Simien Mountains National Park was established in 1969. The park is one of numerous national parks in Ethiopia. The park is located in the northern (Simien) reaches of the Gondar Zone within the Amhara Region. The park’s territory covers the entire Simien Mountains that also include the Ras Dashan, the highest point in Ethiopia. Standing at a height of 4,550 meters, the Ras Dashan is also the 10 highest peak in Africa. Simien Mountains National Park was one of the first sites in Ethiopia to be added to the World Heritage Site list by UNESCO in 1978.

Simien Mountains National Park is known as the home to a number of endangered species that include the Ethiopian wolf and the walia ibex. The Ethiopian wolf is native to the Ethiopian Highlands and is very similar to the coyote in terms of build and size. However, the Ethiopian wolf is easily identifiable by its long and narrow skull and sticking red and white fur.

Today, the Ethiopian wolf is the world’s rarest canid and is Africa’s most endangered carnivore. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the Ethiopian wolf an endangered species based on its dwindling numbers. There are currently less than 400 Ethiopian wolves in the wild today.

The walia ibex is a wild goat found nowhere else in the world other than Ethiopia. The walia ibex is regarded an endangered species and is considered sub-species of the Alpine ibex. Currently, there are less than 500 individuals living in the Simien Mountains. The walia ibex is also known as the Abyssinian ibex.

The gelada baboon is by far one of the most famous occupants of the Simien Mountains National Park. Also known as the bleeding-heart baboon, because of its bright pink coloration on its chest, the gelada baboon is a species of what is called the Old World monkey and is only in the Ethiopian high-lands, but a majority of the gelada baboon population is to be seen in the park. Old World monkeys is a group of primates that are native to Africa and Asia mainly inhabiting a range of environments that range from tropical rain forests, to open savanna, shrub lands and mountainous terrain.