East of Debark the land does something that plateau country is not supposed to do: it stops. The Simien escarpment drops away in vertical cliffs of well over a kilometre, a wall of basalt carved by millions of years of erosion into pinnacles, buttresses and gullies, and the view across it is among the great ones in Africa. The viewpoints strung along the park track, with names like Sankaber, Geech and Imet Gogo, each give a slightly different angle on the same astonishing void.
Getting there is a gravel ride rather than a tarmac one. The park road from Debark is unpaved, rocky in places and rutted after rain, and at heights of three thousand metres and above, a loaded bike works hard. Pace yourself and keep an eye on the weather. Afternoons can bring cloud and sudden cold, and the dry months from late autumn to early spring give the clearest views. Rules apply: you pay park fees at the gate, and guides or scouts are normally expected when you leave the vehicle track.
The wildlife is the other half of the reason to come. Gelada baboons, sometimes called bleeding-heart monkeys for the red patch on the chest, graze in huge troops along the cliff edges, shuffling across the grass on their haunches and ignoring human visitors with a grandeur that most aristocrats could not match. They are the last grass-eating primates in the world. With luck you will also see the walia ibex, with its heavy curved horns, perched on the ledges, and lammergeier vultures riding the updraughts at eye level.
The air is thin and clean, the grass pale gold, and giant lobelias poke up in the high ground like strange candelabras. Local farmers still work the lower slopes, so you will pass shepherds and children offering to sell you handmade trinkets. At night the temperature can drop close to freezing, and the stars are staggering. Bring layers, and if you can, stay a night.