I was determined to do the Simien Mountains without joining a tour. Partly because I knew it would be cheaper, particularly for a group, and partly because most people joined a tour, so I wanted to buck the trend. 

The first step was getting to Debark, the gateway for the National Park. We had been in Aksum for about two minutes when we were approached by Alex, who worked for ETT, and was offering a package tour of the Simiens, and when we rejected this, a ride to Debark for $50 each. Over the course of the 4 days we spent there, this quickly came down to $25 each, but that was $100 USD and I thought we could do better. Our friend Calesta had just done the 6am bus from Shire, which would require an extra night for us (in Shire), or we could get a car at 4am to take us to meet that bus. We were going to go with that for $30 for the car ride, plus about 150 each for the bus, but it seems someone had a car going to Debark anyway (must have been for the return to Aksum), and they were pretty desperate, so we agreed on $70 for all four of us the whole way to Debark.

Leaving at about 7:30am, we arrived in Debark about 2:30pm. We headed straight to the national park office after checking into Simien Park Hotel (very cheap while other rooms are really nice, but expensive at $35 USD). The cheap rooms were fairly gross (I definitely had a bed bug in my bed) but the service was great. We expected to be approached by guides offering their service, but it was high season. That probably explained the high prices we had been quoted by guides over whatsapp.

The women at the park office were unhelpful, to say the least. About the only thing they said was to bark that we needed to pay for our scout for 4 days, not three, due to the fact that we were summiting (this seemed strange as it was actually a shorter day than the one before), and to tell them who our driver was (enter: transportation mafia). This of course left room for a guide/provisioner to help us through the logistics, and make some money off of us.

Going in to the office, there is a signboard outside declaring the prices of everything, but apparently that was already outdated, or the national park office just didn’t have some things, like sleeping bags, or most likely, this provisioner offered these things to rent at a higher price. We ended up paying for a scout for 4 days (400 birr per day), the entrance fees (80 per person per day) and the camping fee (10 per person per day) with an official receipt from women who did manage to reluctantly stamp our receipt. After that, we were in the hands of Bogale, our provisioner.

The big problem with hiking the Simiens on your own, besides the dearth of up to date information, is the transportation to and fro. We had read a bunch of blogs and guidebooks, plus had our own tents and sleeping bags, so were as well prepared as we could be, and it was still exhausting. Wanting to hike the next day, we split up, two of us going with Bogale to settle on money, transportation, extra sleeping bags (we heard it was freezing) while the others went in search of kerosene and more food (we had stocked up on as much as possible in Axum). A few hours later, we were mostly done, and were ready for a beer and dinner. That didn’t go according to plan either, as we ordered 3 shiros and 1 pasta and instead got 3 pasta and 1 shiro and then were charged for 6 meals. We eventually had the whole restaurant involved and paid for 4 meals, having eaten about 2. Debark was a hassle, to say the least.

Here is what we ended up paying in US dollars:

$70 ride from Axum to Debark. Most all inclusive tours include this.

$50 for our scout (1600 birr for 4 days)

$100 for 4×4 to Sankober campsite (alternative is take a tuk tuk to park entrance and walk about 6 hours to Sankober and spend the night there- you just have to negotiate with a tuk tuk- should be around 250 birr- and the national park women who will demand to know the name of your driver due to the transportation mafia).

$135- Chennek to Debark. This was a 3 hour drive and there is no way a tuk tuk could make it. There are local buses but apparently you will not be allowed on due to transportation mafia. We heard a couple of reports, including from our friend, of negotiating a ride in the back of a truck with locals, but the scout won’t like it, you’ll have to be hidden when passing by the park entrance, and you’ll be vastly overcharged as well. Probably the best option if you’re by yourself though.

$19 (600 birr) for a pretty terrible stove plus $2 for kerosene (get 2 litres)

$30 food (we bought peanut butter, instant noodles, tuna, bread, oatmeal, cookies, bananas and peanuts).

This compares to the $200 each ($800 total) we were quoted as the lowest price for an organized tour. It was worth it do it ourselves because there were 4 of us to split scout, mules and transport costs. If I was by myself I’d probably just join a tour (however, our friend Calesta had one lined up only to have it cancelled on her when we arrived). To do it cheaper, here is what I would do:

Go to the park office, tell them your friend is dropping you off at the park entrance, or something along those lines, hire the scout for 4 or 5 days (if you’re hiking 3 nights and 4 days they will likely charge you for 5 days), enquire about any equipment you want to rent (it was unclear if the office actually rented it, or you just find it from people in town for higher prices), and pay the camping fees if camping (otherwise, stay in the community lodges- I think 120-150 birr per night). 

Arrange a tuk tuk to take you to the park entrance (online sources say 1200-1500 with bargaining). Walk about 6 hours to Sankober from there and spend the night. Spend the next night at Gich, then Chennek. From Chennek either negotiate your way onto the back of a truck with the scout, or cough up the $135 for prearranged transportation back to Debark. 

We were recommended to be really nice to our scout (obviously, but always a good reminder) if you don’t have a guide, as they will point more things out. Apparently they get a bit bored. Ours was really great, getting other guides to translate when needed, and we tipped him 400 birr for the whole trip. We also tipped our mule driver 200, which he seemed happy with, and had also helped us set up our tents.

Overall: a huge hassle, but doable.