From Axum we took a plane to Gondar, with a stop in Lalibela. Before leaving we had contacted one of the tour operators, Gismu, that had made us reasonable offer for a four day trip to the Siemen mountains saying that we wanted to discuss a trip for the next day. He even picked us up from the airport and took us to our hotel. Arranging a four day trip was a little difficult, as a three day trip seems to be the standard choice. But Gismu made some kind of special arrangement for us so that we could go for four day but not have to pay for a private tour. Overall we learned that this is how Ethiopia works. You can arrange almost anything with a days notice, sometimes you just have to be a little more persistent.
The four day trip started the next day and brought us back to Gondar on the first day of the three days of the Timkat festivities. we were picked up in the morning and arrived the Siemen Mountains National Park, which is an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, around noon. The mountains have very steep, cliff-like flanks and the plants growing change depending on the altitude. This first day we hiked along the cliffs for four hours with lots of stops at amazing viewpoints and one for a large group of Gelada Monkeys, an endemic species. They were almost tame and we could get very close! We arrived at our first campsite at 3250 m above sea level where we had a snack before sunset. With the setting sun the temperatures dropped drastically and we were glad we had brought our down jackets and gloves and a tuque. After dinner we had a nice campfire before we went to bed. It was cold, we were in a small two person tent and the sleeping bags provided were, well, insufficient. But I actually believe it’s next to impossible to buy a good warm sleeping bag in Ethiopia.
The next day we walked to a waterfall, which was a little thin because it’s dry season. But the views and the landscape are spectacular. The cliffs and the change of sun and shade is majestic. It is also frightening because falling off the cliff means a several hundred meter drop! In the afternoon we walked to one of the highes cliffs in the area, at over 4070 m, where we had a full view in all directions . The way up was shallow, but the way down was tough. We had to descend to 3600 m and the path was challenging at times. At the bottom we reached our camp for the second night. As soon as the sun was gone we felt that it was significantly colder than the night before. We had dinner outside and everyone was already huddled in their blanket because it was so cold. The campfire was inside in one of the huts used for the kitchens. It was rather warm in there but also very smoky and we had to decide between warm but crying because if the smoke or freezing cold. One of the guides liked to sing and we got to enjoy a small campfire party – Ethiopian style. To sleep we wore everything. I had leggins, my pants, two pairs of woolen socks on the bottom. On the top I wore a t-shirt , two longsleeves, a sweater (all Merino), a down jacket and my rain jacket. Plus a tuque and gloves. Then we had the sleeping bag with a blanket and I used my towel. Too half was fine but my legs were a little cold.
The next day started with us freezing until the sun finally hit our campsite. Some of the water left outside was frozen solid. We set off to climb the second highest peak of Ethiopia ,Ras Buwahit‘. This meant climbing over 800 m to 4430 m. On our way we los a few member who turned back because they were not feeling well reducing our group to three. We are not sure what got to them, maybe it was a sunstroke, because Chris and I were the only one with a hat, covering our necks, and long sleeves, or something with the food, from which our Cholera vaccination protected us. But to be honest we were not at the peak of our energetic self and the last meters I was running on pure determination and will. But we made it to the top. On the way back our guide and the third member of our group went ahead as he was to join the rest of the group to go to Gonder. We learned later that they had made it in one hour. We descended with our scout and took our time. We were glad that we were to stay in the park, not only because we didn’t have to rush down but also because we could relax the whole afternoon in the camp and wander around a bit. We were lucky to see a Walia Ibex, an antelope endemic to the Siemen Mountains.
We remained at the same campsite as the day before and were joined by another group. This time we had dinner in the kitchen tent, so were were not as freezing cold as the evening before. The night was much like the one before including the campfire and the sleepwear. Luckily breakfast was served in the hut. Overall I have to say the food was really good. Lots of vegetable choices for dinner with some chicken and rice. For breakfast there was a choice of eggs, porridge or French toast. There was even some wine and Ethiopian Gin to go around the fire. The Gin is surprisingly good and well goes down easily even pure.
On our last day we were supposed to do a rather easy three hour walk which we appreciated because we could feel the last three days in our legs. It was only the two of us with our guide and scout. Our guide actually gave me his scarf because we had told him that we liked it. Of cause this significantly increased his tip… Due to bad organization our walk became longer and longer because there was no car to pick us up. This was really the only bad thing about our trip. Other wise it was a great experience. We really enjoyed being in the mountains. Looking forward to the Timkat festivities in Gonder with the crowds and noise it was nice to enjoy the nature and peace before.
Back in Gonder we had to pick up our luggage at the guesthouse we had stayed before because we had decided that we didn’t like it there and moved to a different hotel. A good decision because the guesthouse was super crowded with lots of people camping in the yard. The new hotel was only a few Dollars more expensive (prices were inflated everywhere due to Timkat) bit we were more central, had our own bathroom and were more central but still more quiet. Overall we were very happy with our choice.