Trekking

I am planning to do 6 treks in 6 continents in 60 days for my 65th birthday at the end of next year. I hope to make Ethiopia my first stop. The other countries are Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Argentina/Chile, USA, and Spain. The treks will be no more than 5 or 6 days. Can anyone suggest a suitable trek in Ethiopia?

Simien Mountains. 5 days gets you to Bwahit (14,500 feet/4,430 meters). The Gelada Baboon is endemic to the Simien Mountains and a beautiful animal. A lot of good birdwatching opportunities as well, so binoculars are critical.

Have you considered Ciudad Perdida ("Lost City") in northern Colombia? 4 days is a great pace.

Many treks in Kyrgyzstan, but Sri Lanka looks to be your Asian entry.

Enjoy this trip, it sounds incredible.

Thanks for that. Sounds just right for what I want to do. The Simien Mountains was where I was anticipating going to. Would you know whether I can book that trip locally and get a guide? If so do you have a contact number? Up to now I've only ever booked through adventure companies in England such as Exodus, and if I do that for all 6 treks its going to cost a small fortune so was going to book each trek locally to reduce costs.

Hadn't considered Colombia partly because I've always wanted to go to Patagonia but always open to suggestions.

Thanks for suggesting Kyrgyzstan. I'll look at that but with a tight schedule I need to be able to get to Treks without too much travel. Need some downtime in between Trek!

Will also be looking for people to join me on any of the Treks so once I've organised it I'll let it be known and if you're interested in any of them then great.

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Thanks for the invite, and yes, I actually would be interested in trekking 5-6 days in Kyrgyzstan! OR Sri Lanka! Heck, even in the USA (where I live).

As for Simien, I would book with an Ethiopian guide. I actually do have a great contact: Kaleb. His email is tourwithkhalbeb@gmail.com or kalebteklu@yahoo.com. Tell him Dave from L.A. suggested him. He's a cool dude who will make your time there easy. So it works kind of funky there, you book a trek with a tour guide/operator but they place you with an actual guide. Our guide in Simien Mountains was Eshetu and I will locate his email because he really was a fantastic guide. Big time birdwatcher and just a nice, kind soul. Both guys I listed speak English just fine. Expect to pay $500 - $750 for the trek which would start as soon as you land in Gonder.

Colombian trek will be dramatically different than Patagonia! One is icy mountains and one is steamy jungles! Depends what you want to see and experience.

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Hi there,

Thanks for the info. much obliged. Will contact to get more details.

Cheers

Thanks Dave. I will follow up and get some more details.

Patagonia is preferable this time. Maybe Colombia on another trek.

I will let you know when I've sorted out Treks and maybe we could join up. I fancy Yosemite or Bryce Canyon for USA. Any good Treks there?

Hi there,

Ethiopia will be December/January time. Thanks for the info. Will also follow that up.

Up to now I've only ever booked through adventure companies in England such as Exodus, and if I do that for all 6 treks its going to cost a small fortune so was going to book each trek locally to reduce costs.

That's a move in the right direction. I always book with local operators. whether tours or treks. You get the same service, minus middle hand, thus much better price.
Countries that I'd recommend for trekking:
Asia - India (Ladakh/Zanskar), Nepal is out of favour now due to earthquakes, but could be back to business for Oct/Nov season. Northern Pakistan has great mountains and treks, although travel is a bit more complicated than elsewhere.
South America - Peru (high altitude), Colombia (low altitude) - someone mentioned Ciudad Perdida which is a great trek.
Europe - the Alps (Italian Dolomites), or Caucasus (Georgia), or Corsica.

Hi. Thanks for the info. Really appreciate it.Hadn't really thought of India. Need to make the flights between countries as easy as possible. The least number of changes en route. Will look into India. Have just returned from Nepal just before earthquake. Did the Langtang Valley. Fantastic! Have always wanted to go to Patagonia so will try to make that happen. Colombia could be another day. I'm actually off to Peru next week for a 3 week trip taking in Inka Trail. And thanks for suggestions in Europe but I was hoping my two sons can join me at the end and we can spend a few days together so Spain and the Camino is favourite at the moment although will look into your suggestions as well.

Once again thanks for your help and if you fancy joining me on any of the treks that would be great. Don't want to do them all on my own!!

Although it might appear to be a wrong section on TT, but anyway, here's one more advice.
If you're going to Peru, next week, you've probably made all arrangements and pre-booked the Inka trail. If not, I'd recommend Salkantay trail instead, which also takes you to Machu Picchu. Salkantay is much cheaper and without crowds. It can be booked directly in Cuzco and on short notice. It's a more demanding trek though, making it less frequented, still at least as good as the Inka trail.

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