Simien Mountains

Tour Map of Charity Trek: Ethiopia Lowest to Highest

	Charity Trek: Ethiopia Lowest to Highest
	£3150 excl. flights	18 days

Trek through the Danakil Depression, one of the hottest, harshest and, at -125 meters below see level, lowest places on earth, to Erta Ale Volcano before venturing high into the Simien Mountains to summit Ras Dashan, the highest point in Ethiopia at 4,510 meters above sea level.This charity trek is our major fundraiser for our 2016 Wild Frontiers Foundation campaign - 3 countries, 3 education projects, £30,000. Ethiopia is one of our favourite countries, which we have enjoyed travelling to for over 10 years. With its diverse and challenging environments, it makes the perfect setting for a fundraising trip that will help give back to young people in a community that is close to our heart. The money raised from the trek will go towards the Wild Frontiers Foundation project to establish four new e-learning centres in remote school across Ethiopia. It costs £2500 to set up each e-learning centre and install 25 recycled computers, loaded with educational software. Teachers from the schools will also be trained in basic digital literacy skills, simple hardware maintenance and how to use computers to teach a different subjects. This is a self-funded trek, in that you pay your way to take on the challenge, and we ask you to commit to raise a minimum of £500 for the cause. This trip offers amazing sites and challenges in equal measures, also giving you the opportunity to kick off your walking boots and enjoy the country's colourful capital, Addis Ababa, the UNESCO World Heritage town of Lalibela with its amazing rock hewn churches and the medieval castles of Gondar.

	Ethiopian Explorer - Trekking the Simien Mountains
	£1995 excl. flights	13 days	With over 200 holidays to choose from, KE Adventure Travel has one of the very best collections of trekking and walking holidays worldwide. Graded on a scale from 1 to 12, we have holidays to suit everyone. Our tougher treks are likely to involve multi-day hikes through wilderness regions, with porter support and tented accommodation. Whilst at the other end of the scale, our softer walking holidays are more likely to be hotel or lodge-based with a day-walk format and an emphasis on uncovering the area's history, culture and cuisine. From our earliest days we've developed a range of treks that include celebrated classics such as Peru's Inca Trail trek, the ascent of Tanzania's Kilimanjaro and the ever popular Everest Base Camp trek in Nepal. Alongside these, we have always made it a priority to seek out distinctive and unique itineraries in less familiar areas such as Armenia, Cameroon, Madagascar and Burma. Whichever of our trekking or walking holidays you choose to undertake, you can be sure you'll enjoy breaking out of your day-to-day routine and exploring exotic landscapes on foot, with the chance to experience different cultures.

Ethiopia is a very different destination for a trekking holiday in Africa. Known as 'The Roof of Africa', Ethiopia is a land of surprises, with a wealth of superb trekking and a rich cultural heritage to explore. Ethiopia includes some of the finest mountain scenery in Africa, notably in the Simien Mountains which have been designated a World Heritage Site. This highland area in the northern part of Ethiopia includes many summits over 4000 metres, the highest being Ras Deshen, the fourth highest mountain in Africa. Geographically, the Simien Mountains comprise several major plateaux, which are underlain by basalt lavas thousands of metres thick. It is the erosion of these lavas that has created the dramatic escarpments and freestanding pinnacles which are characteristic of the Simien Mountains range and which are comparable in terms of spectacle to the Grand Canyon. We access this northern region by way of a short internal flight from Addis Ababa to the ancient capital of Gondar. This latter is a wonderful, historically important, city with an unusual collection of 17th century castles and churches. Six days of trekking takes us through a land of natural wonders and of rare wildlife, including the Simien Mountains red fox, the strikingly-maned Gelada baboon and the majestic lammergeier or bearded vulture. Trekking through several villages, notable for their carefully tended farmland and friendly people, our walking reaches its climax at the summit of Ras Deshen (4620m), where the views extend northwards to Eritrea. A 2-day visit to explore Lalibela, with its collection of amazing churches, carved out of solid rock, is a great way to end this exceptional walking adventure holiday to the Simien Mountains of Ethiopia. Providing a variety of completely new experiences, Ethiopia is an adventure travel destination for the trekking connoisseur to explore.

Tour Map of Simien Mountain Trek

	Simien Mountain Trek
	£2399 excl. flights	13 days	Over more than 30 years Explore has developed a diverse and exciting range of more than 100 walking and trekking holidays. Whether you’re new to walking holidays, a casual hiker or a seasoned trekker you will find plenty of expertly planned walks and treks to choose from. We specialise in small group walking and trekking holidays. On these you will be in a group of up to 16 along with an experienced tour leader. Depending on the trek you may also have guides, porters, muleteers, cooks and camping crew with you too. For many trekkers the camaraderie with the crew is one of the highlights of the holiday.

The Simien highlands of northern Ethiopia form one of the major mountain massifs in Africa. A highlight is the ascent to the summit of Ras Dashen - Ethiopia's highest peak and the fifth highest on the continent. As we trek through this isolated region we admire the spectacular scenery of rocky plateaux, spires, mesas and deep gorges.