We left Gondar at 8AM for our approximate two hour drive to Simien National Park. Although the distances are not long, the roads are such that normal drive time estimates we use in the USA are not relevant. There are people, animals and donkey carts to dodge; there are slow moving vehicles to pass and most roads are not very straight.

We arrived at Debark, Ethiopia around 10:30AM to drop off luggage at our hotel (Jeramba Hotel) before proceeding to the Simien National Park near here.

The Simien National Park was created in 1969 and is the home of the indigenous Walia Ibex, the rare Ethiopian wolf and the animal we will be looking for, the gelada monkey, also known as the “bleeding heart” monkey because of the red patch on their chest. This is the only place in the world where these grass-eating monkeys live.

The gelada monkey ( they are not baboons) are root eaters and number about 15,000 in this area. Trivia of the day: What is a group of monkeys called?   A “troop”.  A male will have 6-10 females in his family. Families live together. They spend the day working their way across the landscape, digging and eating grass and roots, then spend  the night in caves below cliffs to be protected from predators.

The road in the park is unpaved so it is fairly slow driving.

It was not long before we came across a troop of about 600 ( local guide estimate) gelada monkeys. There are about 15,000 monkeys in the park, living in troops like this one. It was quite a sight as they were everywhere we looked! We quietly stood and/or sat amongst them and let them simply eat their way past us as the pack would move slowly but regularly. We watched them eat. We watched them groom each other, taking regular turns just like a human might. We saw an occasional spat with some snarling and chasing. We watched the cute little babies scampering around, but never venturing too far from mom. We even saw a brief love making session between two consenting adults. They simply ignored us. After about 1/2 hour they had worked their way up the hill past us on their way to higher ground for mid-day naps. It was quite an experience. I found the older males  to be especially magnificent for as they age their mane grows quite long, giving them the appearance of a male lion.

After this encounter our local guide, Fanta, led us on a short 30 minute walk to several viewpoints where we were able to take photos and listen to some of his stories about the area and the animals that inhabit it. He even “entertained” us by vocalizing various sounds that the gelada monkeys make under different circumstances. He was darn good at it. The walk was paced nicely with many rest stops as we were walking above 10,000 feet elevation! All of us needed the rest breaks.

We found a shady spot under some trees where we ate our hilarious box lunches. I had ordered a ham and cheese sandwich. What I got was a cheese sandwich and a separate beef sandwich (which sure tasted and looked like a slab of thick bologna). Why they did not put the thick slice of cheese on the ham sandwich baffles us. Others who ordered either a ham sandwich or a cheese sandwich got one sandwich. In addition there was two cooked spuds (with skins), two hard boiled eggs and a banana. The food was way too much and we gave the leftovers to the two park guards who had accompanied us to take home to their families.

After lunch we got back into our vehicles to drive to another area of the park for another hike/walk and more picture opportunities. Fanta was great at pointing out the different flowers and plants that grew here. The ground cover in most areas was a type of thyme and it made for a pleasant smelling walk. Fanta also showed us many different plants the locals use for medicinal purposes of all sorts. It is rather amazing to see how many plants offer medicinal help. We reached the highest elevation of our “walk” here; we were at 10,687 feet!

The views in this area are similar to what we see at the Grand Canyon, only on a smaller scale. The park was created in 1969 and surprisingly about 11,000 people still live in the valleys where they farm. The government is gradually moving them out.

At one point Fanta did point out Ras Dashen, the 4,550 m (14,930 ft) peak, which is the 4th highest in Africa. I had expected to see snow on it but it was bare. Fanta said if it does snow it only lasts a few hours and is gone. I was surprised and a bit disappointed as I expected a Mt. Rainier sort of peak.

It was late afternoon when we started retracing our steps to the park entrance. It was hoped we would run into the gelada monkeys again as they worked their way back to their cave homes for the night. Sure enough, we ran into them again, and again we stood/sat among them, snapping hundreds of pictures and simply enjoying the presence of their company. Thirty minutes later they were gone and so were we.  Chris said we had been lucky to see them not once, but twice today. They are sometimes hard to find as they do wander throughout the park. It was time for another another dusty ride back to the park entrance and our hotel, but the modern vehicles with recirculating AC made the trip an easy one. We were back at the hotel by 5:30 PM.

Dinner was again a buffet at the hotel where the menu was nearly the same. The hotel buffets in these tourist hotels are skewed to western palates with occasional Ethiopian dishes thrown in, but they tend to always be the same. Ethiopia is not the place to come if you are a “foodie” and looking for a variety. Most people are already tired of eating injera. 

We were told the Jeramba Hotel was new , but overall it was a huge disappointment and probably  all of us would give it a 1- 2 Star rating. My room only had a one bulb ceiling light, a cafeteria chair for seating and a wobbly table,  no shower curtain in the bathroom so water went everywhere, poor water pressure, and no amenities of any type. Surprisingly the WiFi was decent.

Needless to say everyone was glad we were only spending one night. Tomorrow we move on.