Enjoy Enchanting Mountain Views in Luxury at Ethiopia's Limalimo Lodge

Limalimo Lodge is a boutique, 14-room lodge set inside Ethiopia's Simien Mountains National Park. Here, the guests can explore the Simiens and visit local communities who reside here while simply relaxing in comfort. The lodge offers a nice bar, restaurant and terrace that provides breathtaking views along the Simien escarpment with a lot of relaxing space. While it's nice to laze on the terrace, stay warm around the fire pit in the evenings and enjoy nice traditional cuisine or sip on the most delicious arabica coffee. You will also get the benefit of helpful guides who can take you on a day's trek or more to explore every corner of the park.

The beautifully built guest rooms are scattered among the trees, giving off an eco-friendly atmosphere for the nature-minded people who love the charm. Below the bar and restaurant is a winding path where all of the rooms have beautiful views and the superior rooms overlook the dramatic escarpment. Besides traditional Ethiopian food, Limalimo offers a large international cuisine for their guests and also caters to a range of dietary requirements.

Limalimo Lodge aims to promote sustainable tourism in the Simien Mountains National Park, and they demonstrate how responsible tourism can support conservation and sustainability for the park and the communities nearby. What I love is that you can venture outside the park and see the traditional life of the Amhara villagers of the Gondar region and how they tend their daily lives. You can stop at the local market and purchase handmade crafts like woven baskets, cups and bags. You can even join a coffee ceremony, see beer making and get a glance at how beekeeping is performed the traditional way.

Limalimo Lodge also has support from the African Wildlife Capital and, in partnership with the National Park, helped design the sustainable boutique lodge for Shiferaw and Meles. They both grew up in Debark by the park gates and became mountain guides who set up their own trekking companies that take hundreds of visitors to see the beauty of the national park. What I admire about the lodge's beauty both inside and out, is that it provides employment opportunities to more than 40 members of the local community, sources food from local producers and donates $10 per person per night to the African Wildlife Foundation to increase their conservation efforts in preserving what makes this area of Ethiopia a natural wonder to see and habitat to some of the most unique wildlife found anywhere on the planet.

This trip report is part of our ongoing series on travel to Ethiopia. In need of further inspiration? Check out Joshua Mahlum’s guide, Sustainable Guide Across Ethiopia.