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Ethiopia - Omo Valley & Cultural Tour
Visit: Addis Ababa-Arba Minch-Jinka-Turmi-Konso
This Ethiopian adventure begins and concludes in Addis Ababa
Our first destination is the Lower Omo Valley which has been recognized by UNESCO, which has declared it a cultural World Heritage site. It also contains two expansive national parks and several Important Bird Areas. This vast, scenic valley is however most famous for its staggering cultural diversity. Over a dozen distinctive ethnic groups exist here, many of whom live lives little touched by the modern world. This is largely due to the area’s remoteness and prior near-inaccessibility, forming a natural barrier to modernization and the detribalization of the Omo Valley. Our tour aims to spend time with the Dorze, Konso, Arbore, Hamar, Benna, Karo, Ari and Mursi tribes (all now justly famous for their dress, body adornments and unique culture) and we will also encounter other tribes when visiting market villages. In addition, we will of course take time to enjoy the spectacular scenery and wildlife of this remote and fascinating region.
Arrival into Addis Ababa, meet your local English Speaking Guide and transfer to the hotel
Later in the afternoon Meet your English Speaking Guide and end enjoy a city tour of Addis Ababa.
We will visit the National Museum also called the Archaeological museum that houses interesting archaeological featuring which includes "Lucy," the 3.2-million-year-old hominid skeleton considered the missing link in the evolutionary study of mankind.
Proceed to the Ethnographic museum, which displays a very large collection of Ethiopian crafts and items of historical interest.
Return to the hotel.
Evening at leisure.
O/N: Golden Tulip Addis Ababa 4* (BB) Standard Room
Breakfast at the hotel.
Meet your English Speaking Guide and transfer to the airport.
Today we fly to Arba Minch
Arba Minch is a city and separate woreda(are the third-level administrative divisions of Ethiopia) in southern Ethiopia; the first common name for this city was Ganta Garo. Located in the Gamo Gofa Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region about 500 kilometers south of Addis Ababa, at an elevation of 1285 meters above sea level.
Arrival and transfer to the hotel
Enjoy lunch at the hotel.
Later in the afternoon a drive to Chencha to see the Dorze tribes and their village.
The Dorze are well known cotton weavers, the Dorze tribe were once warriors. They are famous for their cotton woven cloths and beehive huts.
Admire the wonderful view of Lake Abaya and Chamo
Lake Abaya is a lake in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. It is located in the Main Ethiopian Rift, east of the Guge Mountains. The town of Arba Minch lies on its southwestern shore, and the southern shores are part of the Nechisar National Park. Just to the south is Lake Chamo.
O/N: Haile Resort Arbaminch 4* (BB) Standard Room
Early morning breakfast
Meet your English Speaking Guide and drive to lake Chamo for early morning boat excursion to see the Crocodile Market and the Hippos.
Here crocodiles are some of the longest in Africa , With length of 8 and also above meters.
Then drive to Jinka
Jinka is a market town in southern Ethiopia. Located in the hills north of the Tama Plains, this town is the capital of the Debub Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region currently Jinka is the center of Jinka town administration
Enroute to Jinka visit the Konso, Tsemay and Ari tribes. Cross the weito Dessert which is the home of the Tsemay tribes
Arrive at the hotel.
Rest of the day at leisure.
O/N: Eco Omo Lodge 4* (BB) Standard Room
Breakfast at the hotel.
Meet your English Speaking Guide and head to the Mago National Park.
Enter Mago National Park to visit the Mursi people and their villages.
The Mursi are a Nilotic pastoralist ethnic group in Ethiopia. They principally reside in the Debub Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region, close to the border with South Sudan
Here for beauty, women of the Mursi insert round clay plates in their lips. The men practice scarification based on the number of enemies or wild animals they have killed in battle.
Enjoy lunch and drive to Turmi and visit the Hamer tribes and their village
Ethiopia, Hamer Tribe. Assile, young Hamer woman in Key Afer, Ethiopia - Photo: John Kenny. The Hamer, or Hamar, are an Omotic community inhabiting southwestern Ethiopia. They inhabit the territory east of the Omo River and have villages in Turmi and Dimeka.
O/N: Paradise new lodge Turmi 3* (BB) Standard Room
Breakfast at the hotel.
This morning We're going to Murulle to meet with the tribe Karo, whose members are known for their adorn bodies with which the various patterns and scars.
Afternoon you will visit the beautiful market of the hamer tribes if today is Monday or Tuesday and after the market, if you are lucky you will see the bull Jumping ceremony around Turmi. If today not market day, we will visit one of the Hammer village, their way of life and activities
O/N: Paradise new lodge Turmi 3* (BB) Standard Room
This morning we will rise early and drive to the edge of the Omo River.
We will cross the river by canoe to the villages of the Dasanech tribes (a motor boat or a ferry maybe available but is not guaranteed).
The Dasanech are a semi-nomadic tribe numbering approximately 50,000. Their clans stretch across Sudan, Kenya and Southern Ethiopia. They are known for their very unique and ornate hair buns.
Enjoy Lunch in Turmi and further drive to Konso for over night.
O/N: Kanta Lodge 3* (BB) Standard Room
Breakfast at the hotel.
This morning visit the Konso village which is one of the world heritage sites of UNESCO.
Enjoy Konso - GargesieNear the village lies a giant cleft, within which many rock formations resembling the outline of their forms in New York.
Further drive to Arbaminch to catch the flight back to Addis.
Transfer to attraction site of St. George cathedral and Museum
Commissioned by Emperor Menelik II to commemorate his stunning 1896 defeat of the Italians in Adwa, and dedicated to St George (Ethiopia’s patron saint), whose icon was carried into the battle, this Piazza cathedral is one of Addis' most beautiful churches. The grey stone exterior is easily outdone by the interior’s flashes of colour and art. Sections of ceiling glow sky-blue and boast gilded stars, while the outer walls of the innermost shrine are covered in paintings and mosaics by the renowned Afewerk Tekle.
The church, built in traditional octagonal form and with a severe neoclassical style, was completed in 1911 with the help of Greek, Armenian and Indian artists. Empress Zewditu (in 1916) and Emperor Haile Selassie (in 1930) were both crowned here.
In the grounds just north of the cathedral is the museum. It’s included on the church admission ticket, is well presented and contains probably the best collection of ecclesiastical paraphernalia in the country outside St Mary of Zion in Aksum. Items include beautiful crowns, crosses, prayer sticks, holy scrolls, ceremonial umbrellas and the coronation garb of Zewditu and Haile Selassie.
O/N: Golden Tulip Addis Ababa 4* (BB) Standard Room
Breakfast at the hotel.
Meet your English Speaking Guide and enjoy a city tour of Addis with a drive up north to Mount Entoto for the panoramic view of the city, proceed to visit the Trinity Cathedral, the largest and most revered of all the churches, which was built in 1941. Another visit of Merkato which is said to be the biggest market in Africa.
Enjoy Lunch followed by a transfer to airport to catch your afternoon flight
