Ras Dashen is the highest peak in Ethiopia at 4,550 metres, rising above the Chennek area of the Simien Mountains National Park. The ascent from Chennek camp takes most hikers two days — a long push to a high camp, then a pre-dawn start for the summit ridge. The terrain above the treeline is moorland and then high-altitude scrub, giving way to bare rock near the summit. The final section involves some scrambling on loose rock.
The summit view on a clear morning takes in a vast sweep of the Ethiopian highlands, with the escarpments of the Simien plateau stretching in every direction and the valleys far below lost in haze. The return is long; most hikers allow at least five to six days from Debark for the full Ras Dashen circuit. Altitude acclimatisation is essential — spending at least two nights at Chennek (3,620m) before attempting the summit significantly reduces the risk of altitude sickness.