Chennek Camp

Chennek is the highest of the standard camps in the Simien Mountains, sitting at 3,620 metres near the eastern end of the main escarpment trail. From here, trekkers with sufficient time and fitness can attempt the Ras Dashen summit; most people spend two nights at Chennek to acclimatise before ascending. The camp area is one of the best places in the park to see Walia ibex, which graze on the cliff slopes below in the early morning.

The landscape around Chennek is starker and more alpine than the lower camps — the forests and rich grasslands give way to open moorland with giant lobelia and everlasting flowers, and the altitude makes itself felt in shortness of breath and cold nights. The escarpment views from this elevation are panoramic. A shorter day-walk from Chennek along the high ridge towards the peaks offers excellent mountain scenery without the full commitment of the Ras Dashen climb.

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Chennek at 3,620 metres marks the transition from the lower escarpment environment to the high-altitude moorland that covers the approach to Ras Dashen. The giant lobelia plants that grow here — tall candelabra-shaped succulents that take decades to flower — are remnants of a vegetation type that once covered much of the Ethiopian highlands. The camp sits at the base of the highest Simien peaks and on a clear morning the view extends south toward the distant lowlands.

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