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16 Days Ethiopian Omo Tribal Tour
Day 1: Arrival to Addis Ababa ”Late Evening”, once clearing through Customs & Immigration, you will be met at the exit gate for a transfer to your hotel. Addis Ababa, the name of the city, in Amharic, means «new flower». Founded in 1886 by Menelik II, it is located at 2,500 m (8202 ft) above sea level in one of the highest parts of the Entoto Mountain chain (3,000 m/9842 ft above sea level). Addis Ababa is a pleasant city with wide avenues of jacaranda trees, inter-esting museums and one of the largest open-air markets in Africa, known as the «Mercato». Overnight Hotel
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Day 1: Addis Ababa (2400m): Meeting at our hotel this morning ”Morning Arrivals”, there will be time to rest be-fore having lunch and an orientation tour around Ethiopia’s bustling capital, including the Trinity Cathedral and the Mercato, the biggest open-air market in Africa. We’ll have an early dinner at an excellent local restaurant tasting tra-ditional food and atmosphere. Overnight Hotel
Day 2: Addis – Jimma: Today we head off in 4WDs towards to the south-west into the Oromo region. Passing by Weliso Maryam church, known for its healing holy water, we 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 Hotel
Day 3: Jimma – Mizan Tafari: We start early in the morning with a visit to King Jaffa’s tin castle overlooking Jim-ma before driving further South West. Here we enter the heart of the Kaffa region where Kaffa and Bentch agricul-turalist live. The latter are known for applying elaborate murals to the exterior of their houses. We stop for lunch in Bonga before passing by the Wush Wush Tea plantation and finally reaching Mizan Tafari where we spend the night. Overnight Hotel
Day 4: Mizan Tafari — Kibbish: This morning we will get up early and take a walk in a traditional Bentch village. Then we head out passing through the Bebeka Coffee plantation – the largest in Ethiopia. Heading further south, we reach Dimma, an important transport hub for Suri and Nuer people. From here we enter Suri territory which is surprisingly lush and contains several ecological zones important to Suri lifestyle. We descend into the Kibbish area where we hope to spend the next three nights camping, Bargulo’s village of Regia. Camping
Day 5: In Kibbish Area: Spending the day in the area, there is an option to take a walk to Magologne holy water, visit a few villages and 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 we are lucky we may witness one of the fights. To Western observers it may appear harsh, but this ritualized form of violence is an essential component of Suri cultural practices. Camp-ing
Day 6: In Kibbish Area: We descend into the grazing land for Suri, 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 we come across a Sangine session – the afternoon may be left free to relax by the river, Camping
Day 7: Kibbish – Mui, Omo N.P. Head Quarter: This morning we say goodbye to our hosts and drive through Nyangatom territory on a rough dirt road after which we enter the remote but beautiful Omo National Park, looking at for game as we 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. Camping
Day 8: Mui – Omo River: This morning we pack and prepare for the 4-day river trip. Our main luggage will remain in the vehicles and we take only minimal belongings with us on the water. Driving deeper into the heart of the park, we finally reach the Omo River which forms the boundaries between Omo National Park and Tama Wildlife Re-serve. Today we say goodbye to our cars and drivers and meet our boat captains and rafts which will provide all our transport needs over the next 4 days. We will be camping next to a Mursi village tonight. Camping
Day 9: Omo River: Finally our river journey starts, Although our rafts will be familiar to anyone who has been “white-water” rafting, this journey is distinctly “brown-water” and the adrenaline rushes will come from the experi-ence of being on the river and stopping by villages, rather than the surge of the waters! As we slowly make our way down the Omo River on sturdy inflatable rafts with outboard motors, there will be plenty time to take in the scen-ery 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 we travel through today is dominated by the Mursi people who are culturally and linguistically interlinked to the Suri – both known for their lip plates. Camping
Day 10: Omo River: Continuing our rafting downstream, we hope to meet members of the Mugugi ethnic group along the river. Camping
Day 11: Omo Valley: Further downstream, we now enter the Nyangatom cultural sphere; another seminomadic pastoral society. Known to their enemies by the derogatory term ‘Bume’, 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 symbolizing 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 neighbor's. Tonight we hope to spend the night in a forested section on the edges of the Karo village of Dus. Camping
Day 12: Omo Valley — Murelle: Today is our final day on the river and depending on where we spent last night, we hope to take a walk in a Karo village this morning. The villages are located on the Eastern river bank. The Karo people number a mere 1500 and are culturally interlinked to the Hamer who dominates this part of the lower Omo Valley. After our visit we’ll continue on a short journey to Murelle Camp where we say goodbye to our boat cap-tains and will be met by our drivers, vehicles and main luggage. We make camp for a final night and hopefully look back with a sense of achievement on the past 4 days on the river. Camping
Day 13: Murelle — Turmi: We hope to 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 center of Hamer culture. It should be noted that this part of Southern Ethiopia is far more visited than the region we have just left behind. After many nights of camping we have a chance to unwind at a local lodge. Overnight Lodge
Day 14: Turmi – Arba Minch: Today we leave the Omo Valley and make our way to Arba Minch, a large town located at a comfortable 1500m above sea level and over-looking two Rift Valley lakes, namely Chamo and Abaya. En route we pass Karat-Konso, famous for its hardworking agriculturalists, the Konso, who farm on ancient ter-raced lands. Overnight Hotel
Day 15: In & Around Arba Minch: This morning you may choose to relax at the hotel overlooking the lakes. Al-ternatively you can take a drive to the Dorze village of Chencha. Speaking an Omotic language and settled in the hills above the lakes, Dorze people are renowned for their beehive-like house architecture and weaving tech-niques. In the afternoon we take a boat trip on Lake Chamo, part of Nechisar National Park, hoping to spot some of its famed wildlife, mainly hippos, crocodiles and prolific birdlife. Overnight Hotel
Day 16: Arba Minch – Addis Ababa: On our final day we have a long and beautiful drive along the top of the escarpment that runs parallel to the great African Rift Valley. We drive via Sodo and Hosanna through lush Gurage and Oromo villages. Towards the evening we arrive in Addis Abeba where we will enjoy a farewell dinner in one of the Ethiopian restaurants for cultural dinner and dances from the different ethnic groups. Then after transfer to the airport for flight back home or onward connection.
