Simien Lodge
Simien Lodge is perched high up in the mountains with far stretching views over the Simien mountains.
The lodge has been built using local materials to resemble a typical Simien village. Twenty Tukel rooms all spread out away from the main area each with twin or double beds, en-suite bathrooms and underfloor solar heating. In addition, there are two Safari Suites with an extra lounge perfect for families and a 16 bed dormitory ideal for larger groups such as school children. The restaurant and bar is a spacious area with a log fire centre piece. Evening meals are generally set menus and during the day the restaurant has an A La Carte Menu serving a mixture of Ethiopian and European cuisine.
Activities here include mountain biking and trekking. Trekking in the Simien mountains has been the main activity here since the lodge opened. Once up the escarpment, it is possible to walk through forests and over grassland for hundreds of miles. A trek to the summit of Ras Daschen normally takes about 6 days. Other more modest treks go to Imet Gogo, Bwahit, Geech, Sankabur and Chennuk where the predator animal activity starts. The gelada sleep on the cliff edges at night and their predators such as hyena and leopard roam the cliff edges. Wolves have been spotted near the lodge in recent months.
As an alternative to trekking, you can go mountain biking. There is a selection of high quality, french manufactured mountain bikes. They have 27 gears for the toughest of climbs.
A 'must-do' is the champagne lunch - trek to the escarpment top and arrive to find a well laid out table, white table cloth and all the trimings. The champagne flows and you can spend the next few hours having a fantastic meal at the highest place in the world that you are ever likely to have such a meal. You will be near to 3500 metres high.