Semien Mountains — Local services in Amhara Region

As a solo traveler I only hired the mandatory guard for 400 bir a day and decided for a 3 nights 4 days hike (2000 birr, park entrance and camping fees included) to the imet gogo without vehicle except for a bajaj (tuk tuk) from debark to the entrance of the park. Everything was organized at the office of the park in Debark by me and some people working for the park. The first day we started the hike at about 8 and after a few of hours we reached the first camp site, Sankaber. It was raining and the guard started to tell me we should go back to Debark, signifying putting an end to a 4 day trip after 3 hours... I said no and explained to him I wanted to go further to Geech, which, according to the park staff, would have been the destination for the second day (being Senkaber the destination for the first day!). The guard said ok and we kept moving. After a while the sky cleared and the guard started to tell me: "today Geech, tomorrow Imet Gogo, third day Debark" which meant reducing the whole trip by one day. Since we were making good progress i said "OK". Then the guard took me in front of a river and told me we had to cross it, but the river was impassable due to heavy rain. Under my insistence we tried to cross it in three different points but it was too difficult. I asked the guard if there was an alternative way, he said "NO". He said "back to Sankaber". I asked him if the next day we could walk to Chenek, an alternative camping site to Geech, given that Geech was apparently unreachable. He said "with car". I didn't want to hire a car and said no. He then said " too far". I asked him what was his plan for the next day, he said "Debark". I said no, I paid 4 days. There was a mild argument. Given the fact i was alone with an armed guy I gave up. The guard never threatened me, but I was unwilling to push the argument too far. We walked back to Sankaber. I had a tent with me and I set it up. The guard had nothing, literally nothing with him except the rifle and some bread. He tried to convince me to go to the lodge. I said no. The guard showed me a place where to set up the tent completly unsuited for camping, on a slope and on rock. I asked for another place. He said "here clean, no place". Then he sat next to the tent. I invited him to get inside. He said no. After 30 minutes in the tent pondering the craziness of a guy staying outside for the whole freezing and rainy night I decided to rent the room at the lodge. The camping place sucked anyway. If you rent a room in the lodge, the guard is allowed to sleep in the same room, which is basically a big dorm with about 10 beds. In the lodge I found people who booked an organized trip from Addis, paying between 3 to 4 times what i payed (however they had guide and cook and 4wd transportation) and they were having a wonderful time. The next day the guard took me back to Debark effectively ending the whole thing at 10 a.m of the second day. I went to the park office where i organized the trip just 2 days before and they told me "no refund". I asked again and they told me to speak to the manager. The manager said " no refund"

If you are an independent traveler trying to organize things by yourself, who only wants to hike, thinks he doesn't need guides, cooks and porters, this place feels like a massive, massive scam. They will make your life as hard as possible. The fact I was alone didn't help either.

On a side note, the park...

The Simien Mountains are one of Ethiopia’s most popular destinations. Sitting just north of Gondar, it’s easily accessible along the northern circuit of Ethiopia. Comprising 220 square kilometres of peaks, plateaus, vistas and valleys, the park offers stunning viewpoints and some of the best trekking...

Simply mesmerizing! It can be done as a day trip from Gondar if one starts the trip very early (maximum 7am), though nature lovers would not get enough of it as one would want to stay and savor its beautiful...