Ethiopia 30, The Simien Mountains

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ETHIOPIA
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Simien Mountains National Park
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Established in 1969, this park was one of the
first sites to be made a UNESCO World Heritage
Site in 1978. The spellbinding landscape of
fertile valleys, Afroalpine grasslands and
heathlands, is broken into towering plateaux,
sharp precipices and deep valleys by a multitude
of rushing rivers and tumbling waterfalls which
have eaten away at the basalts and tuffs in the
northern half of what was once one of Africas
ancient super-volcanoes. Marvelling at the
majesty of the towering spires, volcanic
pinnacles, gaping gorges, gullies and vast rock
formations, the Greek poet, Homer, fancifully
imagined these to be the chess set of the Gods.
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Colourfully dressed women with goods balanced
atop their heads, many with children ensconced in
a cotton sling across their backs, line the busy
streets of this gateway settlement to the Simien
Mountains National Park which is situated in
Ethiopias remote, northern hinterland the North
Gondar Zone of the Amhara region
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There is a big market somewhere and people are
hoping to get good prices for their wares
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The most coveted gift is a ballpen
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Local people spring over the rocks like gazelles
in their flimsy plastic shoes, with their
agility and endurance
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Several trucks crammed full of people which bear
the name Obama. Michael explains that these
were brought into service at the time Barak Obama
first took office and are named Obama Trucks in
honour of the first African-American president.
Great plumes of fine dust thrown up by the slow
moving vehicles combine with choking blue diesel
fumes...
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The Simien Mountains remain devoid of sealed
roads, and there only a few unsealed routes that
can take vehicular traffic, but they are
criss-crossed by a multitude of footpaths linking
remote Amhara villages
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The firewood is eucalyptus which was introduced
to Ethiopia from Australia in the late nineteenth
century by Emperor Menelik who needed a readily
available building material for his new city,
Addis Ababa. The rapidly growing eucalyptus is
now ubiquitous throughout Ethiopia, and is much
used in building construction and as a fuel, even
though it is responsible for negative
environmental impacts due to it being a thirsty
plant
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It resembles a scene from Biblical times
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Massive erosion over the years on the Ethiopian
plateau has created one of the most spectacular
landscapes in the world, with jagged mountain
peaks, deep valleys and sharp precipices dropping
some 1,500 m
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Globe thistle (Echinops ellenbeckii)
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Globe thistle (Echinops ellenbeckii)
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Simien Mountains National Park is the largest
national park in Ethiopia
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The park is home to some extremely rare animals
such as the Gelada baboon, the Simien fox and the
Walia ibex, a goat found nowhere else in the world
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Gentle highland ridges at altitudes above 3600
metres, covered with grasses, isolated trees
(Erica Arborea) and the bizarre Giant Lobelia
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The ground is flecked with pale pink and aromatic
wild thyme flowers
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Wild iris
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Globe thistle (Echinops ellenbeckii)
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The curry-bush (Hypericum revolutum, family
Clusiaceae
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The curry-bush (Hypericum revolutum) The leaves
of the evergreen Hypericum revolutum release a
curry-like smell when crushed and after rain.
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Solanum aculeastrum (goat bitter-apple)
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The fruit is sometimes used as a soap substitute
apparently it has a high saponin content
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Old Mans Beard lichen hanging from dry tree
branches. Unique, long hair-like lichen. Its
colors, range from bluish-green to whitish yellow
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Beard lichens, Usnea sp., in a giant heather tree
in the Simien Mountains National Park Invasive
species Usnea covering trees
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A scramble over a narrow, precipitous rocky ridge
brings us to a scenic viewpoint where the Jinbar
River plunges some 500 metres into the
terrifyingly deep Geech Abyss. A thin, silver
curtain of water is just visible in the black
crease of rock leading from the river valley.
This waterfall would be a truly impressive sight
in the rainy season when the Jinbar is in spate
Our Scout, who was also a great guide
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For over 2,000 years, the Simien Mountains became
home to immigrants, settlers and cultivators, of
which some of the first recorded were the
Ethiopian Jews. Today the majority of the
population are Orthodox Christians although there
are a number of long term resident Muslim
communities
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The bizarre Giant Lobelia (Lobelia
rhynchopetalum) are found on the high plateau
that ends abruptly at 1000- to 2000-m deep
escarpments.
Echinops kebericho Endemic plant of Ethiopia
echinops longisetus
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Aloe Big Red
Kniphofia pumila (Also known as Dwarf Poker
Plant)
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Guest to our picnic the Thick-billed Raven
(Corvus crassirostris)
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Traditional round houses with a cone-shaped
thatched roof, called "tukul. The traditional
tukul is a thatched round hut with a conical
roof, built of timber plastered with mud and cow
dung.
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Text Internet Pictures Sanda Foisoreanu
Sanda Negrutiu Jean
Moldovan Daniel Scradeanu
Alin Samochis
Internet All  copyrights  belong to their
 respective owners Presentation Sanda
Foisoreanu
2014
Sound Aregahegn Worash - Be Adisu Amet