This 8-day tour explores Omo Valley, Mursi Village, Hamar Village, Karo Village, Dassanech Village and Nyangatom Village. It is designed for travelers interested in historical, cultural, religious, wildlife experiences, combining important attractions with well-paced sightseeing and local discovery. The itinerary includes church visit, historical site visit, cultural experience and wildlife watching. Wildlife sightings may include Menelik’s Bushbuck, Nile Crocodiles and Ostriches.
Day 1: Arrival and Addis Ababa City Tour
You will be met upon arrival from your international flight and after breakfast, begin your exploration of Addis Ababa with visits to some of the city’s most iconic historical, cultural, and religious sites. The day includes the following highlights:
Entoto Maryam Church: Located on the Entoto Hills, this is one of the oldest Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo churches, built in 1877 by Emperor Menelik II. The church features traditional Ethiopian architecture with octagonal domes. Inside, you’ll find a collection of royal artifacts, including Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taytu’s crowns, ceremonial garments, their royal bed, and a mirror gifted to the Empress by Queen Victoria. Entoto Hills: At an elevation of 2,900 meters above sea level, the Entoto Hills offer a stunning panoramic view of Addis Ababa. This area, once the capital before the city moved to its current location, holds great historical and spiritual significance. Ethnological Museum: Situated within the main campus of Addis Ababa University, this museum is housed in the former palace of Emperor Haile Selassie. It offers a deep insight into Ethiopia’s diverse cultures, with exhibits covering anthropology, music, and traditional life. It is also recognized as the first university museum in Ethiopia. National Museum of Ethiopia: One of the most important museums in sub-Saharan Africa, it showcases Ethiopia’s rich archaeological heritage. Here, you will find the world-famous fossil remains of Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis), as well as Selam, a remarkably complete child hominid fossil estimated to be 3.3 million years old. Merkato: Conclude your day with a visit to Africa’s largest open-air market. Established during the Italian occupation in the late 1930s, Merkato spans several square miles and hosts over 7,000 businesses. It offers a dynamic experience of the city’s daily life, where you can find everything from spices and textiles to handmade crafts and electronics. Overnight in Addis Ababa.
Day 2: Drive Addis Ababa to Hawassa
After breakfast, you will drive to Hawassa. On the way you have a chance to visit
Abijatta-Shalla National Park
It contains 887 square kilometers including Abijatta and Shalla two alkaline lakes. The habitat of Abijatta-Shalla National Park contains open grasslands, dry savannas, arid shrub lands and that were dominated by Acacia trees, which include umbrella thorn acacias, red acacias and gum acacias. You will see Grant’s gazelles, Common Warthogs, the park is also home to 300 species of birds that are listed as endemics, residents, and migratory. Common Ostriches and Somali Ostriches are mostly common for their breeding. Overnight in Hawassa.
Day 3: Drive Hawassa to Arba Minch
After breakfast, you will visit Hawassa Lake, 16 km long and 9 km wide, with a surface area of 129 square kilometers. It has a maximum depth of 10 meters and is located at an elevation of 1,708 meters. The local Fish Market and different kinds of bird watching at Amora Gedele After lunch you will drive to
Dorze people who are expert in weaving called Shammas Weaving are a primary profession for a number of Dorze people. The shape of their house looks Elephant, in order to remember the existence of these animals around the area many years ago. They are known for their traditional weaving of huts made out of local bamboo. Enset “fake banana” is the stable food for these peoples. Overnight at hotel/lodge.
Day 4: Drive Arba Minch to Konso
After breakfast, you will take a boat cruise on the
Lake Chamo, the third biggest Lake in Ethiopia you will have a boat trip to see the crocodiles, hippos & aquatic bird species. The northern shores of Lake Chamo are famous for its large crocodiles, which can be seen in numbers lounging in the heat. The lake is about 32km long and provides a lush wetland habitat for many species of flora and fauna. Visit and proceed southwards to
Konso village, one of the UNESCO site in Ethiopia know by their terracing in order to protect against soil erosion from the sporadic and often heavy rainfall in the region. The villages are encircled by one to six concentric rings of stone walls, mainly consisting of basalt boulders. The age of each town is classified by a generation pole and each family lives in compounds that are accessible only through gateways that require the visitor to enter on all fours thereby rendering any potential attackers vulnerable. One of the best types of coffee for the country is also from this village. Overnight in Konso.
Day 5: Drive Konso – Arbore – Turmi
After breakfast, you will drive to Arbore tribe, that living near Lake Chew bahir in hot and flat areas and mainly cattlemen. They are speaking their own language Arbore which is from the omotic language family. The Arbore men can have multiple wives with his first wife chosen by his father. Most Arbore children have shaved heads with the older girls often wearing a black cloth draped over their heads to protect from sun as well as a visual tradition to indicate they are unmarried virgins. Later drive to Turmi
Hamar people, distinguished by the fact that their women wear leather skirts decorated with shells, wear several copper bracelets on their hands and heavy iron necklaces around their necks, symbolizing their social status, and their hair is colored with ocher and animal fat. Men, in case of victory over the enemy or a dangerous beast, fix the hairstyle with clay and decorate with ostrich feathers. This hairstyle is carefully guarded the Hamar sleep with a special borkotos chair under their neck. they are also known for their unique custom of “bull jumping,” which initiates a boy into manhood, practice of body adornment and wearing a multitude of colorful beads. Overnight in Turmi.
Day 6: Drive Turmi – Kangaten (Nyangatom tribe) – Karo tribe – Turmi
This morning, we continue through the savannah with shrubs and umbrella acacia trees.
Kangaten (Nyangatom tribe) To adore their long and lean bodies, the Nyangatom women wear numerous necklaces and long Skirts from goatskins that are richly decorated They are indeed fierce warriors which is supposedly demonstrated by their custom to scar their chest; one scar for each killed enemy. Herds of cows are their most valuable property. Later drive to Kolcho, the village of
Karo people at the eastern bank of Omo River with beautiful views, Karo are famous for their intricate face and body painting practices, which they apply on their heads and torso before major events and on the weekly markets. Karo is the smallest tribes of the Omo Valley and Karo men also sculpts and shave their hair into extravagant shapes, with special ochre “caps” of hair usually containing several ostrich feathers. Then back to turmi for lunch and proceed to the Overnight in Turmi.
Day 7: Drive Turmi – Omorate – Jinka
After breakfast, you will drive to Omorate crosses the Omo River to visit the
Dassanech tribe only 72 Km from Turmi, Dassanech are traditional pastoralists, but in recent years began to move to a semi-nomadic way of life. The highest expression of male beauty is the vulgar transverse scars across the entire chest and back, resembling crocodile skin. Such scars are inflicted on a body of the warrior who showed himself heroically in battle, who killed the enemy in course of tribal cattle raids. After lunch you will drive to Key Afer to visit the
Mursi village, the Mursi women, like their Surma cousins, live on the other bank of the Omo River, are famous for their large round (and not only) lip plates worn by women. There are several theories of the wearing of lip plates: disfiguring to prevent enslavement by Arabs in antiquity; protection against the penetration of evil spirits into the body through the mouth; determination of social status, showing the amount of cattle that the groom must pay as a dowry for the bride owning the plate. Mursi are unsurpassed masters of scarification. The scars on their bodies symbolize social status and past merits. The scars are created by using a razor blade and camel thorn. To achieve a bulge, an ash or a fly larva is planted in the wound, which, among other things, eliminates all possible infections. Later drive to Jinka. Overnight at hotel/lodge.
Day 8: Visit Ari Village and Fly to Addis Ababa
After breakfast at the hotel you will visit
Ari people, the largest population in the lower omo valley, their traditional territory stretches from the northern edge of Mago National Park to the highland areas around Jinka and Key Afer, The women wear skirts from the banana like tree, called Enset are expert in pottery, blacksmith and distillation of traditional liquor. After lunch you will drive to airport your flight to Addis Ababa.
