In Ethiopia, awareness of the country’s extraordinary natural heritage has led to the creation of 18 Protected Areas. The National Parks of the Simien and Bale Mountains are set in alpine scenery of extraordinary environmental interest, in terms of landscapes, native flora and fauna, at altitudes of over 4,000 metres, offering trekking routes through incredible geologies and morphologies that are typically Abyssinian and unique in the world.
Situated about a hundred kilometres north of the city of Gondar, the Simien massif appears in all its grandeur, made up of a dozen peaks rising to over 4,400 metres, Ras Dashen being the highest, surrounded by lunar scenery and an alpine nature that is home to some endemic species never inventoried elsewhere. This earned the area its inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1978.
Its extraordinary Afromontane and Eastern Afro-Alpine ecosystems include the abyssinica rose and the natural habitats of the Gelada baboon (or red baboon), the Simien ibex (walia ibex) and the Ethiopian wolf (or Abyssinian fox), extremely rare and endangered endemic species. But also numerous other mammal species, such as the golden jackal and 150 varieties of birds, such as the beautiful gibeto (bearded vulture). Its exceptional landscapes, the result of millions of years of erosion, are characterised by highland vegetation and grasslands, crevasses and vertiginous gorges, canyons and rocky pinnacles with surreal morphology and often whitewashed by snowfall.
Equally spectacular are the treks that lead to the discovery of the Bale National Park, established in 1970 on its surprisingly green mountainous areas of the Oromia Region. Its massifs were formed millions of years ago by lava flows of ancient origin, and as you climb up the mountainside you reach the highest peak in the chain, Tullu Demtu at 4,377 metres, which dominates the wide-ranging scenery of valleys and gorges descending to the surrounding green plains, watered by streams that wind their way through the steep sides or cascade down to form beautiful alpine lakes.
One of the most incredible sights of the Bale is its constant natural variation as you climb in altitude, passing through juniper forests, heather moors, often flowering alpine meadows, to the arid, stony expanses on the highest peaks. Some areas of the park are accessible by vehicle, but the most beautiful scenery is in close contact with the surrounding nature, on the scenic trails, surrounded by the endemic flora and fauna, typical of the Abyssinian peaks, with myriad birds concentrated near the lakes, such as lapwing, parrots and numerous varieties of eagles, or beautiful and rare mammals such as the shy Ethiopian wolf and the beautiful mountain nyala antelope.
