Addis Ababa, May 23, 2026 (FMC) – The Ministry of Tourism of Ethiopia has highlighted the Simien Mountains National Park as one of the country’s most extraordinary natural heritage destinations, reaffirming its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a globally significant ecological landscape.
On its social media platform, the Ministry brought attention to the Simien Mountains National Park, located in the northern Amhara Region as part of the Ethiopian Highlands.
The park forms part of one of Africa’s most extensive high-altitude massifs and is home to Ras Dashen (4,550 m), the highest peak in Ethiopia and one of the highest points in Africa.
The Simien landscape is widely recognized for its dramatic geological formation, shaped over millions of years through volcanic uplift and erosion. This long process has created deep gorges, towering basalt cliffs rising in some areas over 1,500 meters, and vast highland plateaus that give the region its iconic “Roof of Africa” identity.
The park also forms part of the Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot, one of the most ecologically important regions on the continent.
According to the Ministry’s post, the park continues to attract international and domestic visitors, including tourists, researchers, photographers, and conservationists drawn by its rare scenery and exceptional biodiversity.
The park is globally known for its unique endemic wildlife, including the Walia ibex, found only in the Simien Mountains, the Ethiopian wolf, one of the rarest canids in the world and restricted to Ethiopian highlands, and the highly social gelada baboon, which is widely observed grazing in large cliffside troops.
The ecosystem also supports a rich variety of birdlife, including several endemic and high-altitude adapted species, as well as distinctive flora such as the giant lobelia and Afro-alpine vegetation adapted to extreme cold conditions.
UNESCO inscribed the Simien Mountains National Park on the World Heritage List in 1978, recognizing both its outstanding natural beauty and its global importance for biodiversity conservation. It remains one of Africa’s earliest protected natural heritage sites under the designation.
Today, the Simien Mountains National Park continues to stand as a leading destination for eco-tourism, trekking, and scientific research. It remains a living symbol of Ethiopia’s natural heritage and one of the world’s most remarkable mountain ecosystems, where geological grandeur and rare biodiversity converge in a single landscape.