Omo Valley: Cultures of the South

Today you travel south into the Great Rift Valley toward Arba Minch, either by an internal flight or a scenic drive past a string of lakes, farmland and escarpments, watching the landscape and cultures change as you go. Arba Minch, whose name means Forty Springs, sits dramatically on a ridge between the twin lakes of Abaya and Chamo, at the edge of Nechisar National Park. On arrival you take a boat trip out onto Lake Chamo to the famous Crocodile Market, a stretch of shoreline where enormous Nile crocodiles bask in numbers, and watch for hippos wallowing in the shallows and a wealth of pelicans, storks and other waterbirds, all framed by forested hills. You settle into your lodge with sweeping views over the lakes. Rest well in Arba Minch, gateway to the cultures of the south.

Today you climb into the cool, misty highlands above Arba Minch to visit the Dorze people, famous throughout Ethiopia for their weaving and their extraordinary architecture. In their mountain village you marvel at the towering beehive-shaped huts, woven from bamboo and false-banana leaves and rising several metres high, and learn how a whole hut can be moved when termites attack its base. You watch skilled weavers at their looms producing the fine cotton cloth the Dorze are renowned for, see how bread and other staples are made from the false-banana plant, and sample local honey wine and freshly roasted coffee amid warm hospitality and grand views over the Rift Valley lakes far below. The ingenuity and artistry of this settled highland culture are fascinating. Returning to Arba Minch in the afternoon, rest well ahead of the drive deeper into Omo country tomorrow.

Today you drive south and west deeper into the Omo region, bound for Turmi in the heart of Hamer country. En route you stop in the land of the Konso, whose dramatic terraced hillsides and fortified stone-walled villages form a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape; you explore a traditional village, learn how the Konso have farmed these steep slopes ingeniously for centuries, and see their intriguing carved wooden memorial statues that honour the dead. Continuing across increasingly remote, scrubby lowland savanna, the landscape and peoples grow ever more traditional. You may pass Hamer people walking to and from wells and markets in their distinctive dress. Arriving in Turmi in the late afternoon, you settle into your lodge in the bush. This evening, over dinner under the stars, your guide explains the culture and customs of the Hamer. Rest well in Turmi, deep in the Omo Valley.

Today you immerse yourself in the cultures around Turmi, beginning with a visit to a Hamer village, where you meet the ochre-adorned women in their beaded finery and iron arm coils, see the domed thatched huts, and learn about the pastoral life, rituals and customs of these proud cattle-herders. If your timing is fortunate, you may be able to attend the extraordinary bull-jumping ceremony, a coming-of-age rite full of song, dance and drama. Later you drive to the bluffs above the Omo River to visit the Karo, the celebrated body painters of the valley, who decorate their faces and torsos with intricate white chalk patterns and elaborate clay hairstyles, set against sweeping river views. Your guide ensures every encounter is respectful and fairly arranged. Returning to your lodge, rest well in Turmi after a rich day among the peoples of the Omo.

Today you journey to meet the Mursi, among the most traditional and famous of all the Omo peoples, driving deep into the bush of Mago National Park along rough tracks that are an adventure in themselves, watching for wildlife along the way. In a Mursi village you encounter this proud cattle-herding people, the women known worldwide for the decorated clay lip plates that mark identity and beauty, the men as fierce ceremonial stick-fighters. The meeting is powerful and thought-provoking, and your guide ensures it is conducted with respect and fair arrangements. Emerging from the bush, you continue to Jinka, the lively regional highland town, market hub and home of a small museum devoted to the peoples of the south. You settle into your accommodation in town. This evening, reflect on a remarkable day. Rest well in Jinka among the hills of the Omo.

This morning, timing permitting, you visit one of the region's vibrant rotating tribal markets, such as Key Afer, where Hamer, Banna, Ari and other peoples gather in their finery to trade cattle, grain, honey, beads, pots and tools in a riot of colour, sound and social life, one of the most authentic and rewarding experiences of the whole journey. You may also visit an Ari village to see their farming, pottery and blacksmithing, a settled people quite different from the pastoralists. You then begin the scenic drive back north out of the Omo lowlands toward Arba Minch, the landscape gradually greening as you regain the Rift Valley, arriving in the late afternoon. Settling back into your lodge above the lakes, you can reflect over dinner on the extraordinary peoples you have met. Rest well in Arba Minch on your final night in the south.

After a final breakfast overlooking the Rift Valley lakes, you fly or drive back to Addis Ababa, where you connect with your onward international departure, or extend your journey to explore the historic north or the mountains. You leave having experienced one of the most culturally rich and diverse regions on Earth, meeting the ochre-adorned Hamer, the body-painting Karo of the Omo River, the lip-plated Mursi of the bush, and the settled highland cultures of Dorze and Konso, alongside colourful tribal markets and the crocodile-filled Rift Valley lakes. These encounters, always approached with respect, offer a rare and thought-provoking window into ways of life that are both ancient and rapidly changing. The vivid images of the peoples and landscapes of the Omo stay with you long after you fly home. Depart moved and enriched by your journey through southern Ethiopia.