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15
day trekking to Semine mountains
Brief Description:
This travel itinerary is a 15 day trekking to Semine
mountains and also a visit to the historical town of
Gondar
and Bahir Dar. The trekking in the semien mountain starts at
Debark and goes through Sankaber Geech Chenek Ambiqo
Arkwaziye Loma - Adi Arkai trekking route. We will finish
the trekking and return back to Addis on the 12th day and travel
to Bahir Dar for city tour and boat trips to Tana Monasteries.
City tour of
Addis Ababa
is included on the 10th day.
Itinerary
Day
1: Upon arrival in
Addis Ababa
,
Ethiopia
, You will be greeted with the traditional Ethiopian hospitality
at the airport and transferred to the hotel. (Depending on your
arrival time we can arrange afternoon or after hour city tour)
Day 2: After breakfast we head back to the airport for the
internal flight to
Gondar
, the former capital of
Ethiopia
. On arrival, transfer to the Goha Hotel for lunch.
Gondar
is well placed, watered by mountain torrents and sitting at an
altitude of 2300 meters. There are views from the city, which
extend across the surrounding farmland to
Lake Tana
, 35kilometers to the south. This is a historic settlement with an
atmosphere of mystery. Overnight at the Goha Hotel, which is
situated on a hill overlooking the
town.
Day
3: Debark- Sankaber: In the cool of the morning, you make the 2 to
3 hour drive from
Gondar
to Debark. This is a small market town at an altitude of 2700
meters close to the boundary of the
Simien
Mountains
National Park
. Here, an armed scout-one of the park regulations- joins you.
Then we drive to Sankaber where you camp for the night.
Day 4: Sankaber Geech: Your first day of trekking, You meet
the muleteers and the trek equipment is loaded on to their mules.
Starting out, you descend in the Michwahtis valley and begin the
climb up the other side, making a short diversion to see one of
the most impressive sights in the
Simien
Mountains
, where the
Jinbar
River
plummets into the Geech Abyss.
Day 5: Geech: You will leave your camp set up at Geech and make a
day hike to one of the finest viewpoints in the area, the
promontory and small peak known as Imetgogo (3925m). This is
actually a spur protruding from the escarpment and is reached
after a couple of hours pleasant walking. Overnight at the camp
above Geech.
Day
6: Geech Chenek: Your route today takes you along the edge of
the escarpment, descending at one point into an open, grassy
valley filled with 3 and 4-meter tall giant Lobelias. The Chenek
campsite offers superb views across to the opposite escarpment and
the prominent
peak
of
Imetgogo
.
Day 7: Chenek Ambiquo: To reach the
village
of
Ambiquo
at the foot of Ras Dejen, you must initially climb up above your
camp towards Amba Bhawit (4477m.), the second highest mountain in
the range. Here, you will also get your first sighting of the Ras
Dashen (4620m), the highest point in a wall of cliffs and peaks on
the skyline. Crossing the
Meshawa
River
after more than 1000 meters of descent, you climb steeply to the
village
of
Ambiquo
, where you will camp for night.
Day 8: Ambiquo: Todays climb to the highest point in
Ethiopia
, the summit of Ras Dejen, requires a dawn start. You climb slowly
and steadily through giant Lobelia forests, passing the tiny,
perched
village
of
Mizma
and gaining an area of open pasture where there are herds of
cattle and goats with their attendant herdsmen. The
triple-summited bulk of Ras Dejen looms above and it is far from
obvious which of these is the highest. Finally, after 5 hours of
ascent, you reach steeper, rocky ground and a short scramble to
the cairned summit. You will take an hours rest on top to enjoy
the views that, in clear weather, extend to North of Ethiopia. A
3- hour descent takes you back to the campsite in Ambiquo.
Day 9: Ambiquo Arkwaziye: Rather than retracing your trek to
Sankaber (which is the usual
Simien
Mountains
trek) we have chosen to extend the itinerary and make the return
towards
Gondar
through the lowlands, which will give you the chance to see a
greater range of the Ethiopian countryside. Descending from your
camp at Ambiquo for an hour, you then have an easy 3-hour stroll,
heading back westwards to the camping place in Arkwaziye (3600m.).
Day
10: Arkwaziye Loma: A day of descent, as you head for the
village
of
Makarabia
in the region known as Lamo. You are leaving behind the high
plateau and your route crosses several major ridges before
dropping 1000meters alongside
Ansiya
River
to the rarely visited lowlands. It becomes progressively warmer as
you descend to the camp at Loma (2000m,).
Day 11: An easy day, contouring far below the escarpment on a
trail, which passes through scrub and stands of palm trees. You
have plenty of opportunity to interact with the local people and
learn a little about their way of life. Set beneath towering rock
pinnacles. The campsite faces across the valley to a circle of
mountains with Amba Tsion in the center.
Day 12: A final short stroll of a little over 2-hours takes you to
the market town of Adi Arkai (1700m.). Here you say goodbye to
your trek crew, have a look around the bazaar and then board the
car for the drive back to
Gondar
. Overnight at the Goha Hotel.
Day
13: After early breakfast, we drive 180kms through villages &
scenic landscape to the lake side town of
Bahir Dar
, Lunch in your hotel called Tana which is situated on the shore
of the lake. Afternoon, boat trip on
Ethiopia
s largest lake called Tana for its middle age island
monasteries. Lake Tana is the source of the largest river, the
Blue Nile, in
Africa
. The
Lake
is endowed with 37 islands out of which 20 of them have got
monasteries.
Day 14: After an early breakfast, we drive to the spectacular
water falls called
Blue Nile
Falls
(30kms from Bahir Dar). Tiss Abay is the small town where we leave
the vehicle and walk uphill for about 20-30 minutes to reach the
best view point of the falls which are 45 meters heigh and up to
400 meters wide during the rainy season (June, July, August &
September). Then drive back to Bahir Dar for lunch. Afternoon,
free to enjoy
Lake Tana
or your hotel.
Day 15:
Addis Ababa
is located at 2,500 meters above sea level at the footstep of the
highest parts of series of Mountain chain. Addis is also the seat
of African Union (AU) and many International offices and over 100
Embassies. It enjoys an excellent climate all year round; with an
average temperature of 16°C.
Addis Ababa
is a pleasant city with wide avenues of jacarandas, interesting
museums and one of the largest open-air markets in
Africa
, known as the Merkato. After early breakfast we will visit the
National
Museum
(a multi-collections representing
Ethiopia
's past and present image). Among the famous exhibits, the 3.5
million year old skeleton of 'Lucy' is worth visiting. We will
also visit the Ethiopian Studies Institute Ethnological museum for
its extraordinarily collection of the priceless and varied
ethnic medley. Then we continue driving up to the mount (over 3000
meters) Entoto, the first seat of Emperor Menelik II before he
established
Addis Ababa
as the capital of
Ethiopia
in 1886. Visitors will also have the opportunity to visit Trinity
Cathedral and Merkato. Along our way we will have the chance to
see avenues, squares, obelisks and many places of interests and
shopping. Early evening, we will have a coffee ceremony to show
our appreciation for touring with us, Fest Ethiopia Travel &
Tour. Late at night transfer to the
Bole
International
Airport
and depart for home.
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