Duration: 15 days Ethiopia's Lower Omo Valley, part of The Great Rift Valley, is tricky to get to but rewards the intrepid traveller with hidden gems that you simply won't find anywhere else in Africa.
Tribal life in the Omo is practically unchanged from a thousand years ago and the contrast with, for example, the Kikuyu people in neighbouring Kenya, is startling. Traditional Konso villages, the Hamer people's "Jumping of the Bulls" festival, and the Mursi's amazing lip-plates: Ethiopia will surprise even the most experienced traveller.
Ethiopia is extreme: the dry barren desert of Afar; the Biblical land of Punt; monolithic churches around Lalibela and Gondar in the north-east; mountain ranges of Bale and the Simien; and Lake Tana, source of the Blue Nile. The Omo river meanders for nearly 1,000km all the way to Kenya and passes Ethiopia's largest, wildest and most inaccessible national park, Omo NP: a park that is so remote that there's no tourist infrastucture and very few travel companies are able to arrange visits. If you want an extreme safari experience, you just found it!
July and August are the wettest months; but Ethiopia is really a "12 month" destination. June to September is when many festivals take place such as the famous bull-jumping rite of passage - featured on Bruce Parry's BBC "Tribe" series.
Days 1-3: Addis Ababa & Arba Minch
Addis Ababa is a portal to another world - an ancient and mystical one of adventure and wisdom. After a day visiting the sights of Addis we head South to Nechisar National Park - one of the most scenic and yet least visited national parks in East Africa
Read more... Day 01 Addis Ababa
Arrive in Addis Ababa and transfer to your hotel. A city tour of Addis Ababa is planned for the rest of the day and will include visits to Mount Entoto which rises up to an altitude of 3200 meters and offers a fabulous panoramic view of the metropolis below, the National Archaeological museum, Ethnological Museum at Addis Ababa University, St. George’s Cathedral where Haile Selassie was crowned Emperor.
Day 02 Addis Ababa to Arba Minch
Early in the morning we drive to Arba Minch visiting the Tiya stelae cluster on route. Admire the fantastic views along the way and we'll stop to interact with the Wolayta people in their villages and learn about their culture and their cultivation of the false banana tree (from which roots they extract their traditional bread, the Kotcho). We continue on to Chencha to visit the Dorze people and village with their Bee-Hive like tubules and traditional weaving culture for which they are famous, strange houses and learn about the cultivation of sorghum and the false banana. You will have spectacular views over the Chamo and Abaya lakes with bright afternoon sunlight.
Day 03 Arba Minch
Visit the Nechisar National Park which is home to 91 mammal species including warthogs, baboons, colobus monkeys and zebra as well as over 300 bird species. Visit Lake Chamo by boat trip to see Crocodiles, Hippos and Pelicans.
Tiya Stelae Cluster Days 4-6 Mago National Park
Mago National park is home to the Mursi - with a population of around 8000 the Mursi famous traditions include the fierce stick-fighting between the men, and the lip plates worn by the women. Made of clay and up to 15cm in diameter, the plates are inserted into a slit seperating the lower lip and jaw.
Read more... Day 04 Arba Minch - Jinka
Morning drive to Jinka visiting Konso people in their village, which are famous for the terracing agriculture, and have a very particular way of life and traditions; if its a Thursday we visit the very colorful Key Afer village market of the Tsemay & Erbore.
Day 05 Jinka
Enter into the Mago National park, admiring different animals and birds on the way; and proceed to visit the Mursi people and villages.
Day 06 Jinka - Murulle
Drive to Murulle, visit Karo tribe. With a population of about 1500, the Karo are thought to be the Omo Valley's most endangered group. Inhabiting the Omo's eastern bank, many of these traditional pastoralists have now turned to agriculture after disease wiped out their cattle. the Karo are considered masters of body painting, particularly when preparing for a dance, feast or celebration.