9 Days Omo Valley Tribes Tour

Trip duration: 9 days.

Introduction

The Lower Omo Valley is a unique and captivating location in southern Ethiopia. The people who live there make the Omo Valley unique. You will come across communities here belonging to a variety of fascinating and interesting ethnic groups.
The Lower Omo Valley is a large area of dry savanna that is bounded by the Omo River, a vital resource for all the tribes, many of which are found along the river. For millennia these legendary Omo valley tribes have inhabited the valley. Due to the discovery of prehistoric human remains dating back 2.5 million years as well as the Omo Valley’s cultural and historical significance, UNESCO designated it as a World Heritage Site.

Highlights:

Travel to Addis Ababa, the continent’s diplomatic hub.
Tour Chencha’s Dorze Village.
Take a boat trip on Lake Chamo
You will meet Dozens of Omo Valley Tribes.
Take in the Konso tribes’ communal lifestyle.
Visiting Kayafer on Thursday and Dimeka Saturday Market
Visiting Mago National Park to learn about the Omo Valley Mursi Tribe.
Experiencing the Hamer and Karo tribes’ cultures
A local boat travels across the Omo River to visit the Dassenech people.
Visit the archeological sites of Tutu fella and Tututi.
Watch the hyenas being fed at Yirgalem.

Please keep in mind that the dates of the tribal markets in the area were taken into consideration when planning this cultural tour. Therefore, the tour should start on Tuesday in order to attend date-specific markets of the tribes of the Omo valley.

Itinerary

Arrival in Addis Ababa
If you arrive at Bole International Airport after midnight, an Omo Valley Tours/King Dawit Tours representative will greet you and drive you to your hotel to spend the night.

Day 1: Addis Ababa (African Diplomatic City) sightseeing.

Breakfast will be served in the hotel restaurant, which will provide European cuisine.
Then take a journey to Entoto, which served as Ethiopia’s first capital before Addis Ababa. The palace of Emperor Minilik II, the museum, and St. Merry Church will all be visited.
Then back to Addis. Before lunch, you’ll go to the Ethnological Museum, which is housed in Haile Selassie’s former palace.
Lunch will be served at the restaurant, and you will taste Ethiopian coffee at Tommoca, the best coffee shop in town.
The National Museum, one of the most prominent Sub-Saharan African museums, is included in your afternoon visit. The museum houses the fossilized humanoid Lucy, as well as an incredible collection of relics, royal treasures, and artwork.
The fascinating architecture of Ethiopia’s largest Orthodox Church, Holy Trinity Cathedral, which has endured through numerous historical eras, attests to its survival. The thrones and tombs of the Emperor and part of the royal family are housed in the cathedral.

The nights will be spent in hotels.

Day 2: Fly from Addis Ababa to Arba Minch (ADD-AMH), and then spend the afternoon visiting the Dorze Village.

Following a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, transport will take you to Bole International Airport in preparation for your scheduled flight to Arba Minch to start your Omo Valley tribes tour.
Our team will greet you in Arba Minch and transport you to the hotel for check-in.
Lunch can be served before or after the day trip.
Drive to Chencha for Dorze people by using a 4X4 car; visit several Dorze villagers in the Guge Mountains.
The Dorze are an ethnic group most renowned for their excellent weaving and beehive-shaped bamboo huts. If the foundation gets infested with termites, the entire house can be raised and relocated.

After that, return to the lodge/hotel/resort for dinner and overnight.

Day 3: Lake Chamo boat ride and drive to Jinka, Attend the Thursday market at Keyafer while you’re traveling.

After a quick breakfast, you will enjoy a boat ride on Chamo Lake to see the largest African crocodiles, hippos, and so on.
Then proceed to Jinka to explore the Tsemay and Bena peoples and to visit the villages of those Omo valley tribes.
If today is Thursday, you will go to the spectacular Key Afer market.
Key Afer, a small village in the Lower Omo Valley, hosts a large tribal market once a week where three distinct tribes buy and sell. The market attracts members of the Tsemai, Hamer, and Bena tribes.

In Jinka, you’ll spend the night in a hotel, resort, or lodge.

Day 4: Adventure Tour to the Mursi Tribes and then to the Jinka Museum. Finally, proceed to Turmi.

An early morning drive through Mago National Park’s vast wilderness to visit the Mursi tribe and their villages.
At Mago National park you will be admired by a variety of animals and birds specious.
Mursi women are well known for wearing large clay plates on their lower lips.
Then head back to Jinka for lunch. Before heading to Turmi, you’ll visit the Jinka’s ethnological museum.

Proceed to Turmi for dinner and an overnight stay at a hotel, lodge, or resort.

Day 5: Excursion to Omorate in the morning; visit the Dasenech Tribe in the afternoon. Participate in the Saturday Dimeka Market in Turki.

After breakfast, travel 73 kilometers west to the Dassench/Geleb people who reside on the Omo River’s bank.
You will cross the Omo River in a locally crafted boat to see the hamlet. These tribes are semi-nomadic and do modest agriculture along the Omo River’s banks.
Then return to Turm for lunch before traveling to Dimeka for the DIMEKA Saturday market.
There will be a vibrant market at Dimeka today as it is Saturday. You will encounter the colorful Hamer, Karo, and Dassenech people on their way to a trading system that is both modern and traditional. This lively weekly market occasionally attracts members of other tribes.
Try walking from the lodge to the hamlet late in the afternoon to meet the Hamer tribe and learn about their way of life.
Our guide will notify you if there is a tribal event, such as bull jumping.

Dinner and stay in a hotel/lodge/resort in Turmi.

Day 6: Visit the Caro (Karo) tribes in Korcho before returning to Turmi to visit the Hamer tribes.

After breakfast, travel to Korcho to meet the Karo tribes and explore their hamlet.
They are famous for their body painting (they prepare the ink for the painting from locally available materials like flowers, soil, and animal blood).
You will also enjoy the magnificent view of the Omo River from the village’s outskirts.
Drive back to Turmi, take a lunch break, and rest (optional).
Late afternoon walk from the lodge to other HAMER tribal villages.

Dinner and overnight in a hotel/lodge/resort in Turmi

Day 7: Visit Turmi’s Monday market before driving to Konso (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). Then visit Konso.

Today you will attend the Monday market in Turmi, the largest Omo valley tribal market, to meet the Hamers and neighboring tribes in a much more decorated manner than on previous occasions.
After that, drive to “Konso,” a Konso settlement. After a late lunch, go sightseeing.
The Konso are well known for their old and distinctive terracing, unusually engraved wooden statues, and Konso grave markers. By terracing the hill slopes for intensive crop cultivation and irrigation, the consolidation created a one-of-a-kind cultural landscape. The unusual interaction between man and nature was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 2011.

The night will be spent in a hotel or lodge.

Day 8: Travel from Yabello to Yirgalem by car, visiting the Tutu Fella stelae field on the way.

After breakfast, drive to Yirgalem via Yabello (366 km from Konso).
You’ll see landscapes and the towns of Yabello, Dublock Village, Singing Wells, and Elsod along the way (Salt House).
Lunch will be served at the nearest available restaurant in Yabello. And proceed to Yirgalem.
Visit the Tutu Fella stelae field on the way to Wenago, a one-of-a-kind collection of carved stones.
Arrive at Yirgalem after passing through fertile land primarily cultivated by the Sidamo people with banana and coffee plantations.
The hyenas appear near the lodge at Aregash Lodge, feasting on people, so you can see them up close.

The lodge will be your home for the night and dinner.

Day 9: Travel from Yirgalem to Addis Ababa, with a stop in between at Awassa to attend the fish market. Evening Farewell Dinner – Night Departure

Drive to Awassa after breakfast to view the fish market on the shores of Lake Awassa. Then proceed to Addis Ababa, where you will deposit your luggage and enjoy a nice shower.
Lunch in Addis Ababa can be on the way or at a later time.
You can spend the rest of the day at your leisure or spare time shopping.
Furthermore, in the evening, you will be our guest for a farewell supper at one of Ethiopia’s traditional restaurants, complete with folkloric dance.
Departure flight back to your home

Then it will be time to depart from this lovely country, with its amazing history, wonderful culture, friendly faces, and stunning landscapes. You will undoubtedly have many amazing impressions. Transfer to Bole International Airport for your return flight.

–The 9-day Omo Valley Tribes Tour has come to an end

If you would like to book Omo Valley Tours from Jinka you can book our five days Omo valley tribes tour.