Tribes of Omo

What's included?

Guides, transportation, accommodation, breakfast, water.

Private Trip

Cost: from $3318 per person based on two people sharing.

 

An extraordinary journey to meet the tribes of the rural Omo Valley and experience a way of life that is rich with ritual, heritage and celebration. 

Travel through the Omo Valley in southern Ethiopia, home to around 200,000 people living across eight tribes. Discoveries here, including fossils and stone tools, are significant to the history of humankind.

Starting with a tour of the highlights of the bustling Addis Ababa, you’ll drive south into a fertile landscape where life centres around the Omo River. You’ll meet some of oldest cultures in Africa, each with their own traditions and techniques developed over centuries to survive and thrive in this challenging environment.

01
Omo Valley
Addis
Visit Lucy in the National Museum, Mt. Entoto, Shola Market and Holy Trinity Cathedral and enjoy a delicious Ethiopian lunch. A good chance to learn a few words of Amharic.
02
Omo Valley
Addis to Arba Minch
Drive into the fertile and pastoral south, stopping for lunch, coffee & photos along the way to Arba Minch.
03
Omo Valley
Omo Valley: Lake Chamo
Look out for hippos and crocodiles on Lake Chamo this morning. Meet one of the 12 Dorzena tribes, famed for their unique elephant-shaped huts.
04
Omo Valley
Konso & Turmi
On the way to Turmi, explore the Konso 'paletas'. Each hill is strategically chosen for and further defended by encircling walls of stone.
05
Omo Valley
Dassanech & Hamer Tribes
Cross the Omo by boat to the villages of the semi-nomadic Dassanech, living in six small villages along the river. Meet the Hamer in the afternoon, known for their bull jumping initiation ceremony and 'evangadi night dance'.
06
Omo Valley
Karo & Market Day
Famous for their face and body painting and elaborate hairstyles and headdress, the Karo tribe live along the shores of the Omo River. Afterwards drive to Jinka, stopping on the way at a local market.
07
Omo Valley
The Mursi Tribe
Perhaps the best known tribe are the Mursi. Known especially for the clay lip-plates used by women and donga stick fighting, the Mursi live in one of the most isolated regions of the country.
08
Omo Valley
Jinka to Addis
The Ari are one of the more modern tribes in the Omo Valley. Spend the rest of the morning in R&R before the return flight to Addis.