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Tour Details

Day 1, Activity Addis to Jimma

  • Today you head off in 4WDs towards to the south-west into the Oromo region. Passing by Weliso Maryam church, known for its healing holy water.
  • Drive towards the Gibe River gorge before reaching Jimma.
  • This is the beginning of the Kaffa region which stretches south of the city and it believed to be the home of the Arabica coffee bean. It remains Ethiopia’s main coffee growing area and many farmers still make their living from the coffee plantations which dot the landscape.
  • Overnight in Hotel

Day 2, Activity Jimma to Mizan Tafari

  • You start early in the morning with a visit to King Jaffa’s tin castle overlooking Jimma before driving further South West.
  • Here you enter the heart of the Kaffa region where Kaffa and Bentch agriculturalist live. The latter are known for applying elaborate murals to the exterior of their houses.
  • Stop for lunch in Bonga before passing by the Wush Wush Tea plantation and finally reaching Mizan Tafari where you spend the night.
  • Overnight in Simple Hotel

Day 3, Activity Mizan to Kibbush

  • This morning you get up early and take a walk in a traditional Bentch village. Then head out passing through the Bebeka Coffee plantation – the largest in Ethiopia.
  • Heading further south, you reach Dimma, an important transport hub for Suri and Nuer people. From here you enter Suri territory which is surprisingly lush and contains several ecological zones important to Suri lifestyle. You descend into the Kibbish area where (we hope) we spend the next three nights camping at the small village of Regia.
  • Overnight Wild Camping

Day 4, Activity Explore around Kibbush area

  • Spending the day in the area. There is an option to take a walk to Magologne Holy Water and visit a few villages en-route. You will perhaps meet Arbula a former master of Sagine (stick fighting).
  • Sagine takes place when food is plenty and rain is scarce. Several teams from different villages compete against each other and the competition culminates in announcing an overall master. If you are lucky you may witness one of the fights. To Western observers it may appear harsh, but this ritualised form of violence is an essential component of Suri cultural practices.
  • Overnight Wild Camping.

Remark: it should be noted that the vast majority of foreign visitors to Southern Ethiopia arrive in villages by 4WDs and focus on taking photographs. The aim here is to arrive on foot and focus on learning and visiting before photography. This way we hope to avoid parts of the problems arising from tribal tourism which has begun to plague some of the more visited areas.

Day 5, Activity Explore around Kibbush area

  • You descend into the grazing land for Suri cattle and stop at Koko to take a walk and visit the local school. In addition, if there are cattle in the area, there should be time to visit the herders and perhaps witness how they tap the livestock for blood.
  • Depending on whether you come across a Sangine session – the afternoon may be left free to relax by the river, visit the village or just do some laundry.
  • Overnight Wild Camping.

Day 6, Activity Kibbush to Omo National Park

  • This morning you say goodbye to your hosts and drive through Nyangatom territory on a rough dirt road after which you enter the remote but beautiful Omo National Park. You look out for game as you drive towards the park’s headquarters at Mui.
  • On arrival, there should be time for a wash and perhaps a drive to the grazing land of the Nyangatom people, a hot spring area and perhaps spot a few antelope species.
  • Overnight Wild Camp.

Day 7, Activity Rafting to Omo River

  • This morning you pack and prepare for your 4-day river trip. Your main luggage will remain in the vehicles and you take only minimal belongings with you on the water.
  • Driving deeper into the heart of the park, you finally reach the Omo River which forms the boundaries between Omo National Park and Tama Wildlife Reserve.
  • Today you say goodbye to your cars and drivers and meet your boat captains and rafts which will provide all your transport needs over the next 4 days. Provided that the people have not moved on, you may be camping next to a Mursi village tonight.
  • Overnight Wild Camping

Remark: The starting and the end point of the 4 day river trip depend on the water-flow of the Omo River. This can vary greatly from year to year and therefore the exact itinerary over the next 4 days remains dependent on the state of the river at the time. In essence this means that the overnight stops during the river trip as well as the suggested ethnic groups we visit, are flexible as it is not possible to predict who will be where any given the time.

Day 8, Activity Rafting in Omo River

  • Finally your river journey starts in earnest... On your sturdy inflatable rafts with outboard motors, this journey is distinctly “brown-water” and the adrenaline rushes will come from the experience of being on the river and stopping by villages, rather than the surge of the waters.
  • As you slowly make your way down the Omo River there will be plenty time to take in the scenery and indulge in the remoteness of this amazing region. Several ethnic groups inhabit this area and the itinerary is left intentionally free to allow maximum flexibility in this most unpredictable part of the country.
  • The area you travel through today is dominated by the Mursi people who are culturally and linguistically interlinked to the Suri – both known for their lip plates.
  • Overnight Wild Camping.

Day 9, Activity Rafting in Omo River

  • Continuing your rafting downstream, we hope to meet members of the Mugugi ethnic group along the river.
  • Overnight Wild Camping.

Day 10, Activity Rafting in Omo River

  • Further downstream, you now enter the Nyangatom cultural sphere; another semi- nomadic pastoral society. Known to their enemies by the derogatory term ‘Bume’ (the smelly ones), the Nyangatom are proud cattle-herders. Cow’s blood and milk form a major part of their diet and they are traditionally known for body scarifications and elaborate hairstyles symbolising achievements in fights.
  • The Nyangatom people are very much affected by climate change related to environmental issues (loss of grazing, food shortages and lack of water) as well as being engaged with inter-tribal disputes with their neighbours. Tonight you spend the night in a forested section on the edges of the Kara village of Dus.
  • Overnight Wild Camping.

Day 11, Activity Rafting in Omo River

  • Today is your final day on the river and depending on where you spent last night, you may get to take a walk in a Kara village this morning. The villages are located on the Eastern river bank. The Kara people number a mere 1500 and are culturally interlinked to the Hamer who dominates this part of the lower Omo Valley.
  • After your visit you’ll continue on a short journey to Murelle Camp where you say goodbye to your boat captains and will be met by your drivers, vehicles and main luggage. You make camp for a final night and get to look back with a sense of achievement on the past 4 days on the river.
  • Overnight Camping or Lodge in Murelle

Day 12, Activity Murelle to Turmi

  • You begin the morning with a walk in the bush dotted with acacia and desert rose trees before heading into Turmi, a small town and the centre of Hamer culture. It should be noted that this part of Southern Ethiopia is far more visited than the region you have just left behind.
  • After many nights of camping you have a chance to unwind at a local Lodge.
  • Overnight camping or Lodge in Turmi

Day 13, Activity: Exploration drives around Turmi

  • Turmi is a small Hamer tribes town, the Hamer are one of the most known tribes in Soutern Ethiopia. They inhabit the territory east of the Omo River and have villages in Turmi and Dimeka areas. Tourists visit the hamer hoping to see a traditional leaping ceremony called “Bull jumping” it is a ceremony when a boy is pronounced “man” after proving his capacity to jump 5 up to 13 cattle’s stand in a row and the day includes a special event in which a woman shows her appreciation for the bride groom by letting the boys whip them with a stick until they bleed. At night the day is called off after a colorful party with Evan Gady dance (night dance).
  • If the days are Monday, Tuesday or Saturday we will have a chance to see colorful Market day and as well as Bull jumping ceremony
  • Overnight camping or Lodge in Turmi

Day 14, Activity: drive to Turkana and back to Turmi

  • In the morning drive to Dassench village around Lake Turkana: this tribe lives just north of Kenya's Lake Turkana. Their neighboring tribe is the Turkana people. The Daasanech are pastralists (cattle herders), but due to the harsh territory, they have moved south to grow crops and fish. Cattle are used by the tribesman for meat, milk and clothing. Often their cattle die from disease and drought. Of all the tribes in the Omo Valley, the Daasanech are the poorest.
  • Overnight camping or Lodge in Turmi

Remark: it should be noted that the vast majority of foreign visitors to Southern Ethiopia arrive in villages by 4WDs and focus on taking photographs. The aim here is to arrive on foot and focus on learning and visiting before photography. This way we hope to avoid parts of the problems arising from tribal tourism which has begun to plague some of the more visited areas.

Day 15, Monday Activity Drive to Arba Minch

  • In the morning start driving to Arba Minch, after we get there you will take a boat trip in Lake Lake Chamo, to visit the crocodile market, it is a local name for a place in Lake chamo that the crocodiles went out of the lake and chill, there is no buying or selling, also you will see hippos and different kinds of birds.
  • Overnight Hotel or Lodge in Arba Minch

Day 16, Activity: Visit Dorzy Tribes and drive to Lake Langano

  • After breakfast drive to Dorzy village, This people set high up in the Gughe Mountains where we see the traditional Dorze beehive shaped huts recognized as one of the visually attractive structural houses by the UNESCO
  • After the village drive to Lake Langano, here you can relax swim in the Lake.
  • Overnight Lodge or Camping in Langano

Day 17, Activity: Relax around Lake Langano and Drive to Addis Ababa

  • After breakfast relax around lake Langano and after start driving back to Addis, on the way visit tiya, is known for the 10th centuries adjacent archeological site, which is distinguished by 36 standing stones or steal "32 of which are engraved with enigmatic symbols, notably swords," marking a large, prehistoric burial complex. The archeological site was designated a World Heritage Site in 1980 also it listed as world heritage by UNESCO.
  • Overnight Hotel In Addis Ababa

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