Simien Mountains National Park

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Simien Mountains National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Simien Mountains
Location	Amhara Region, Ethiopia
Nearest city	Debarq and Mekane Berhan
Coordinates	13°11′N 38°4′E / 13.183°N 38.067°E / 13.183; 38.067
Area	220 km2 (85 sq mi)
Established	1969
Visitors	26,000[1] (in 2016)
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Simien National Park
Type	Natural
Criteria	vii, x
Designated	1978 (2nd session)
Reference no.	9
Region	Africa
Endangered	1996–2017[2]

Simien Mountains National Park is the largest national park in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, its territory covers the highest parts of the Simien Mountains and includes Ras Dashan, the highest point in Ethiopia.

It is home to a number of endangered species, including the Ethiopian wolf and the walia ibex, a wild goat found nowhere else in the world. The gelada baboon and the caracal, a cat, also occur within the Simien Mountains. More than 50 species of birds inhabit the park, including the bearded vulture, or lammergeier, with its 3-metre (10 ft) wingspan.^[3]

The park is crossed by an unpaved road which runs from Debarq, where the administrative headquarters of the park is located, east through a number of villages to the 4,430 metres (14,530 ft) Buahit Pass, where the road turns south to end at Mekane Berhan, 10 kilometres (6 mi) beyond the park boundary.^[4]