| Duration: | 14 Day(s) - 13 Night(s) |
| Tour Category: | Sailing Tours |
Day 01: Arrival and Visit Addis Ababa
Welcome! On your arrival at Bole International Airport, you will clear immigration and proceed to baggage claim, after collecting your checked bags, clear customs and pass through the arrivals hall where you will be met by an EXPLORING TOURISM tour guide or representative, who will assist you with your transfer to your hotel.
Depending on your arrival time, you will enjoy a half-day guided tour of the Ethnological Museum, with its artifacts and displays of the cultures and handicrafts of Ethiopia’s many ethnic groups. At the famous National Museum, with its cultural and archaeological relics, you will visit the famous “Lucy,” a 3.2 million-year-old female hominid who was discovered in Ethiopia’s Awash Valley in 1974.
The open-air market of Addis, the Mercato, is the largest on the continent, and you will take a drive through it. Time permitting; you may also visit Ba’ata Church, also known as Menelik’s Mausoleum, one of the oldest of the churches in Addis, built in 1911. It houses beautiful paintings and the royal tombs of past emperors, including Emperor Haile Selassie.
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Transportation: Land cruiser
Monarch Addis Hotel or Similar
Consultant note
You will drive 70 km and 6 hours’ drive time
Visiting places can be amended based on your needs to see.
Driving time will vary based on the stops we have
This day visit can commence based on your arrival time on Day 21/2022. If not we make it the following day.
Day 02: Drive Addis to Jimma
Today you head off in 4WDs towards the southwest 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.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Land Cruiser
Accommodation: Awetu Grand Hotel or Similar
CONSULTANT NOTE
You will cover approximately 375km 7-8 hours drive
Driving time will vary based on the stops we have
Day 03: Drive Jimma to Mizan Tafari
You start early in the morning with a visit to King Jaffa’s tin castle overlooking Jimma before driving further southwest. Here you enter the heart of the Kaffa region where Kaffa and Bentch agriculturalists live. The latter is 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.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Land Cruiser
Accommodation: Kashinin Hotel or Similar
CONSULTANT NOTE
You will cover approximately 235 km 5-6 hours drive
Driving time will vary based on the stops we have
Day 04: Drive 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 the Suri and Nuer people. From here you enter Suri territory which is surprisingly lush and contains several ecological zones important to Suri's lifestyle. You descend into the Kibbish area where (we hope) we spend the next three nights camping in the small village of Regia.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Land Cruiser
Accommodation: Basic Camping
CONSULTANT NOTE
You will cover approximately 175km 7-8 hours drive
Driving time will vary based on the stops we have
Day 05: Explore around the 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 ritualized form of violence is an essential component of Suri cultural practices.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Land Cruiser
Accommodation: Basic Camping
CONSULTANT NOTE
You will cover approximately 35km 5-6 hours trekking
Driving time will vary based on the stops we have
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 06: Kibbish 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 the 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.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Land Cruiser
Accommodation: Basic Camping
CONSULTANT NOTE
You will cover approximately 175km 7-8 hours drive
Driving time will vary based on the stops we have
Day 07: Rafting to Omo River
This morning you pack and prepare for your 4-day river trip. Your main luggage will remain in the vehicle 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.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Land Cruiser
Accommodation: Basic Camping
CONSULTANT NOTE
You will cover approximately 75km 7-8 hours drive
Driving time will vary based on the stops we have
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 at any given time.
Day 08: 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 of 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.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Land Cruiser
Accommodation: Basic Camping
CONSULTANT NOTE
You will cover approximately 65km in 7-8 hours rafting
Driving time will vary based on the stops we have
Day 09: Rafting in Omo River
Continuing your rafting downstream, we hope to meet members of the Mugugi ethnic group along the 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 symbolizing achievements in fights.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Land Cruiser
Accommodation: Basic Camping
CONSULTANT NOTE
You will cover approximately 75km 7-8 hours of rafting
Driving time will vary based on the stops we have
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 in inter-tribal disputes with their neighbors. Tonight you spend the night in a forested section on the edges of the Kara village of Dus. Overnight Wild Camping.
Day 10: 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 dominate 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.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Land Cruiser
Accommodation: Camping or Lodge in Murelle
CONSULTANT NOTE
You will cover approximately 175km 7-8 hours drive
Driving time will vary based on the stops we have
Day 11: Murelle to Turmi – Dassench
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 center of Hamer culture. Then you will drive 73 km west to visit the Dassench /Geleb/ people; who inhabited the bank of the Omo River we cross the Omo River by locally made boat to see the village these tribes are semi-nomadic with very little agriculture on the bank of the Omo River.
You will drive back to Turmi in the afternoon. 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.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Land Cruiser
Accommodation: Buska Lodge or Similar
CONSULTANT NOTE
You will cover approximately 275km 7-8 hours drive
Driving time will vary based on the stops we have
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 12: Exploration drives around Turmi
Turmi is a small Hamer tribes town, the Hamer is one of the most known tribes in Southern Ethiopia. They inhabit the territory east of the Omo River and have villages in Turmi and Dimeka areas. Tourists visit the hammer 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 stands 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 Evangady 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 the Bull-jumping ceremony.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Land Cruiser
Accommodation: Buska Lodge or Similar
CONSULTANT NOTE
You will cover approximately 75km 5-6 hours drive
Driving time will vary based on the stops we have
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 13: Drive to Arba Minch
In the morning start driving to Arba Minch. On the way stop at KONSO to visit the Konso tribe with their king- a UNESCO-registered site for their extensive terracing and practice of making wooden grave markers for their hero and kings.
Invariably built on hilltops as protection from the lowland tribes, traditional Konso villages are surrounded by high stonewalls and encompass separate compounds, with outlying terraced agricultural fields. You will be fascinated by the unique architectural aspects, largely unchanged cultural heritage and social cohesion of the village, and how it has adapted to its harsh environment.
Another highlight is the famous 'wagas' - a funerary tradition where magnificent carved wooden sculptures were created in honor of Konso warrior heroes who have killed an enemy or animal and are often grouped to represent the man, his wives, and his adversaries. After lunch, we arrived at Lake Chamo.
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 where the crocodiles go out of the lake and chill, there is no buying or selling, also you will see hippos and different kinds of birds.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Land Cruiser
Accommodation: Paradise Lodge or Similar
CONSULTANT NOTE
You will cover approximately 275km 7-8 hours drive
Driving time will vary based on the stops we have
Day 14: Visit Dorzy Tribes and drive to Lake Addis Ababa
After breakfast drive to Dorzy village, these people set high up in the Gughe Mountains where we see the traditional Dorzy beehive-shaped huts recognized as one of the visually attractive structural houses. After that start driving back to Addis, on the way visit Tiya, which is known for the 10th century's adjacent archeological site, which is distinguished by 36 standing stones or steals "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 listed as a world heritage by UNESCO. Overnight Hotel in Addis Ababa.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Land Cruiser
Accommodation:
CONSULTANT NOTE
You will cover approximately 475km 7-8 hours drive
Driving time will vary based on the stops we have
End of Tour!!!
NB: The tour program can be modified differently, rearranged, combined with other itineraries, and shortened or extended to suit your interests, time, and budget. Up on request EXPLORING TOURISM ETHIOPIA can arrange various tour programs based on your interest.
