Simien National Park in Ethiopia contains one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world, with jagged mountain peaks and deep valleys. It was one of the first sites added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1978 in order to protect rare species like the Walia Ibex goat and Gelada Baboon. Visitors to the park can experience stunning scenery and wildlife while trekking through remote areas where few tourists go, but threats from human settlement, cultivation, and fires require continued protection and management of the park.

1. Ladies and Gentleman, Welcome
aboard Heritage Tourism Airlines
nonstop flight to Ethiopia.

2. Simien National Park

3. 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.

4. Simien Mountains National Park is in Ethiopia. It
was one of the first sites added to the UNESCO
World Heritage List in 1978.

5. Simien Mountains one of the main
highlands of Africa, the highest point
in Ethiopia, Ras Deshen is 4600m high.

6. The park was created primarily to
protect the Walia Ibex a wild goat.
Simien Park is also families for the
Gelada Baboon and the rare Simien
Jackal.

7. Simien Mountains will leave you
speechless, is a heaven for trekkers
and animal lovers, it's the trepidation
of sitting among Gelada Baboons.

8. Standing on top a panoramic precipice,
overlooking Abyssinian abyss that will
take your breath away.

9. Simien National Park is located in
northern Ethiopia about 100 km from
the town of Gondar. The Simien have
some of Africa's most striking
mountain scenery, a world heritage
site. Adventure trekking routes into
the Simien National Park take you
through the most pristine region of
Africa.

10. Discover some of Africa's most beautiful
and impressive scenery, meet Amhar
people. Many travellers consider Simian
the most beautiful mountain in all of the
Africa, experience remote places where
few tourists ever visit.

11. The park is home to
some extremely rare
animals such as the
Gelada baboon.
In the Semien Mountains
of Northern Ethiopia live
these special Gelada
Baboons. The red heart
on the males chest is
called the bleeding heart.
These baboons are not
scared at all so you can
get real good close ups.

12. Gelada Baboon is the most common of
these, with an estimated 20,000
Baboons living in troops.

13. Infant gelada baboon in Simien
Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
(© Fiona Rogers/Corbis)

15. Only the very lucky
visitor will see a Simien
fox, or Abyssinian wolf
(Simenia simensis). It is
ex-tremely ran; in the
Simyen it is even rarer
than the walia, although
it has another stronghold
SIMIEN FOX in the mountains of
southern Ethiopia, which
the walia does not.

16. It is misnamed, for it is neither a fox
nor a wolf but something unique-a
member of the dog family, but the
only one. of its genus; and restricted
to Ethiopia.

17. The Simien Jackal is now very rare in
the mountains, you may spot a few
Jackals here.
Simien Wolf is the world's rarest
canid.

18. Walia ibex a goat found nowhere
else in the world.
Walia Ibex in Ethiopia by Markus
Lilje.

19. The walia is
a type of
wild goat.

21. Located: Gondar Region
Date of Inscription: 1978
Criteria: (vii)(x)
Property : 13,600 ha
Ref: 9
Type: Natural

22. HISTORY
• The park was established in 1969, having been
set up by Clive Nicol, who wrote about his
experiences in From the Roof of
Africa (1971, ISBN 0 340 14755 5).
• It was one of the first sites to be made a World
Heritage Site by UNESCO (1978). However, due
to serious population declines of some of its
characteristic native species, in 1996 it was also
added to the List of World Heritage in Danger.

24. Clive Williams Nicol, MBE is a Welsh writer
and actor and a long-time resident and citizen of Japan.
• C.W. Nicol was
born in Neath,
Wales, and from a
young age
expressed an
interest
in wildlife and
the environment.

25. • He then spent two years (1967 to 1969) as a
game warden in Ethiopia, setting up the
new Semien Mountains National Park for the
Ethiopian Government. He returned to
Japan, writing a book about his Ethiopian
experiences: From the Roof of
Africa (1971, ISBN 0-340-14755-5).

26. Significant Value

27. The park is of global significance for
biodiversity conservation because it is
home to globally threatened species.

28. The undulating plateau of the Simien
mountains has over millions of years
been eroded to form precipitous cliffs
and deep gorges of exceptional natural
beauty.

29. The spectacular scenery of the Simien
mountains is considered to rival
Colorado’s Grand Canyon.

30. Due to its topographic ruggedness,
comparatively large forest stands,
some in a more or less virgin state, still
exist;

31. With its unique topography, abundance of fauna
and flora, and its traditional peasant farming
system, the area has a high potential for
tourism.

32. Threats to the
integrity of the park
include:
• Human settlement
• Cultivation
• Soil erosion, particularly around the village of
Gich
• Frequent fires in the tree heather forest
• Excessive numbers of domestic stock

33. Protection and management
requirements:
• Effective management presence and the
maintenance and increasing of staff levels and
training .
• Effective protection of the park’s flagship
species and close cooperation with local
communities.

34. • Significant financial support is needed for the
management of the park.
• Development of alternative livelihood options
for local communities.
• Development, implementation, review and
monitoring of a management plan and the
revision and extension of the park boundaries.

35. • Improving and
increasing ecotourism
facilities.
• Environmental
education and training
programmes.

36. The End. Thank you for listening.