?
The local Mountain Guide was a top man, as were the mule team and cook crew (humble and wise, respectful and firendly).
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Relax and enjoy. The hard work is well worth the effort.
The temperatures quoted in the guides are rubbish. Nothing is mentioned about trek temperatures, so it's mis-leading. On trek the daytime temp. went up to the high 90's, and could have gone beyond 100 at the lower altitudes. Even at higher altitudes we hit the mid/high 80's, although it did vary a lot during the day.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
The views in the Feb trip are effected by the haze that soon develops in the day, not sure but perhaps the Oct trip might have clearer views.
When getting to the summits / view points, you had some good time to soak it all in, other trips have pushed you along a bit probably due to schedules etc.
Colin Stump

ETHIOPIA: THE SIMIEN MOUNTAINS

Written February 2008
A well designed itinerary which will suit people with some previous trekking experience. There are some long days and altitude is a factor from early on, but the compensations are a unique mountain environment and really welcoming local people. A great introduction to a distinctive part of Africa with awesome mountain views.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
The local people, who live a life of subsistence farming with great dignity.
What did you think of your group leader?
Excellent. Good local knowledge and attentive to our needs.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Get some walking days in before you depart! Bring a face scarf (like a Buff scarf) for some chilly mornings at higher elevations and to counter dust from the trails later on. Bring 3 one litre bottles for water.
jane burdett

ETHIOPIA: THE SIMIEN MOUNTAINS

Written January 2008
A beautiful country, great local people and a fantastic experience. Highly recommended.A couple of thoughts for future visitors - I would have liked to know in advance that the kids from a school we visited needed books, paper, pens, etc, because I could easily have brought some with me. This information may well be written down somewhere but perhaps a more obvious note perhaps in the trip notes might be a good idea?
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What did you think of your group leader?
The ethiopian guide, Shif, was absolutely fantastic - full of interesting information, and very competent and capable! However I don't think he is an exodus employee, but sourced from an ethiopian company.
It surprised me that we also had a UK leader - trips I have been on before used a local exodus leader. The UK leader was a nice guy, but there were several occassions when he appeared to me to not really know what to do and didn't really sort things out for us that we had asked to be done (eg, one of us had requested for water to be boiled in the mornings to fill our water bottles with, which he said he would sort but then didn't, another example, one guy was suffering with altitude sickness for a couple of days and the UK leader knew this and was not carrying diamox in his daypack, only in his kitbag, which was not available until we got to camp, and he seemed to panic a bit about things). Given that Shif seemed to sort everything out for us, I'm not sure why Graham was there as well really, except for the transfers between Gonder to Addis (when Shif was not there).
It may well be that I have been too lucky in the past - I travelled to Nepal in April with Prem Gurung as our trip leader and so I compare everyone to him. This trip made me realise again how absolutely fantastic Prem was in Nepal and how lucky we were (and you are!) to have him!
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
This trip is graded C, I would say it is on the difficult side of C as the walking is long and hard underfoot - don't underestimate it and take loads of energy bars, you will need them!