5 Days Southern Ethiopian Tour

Fly to Addis Ababa, where you will be met at the airport. After a transfer to your hotel, enjoy a little down time by the pool, before taking your first steps into the city. The Italian-built Piazza sits next to famous markets and bustling streets. Nearby are the Grand Anwar Mosque and the Ragual Church. The Mosque and church are within a stone’s throw of each other, highlighting the peace between different religions in Ethiopia. Get lost in Mercato, the largest open air market in Africa. Its labyrinthine alleys are perfect for people watching or enjoying a coffee. Coffee ceremonies here are famous and a source of pride, be sure to try to experience this at least once on your trip!

Venture to the National Museum to see how it all started: meet Lucy, the 3.2 million year old fossilised skeleton here. Her discovery re-wrote the story of human evolution, as she was found to have walked on two legs. See the Holy Trinity Cathedral, famed for its copper dome and neo-baroque architecture. It houses the tombs of the former Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassi, and the British suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst. A short drive up Mount Entoto will take you to the Palace of Emperor Menelik II. From this vantage point, you have an excellent view of the city. On the way back to Addis, perhaps stop by Shiro Meda, the biggest garment market in the country, where hundreds of vendors line the busy Entoto Road and sell hand woven traditional cloths.

The next stop is Jinka in the Omo Valley. Jinka is a small market town which houses the South Omo Research Centre Museum. From here there is an optional expedition to the Omo National Park, a lesser-visited national park in Ethiopia, and home to incredible vistas. The park has a rugged, off-the-beaten-track appeal.

Over the next few days, you’ll be exploring the Omo Valley by road, and meeting many of the tribal communities that have lived here for millennia. Today, you will meet the Ari people.

Visit Mago National Park and the Mursi people. Drive (2.5 hrs) from Jinka to Turmi, en route visit Key Afar market. Optional ‘Evangadi’ dance and/or bull jumping ceremony if it coincides with your stay in Turmi. Note that the ceremony cannot be planned in advance, you have to be lucky to see it.   

The trip to Omo National Park will include a stop at one of Ethiopia’s most iconic communities: The Mursi people. The Mursi are famous for the lower lip-plates worn as decoration by the women, along with their traditional dress and ornate headdresses. The Mursi people are one of the few tribes who continue to wear traditional clothing and accessories.

This morning we visit the Karo people in Kolcho, well known for their body painting. They live along the bank of the Omo River, about 60 km from Turmi and 2.5 hours away by road.

Visit the Nyangatom people near the small settlement of Kangatan, not too far from Kolcho, on the other side of the Omo River. To reach Kolcho and Kangatan we have to cross the Kizoo river. Usually a dry riverbed, but not passable after heavy rain.

Drive about 70 km to Omerate on the east bank of the Omo River. This is the area where the Dassanech people live. Cross the Omo River by local canoe to visit one of their villages. We return to Turmi and continue to Dimeka (Saturday is the weekly market day). Mainly Hamar, but also Bashada and Banna people travel from far to attend the market.