Ethiopia, a land of natural contrasts, from the tops of the rugged Simien Mountains to the depths of the Danakil Depression, at 120 meters below sea level one of the lowest dry land points on earth surely will never fail to amaze.

Here comes another bucket list checkbox – Omo Valley, place where multi-ethnic diversity is expressed freely. The people of southern Omo Valley attract special attention with regards to their tribal decorations, body painting, lip plates and piercing. Each tribe, despite living in the same geographical proximity, cultivates different traditions and customs, making it quite difficult to choose which one of them we should actually witness. In this next edition of tribes exploration we are coming up with the selection of most interesting and accessible spots.

Lets go!

Day 1 / Departure + JINKA

Night flight Dubai – Addis Ababa and connecting flight to Omo Valley.
Short rest and quick look at Jinka, markets and the diversity of the main city of Omo Valley. Overnight in Jinka lodge.

Day 2 / KARA

Drive to Kara area with some stunning views on the way. Our destination is a spectacular cliff at the bend of Omo River, where Karo village is located. Karo decoration is very specific with lots of chalk paintings all over their bodies. Accompanied by kids, we will take a walk along Omo River and admire its beauty. We may spot some fish eagle and crocodiles, hunting at the shores. Overnight camping at Karo.

Day 3 / HAMER

Hamer Tribe – the most populated amongst the Omo Valley inhabitants, located between Aldouba, Keyafer and Turmi. Very specific neck and hair decoration will not misguide you anymore – Mad Max costumes have had its inspirations here.

The Hamar are known for their unique ceremony of “bull jumping”, which initiates a boy into manhood. First, female relatives dance and invite whipping from men who have recently been initiated; this shows their support of the initiate, and their scars give them a right to demand his help in time of need. The boy must run back and forth twice across the backs of a row of bulls or castrated steers, and is ridiculed if he fails.

Bull jumping ceremony is not made for tourists, although presence is allowed. We ll need to be lucky to witness it – its not happening everyday. We may adjust the program if the ceremony happens on one of trip days.

Day 4 / BENA

Move to Bena area, visit one of the villages and make friends with its inhabitants. In the afternoon proceed to Mursi. If we have enough time, we ll take a short hike across the bushes to spot zebras and antelopes.
Overnight at Mursi.

DAY 5 / MURSI – LIP PLATE TRIBE

Our final destination will be Mursi tribe, famous for ceramic discs inserted into lips.

The lip plate, also known as a lip plug or lip disc, is a form of body modification. Increasingly large discs (usually circular, and made from clay or wood) are inserted into a pierced hole in either the upper or lower lip, or both, thereby stretching it. Among the Mursi people of the lower Omo River valley in Ethiopia, about 6 to 12 months before marriage, a young woman has her lip pierced by her mother, usually at around the age of 15 to 18. After the wound has healed, which takes between two and three weeks, the peg is replaced with a slightly bigger one. At a diameter of about 4 cm, the first lip plate made of clay is inserted. Every woman crafts her own plate and takes pride in including some ornamentation. The final diameter ranges from about 8 cm to over 20 cm. After having enough time visiting mursi tribe culture and talking enough photography, we’ll proceed driving back to jinka and have lunch in jinka. After lunch we’ll drive to konso, the tribes very famously known for their hard working and beautiful landscapes, afternoon konso village and terraces visiting registered under world heritage cite, overnight kanta lodge.

Day 6/ LAKE CHANO – CROCODILES – HIPPOS AND BIRDS.

– early morning after breakfast we drive 90km to Arbaminch to visit African nile crocodile about 6 -7m , 6 km before arriving to arbaminch, we go to lake chamo (Nech sar national park). to see hippos, Nille crocodile and bird species at lake chamo. After lake Chamo tour we drive to arbaminch and have lunch together and drop you at Arbaminch airport. Therefore the trip ends!

Flight back to Addis and further back to home.