Itinerary

Day 1: Addis Ababa

Ethioder Tour and Travel’s representative will greet you at exit of luggage claim outside of the main exit hall in the car parking area and transfer you to the hotel. You will have half day city tour and sightseeing tour of Addis Ababa, including Mount Entoto for the panoramic view of the city and old palace of Menelik, the national museum, and Trinity cathedral. Overnight stay will be at Magnolia Hotel.

Day 2: Addis Ababa to Arba Minch Via Butajira

In the morning at 7:00 am drive to Arba Minch via Butajira about 500 km for a seven-hour drive having a break in between with on the way visit like Tiya standing stone stelae. And overnight in Arba Minch at paradise or Haile Resort in Arba Minch (the best lodges in Arba Minch).

Day 3: Arba Minch Visits Including Dorze Villages

After breakfast around 8:00 am drive to Dorze villages to visit the Dorze tribes, a minority ethnic group known for its cotton weaving, carpentry and beehive huts. The huts, made entirely from local materials (bamboo, enset and other), reach up to two storey tall, even featuring fireplaces. In the afternoon you will take a scenic boat ride on Lake Chamo, located in the Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia, just south of Lake Abaya and Arba Minch. The plentiful Nile crocodiles in Lake Chamo are said to be some of the biggest in the world. The boat trip allows you to see the resident crocodiles, hippos, and numerous birds, especially African fish eagle. Lake Chamo is one of the best places in Ethiopia for boat-based bird and wildlife watching. And overnight in Arba Minch at paradise or Haile Resort in Arba Minch (the best lodges in Arba Minch).

Day 4: Arba Minch-Konso- Jinka (Omo Valley Tribes)

After breakfast around 7:00 am drive to Jinka about 240 km from Arba Minch for 3 and half hour drive. And on the way you will meet the agricultural tribe of the Konso, who cultivate cash and subsistence crops on terraces that reduce soil erosion. The Konso people have an interesting system of social hierarchy and practice a specific form of polygamy. The Konso are renowned for the carved wooden totems (called wakas) erected to mark the graves of leaders in honor of the dead and stopping in the market town of Key Afer, famous for its weekly market held every Thursday. The Key-Afer Market is a bustling place where various dwindling tribes of the Omo Region come together to sell and buy goods. Ari, Tsemai, Hamar and Benna people can be seen mixing in the colorful marketplace – a great place for people watching. And overnight in Jinka at Eco-Omo Lodge or similar.

Day 5: Mursi Village and Jinka (Mursi Tribe)

After breakfast you will embark on a day trip to Mago National Park, located about 34 km’s southwest of Jinka. Ethiopia’s youngest national park, Mago is famous for the traditional tribes living in and around the park – from Mursi, Aari, Benna and Hammer to Ngagatom, Karo and Kwegu ethnic groups. The best known of the tribes living in Mago are the striking Mursi with their distinctive body ornamentation (lip plates, piercings and facial painting). And overnight in Jinka at Eco-Omo Lodge or similar

Day 6: Jinka to Turmi (Hamer Tribe)

You will drive south to the next market town in the lower Omo Valley – Turmi about 160 km for two and half hour drive a large population of Hamer (or Hamar) lives in Turmi. Then you head to a nearby village to interact with these fascinating people. You watch traditional dancing, called Evangadi, in the Hamar village and see the elaborate hairstyles, body scarification and beads worn by the women. The Hamer are cattle herders and subsistence farmers, living in unique huts, mostly in the Omo Valley Region. The tribe is best known for its ceremony called the “Jumping of the Bulls”, a rite of passage for young men entering adulthood. If day six is a Tuesday or Saturday, you stop in Dimeka, the largest town of the Hamer, and visit the bustling market. One of the biggest and most interesting markets in the Omo Valley, the Hamer, Benna, Karo, Tsemai and Ari tribes can be seen trading and shopping here. Overnight at Buska Lodge or Emerald lodge.

Day 7: Turmi and Omorate (Desanech Tribe)

You will drive to Omorate some 75 km about an hour drive located along the eastern bank of the Omo River close to the Kenyan border. Crossing the Omo River by local boat you visit the Dasennech (or Dasennech) tribe living in the southernmost part of Omo Valley. As with other ancient pastoral tribes in the Great Rift Valley, the Dasennech place a high value on cattle, but unlike more northerly tribes the Dasennech survive in an inhospitable, dry environment. After visiting the Dasennech, you drive back to Turmi and overnight at Buska Lodge or Emerald lodge.

Day 8: Fly From Jinka to Addis Ababa

After breakfast around 7:00 am drive to Jinka about 160 km and arrive in Jinka around 10:30 am and will visit the South-Omo Museum, for cultural insights into the diverse ethnic groups of Omo Valley, their disappearing rituals, customs and ways. After having lunch, you be transferred to Jinka airport for your flight to Addis Ababa (Jinka to Addis flight is always in the afternoon). It will an hour flight and arrive in Addis Ababa. Then depending on your international flight, you will overnight in Addis or fly to your home country…