Essential itinerary of the Rift Valley and Omo tribes with one internal flight. We will travel by 4×4 cars and stay in good-range lodges, or possibly mid-range hotels are available too. It’s an interesting program for who has short time but is interested in both Omo valley tribes and Rift Valley lakes.
VISITED PLACES
Abiata Shala Park: one of the most interesting park in Ethiopia, there is the possibility to spot fauna and beautiful landscapes.
Dorze: expert farmers, Dorze are famous for the peculiar architecture of their elephant –shaped huts, but also for the refining process of the false banana flour.
Lake Chamo: offers an unforgettable boat trip that gives the chance to spot fauna such as African crocodiles, hippos and a big variety of avifauna.
Markets: markets in South Ethiopia are not just a place for buying and selling, but also a place for an intense social life, ideal location to observe the members of the different tribes in an informal context.
Mursi: the most famous and ostentatious tribe in the Omo Valley, thanks to the women habit of deforming the lower lips with small plates.
Dessanech: With our private boat we will reach the most remote Dessanech villages in the Omo delta, where we can discover a more authentic and natural relation with this tribe.
Hamer: Mostly shepherds, they are well known for the beauty and care of their clothes and for the spectacular ancestral ceremonies.
Konso: great farmers, the tireless Konso have literally carved out the unique landscape with terraces and canals, so that Unesco has declared it Human Heritage Site.
Dorze village
crocodile lake Chamo
Hamer’s market in Dimeka
Kara woman
Dessanech,the tribe of the river
ITINERARY
1- Addis Ababa-Langano: visit of Abiata Shala Park, lodge
2- Langano-Arba Minch: visit of Dorze, lodge
3- Arba Minch- Jinka: boat trip on Lake Chamo, market, lodge
4- Jinka- Turmi: visit of Mursi, market, Lodge
5- Turmi: boat trip on Omo delta, Lodge
6- Turmi – Konso: visit of Konso. Lodge
7- Konso –Arba Minch- Addis Ababa: flight to Arba Minch, and then connection to international flight
PERSONALIZATIONS AND EXTENSIONS
It is possible to personalize this itinerary by adding one day in Turmi to fully enjoy the warm Hamer hospitality and have more possibilities to attend to one of their ceremonies, by adding one day in the Rift Valley to visit Sidamo tribe around a fascinating eco-lodge or by extending the boat trip on Lake Chamo up to Nech Sar park to spot also zebras.
We also suggest the following extensions:
Essential tour in the North of Ethiopia with internal flights that allows to travel in a fast and comfort way the big distances that separate the monumental sites, realising the trip in the chronological direction. [...]
Five days extension that allows you to visit the ancient Muslim city of Harar and its surroundings, with the colorful variety of its people. An essential impression for those interested in all shadows of the [...]
Four days extension that allows to visit the most important national park in the South of Ethiopia, that in a high mountain environment preserves a huge variety of avifauna and endemic flora, and also the [...]