Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(d without bathroom Birr35-50; )
Gorgora's third and final choice has dark and dirty
rooms and appalling toilets. It's the green, unsigned-in-English place just outside the en-
trance to the Port Hotel.
Getting There & Around
A daily bus departs Gonder (Birr26; two to three hours) at 5.30am and another when full,
usually around noon. The second bus sometimes takes up to five hours. The buses depart
Gorgora at 5.30am and 8am.
The ferry sails to Bahir Dar every Thursday at 6am (Birr253, 1½ days). See
Click here
for more information. Buy tickets at the Lake Tana Transport Enterprise office (next to
Gorgora Port Hotel) up to two days before.
Boats for touring the monasteries out on the lake are available through this same office.
Ask your guide or someone at your hotel to call. It's Birr1325 out to the palace and mon-
asteries. Fishermen will charge less, but their boats won't have roofs or life vests.
GUZARA CASTLE
Though there's little solid evidence about its history, this tall
castle
(admission Birr50)
peering out over Lake Tana could have been built in the 1580s by Emperor Za-Dengel,
founder of the Gonder dynasty, and thus would have been the prototype of Gonderian
design. Or, it may have been built later by Emperor Fasiladas. The attractive ruins are fun
to explore, but probably not worth a detour unless you have your own transportation.
Someone will show up to collect the entry fee and try to charge you Birr100 for guiding
services, which isn't necessary. It's 74km south of Gonder and then east up a steep 1.3km
4WD track.
Simien Mountains National Park
No matter how you look at them, the Simien Mountains are awesome. This massive plat-
eau, riven with gullies and pinnacles, offers tough but immensely rewarding trekking
along the ridge that falls sheer to the plains far below. It's not just the scenery (and alti-
tude) that will leave you speechless, but also the excitement of sitting among a group of
gelada monkeys (see the boxed text,
Click here
)
or watching magnificent walia ibex joust
on rock ledges. Whether you come for a stroll or a two-week trek, the Simiens make a
great companion to the Historical Circuit's monument viewing.
