7 Days Omo Valley Tribes Tours

Embark on a 7-day Omo Valley Tribes tour, starting with a city tour in Addis Ababa. Visit Mount Entoto for panoramic views, explore the National Museum, and experience the bustling Merkato market. These stops introduce Ethiopia’s rich culture and history.

Travel south to explore Abijatta-Shalla National Park, home to diverse wildlife, including gazelles and over 300 bird species. Spend the evening in the lakeside city of Hawassa. The journey continues to the Dorze village near Arba Minch, where you’ll discover unique bamboo houses and traditional weaving.

In Arba Minch, take a boat cruise on Lake Chamo to see Nile crocodiles and hippos before visiting the terraced landscapes of Konso, a UNESCO World Heritage site. From there, delve into the cultures of the Karo, Hamer, and Nyangatom tribes, celebrated for their body art, scarification, and ceremonies.

Experience the Dassanech tribe through a boat ride on the Omo River and visit the Mursi people, famous for their lip plates and cultural traditions. Conclude this immersive Omo Valley Tribes tour with a farewell cultural dinner in Addis Ababa, celebrating Ethiopia’s diverse heritage.

Day 01 Arrival and Addis Ababa City Tour

You will meet upon arrival from  international flight and you will begin sightseeing of Addis with our first stop to Entoto Maryam Church; it’s one of the oldest Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Churches on the Entoto Hills. It was built in 1877 by Emperor Menelik II characterized by octagonal domes. Several royal artifacts of the emperor and empress also found in this church  including some traditional costumes of the crowns, their royal bed, jewels owned by the royal family, and a mirror presented by Queen Victoria to Empress Taytu. Our second stop Entoto Hills for a panoramic view of Addis with an altitude of 2900 MASL. Our third stop drive to Ethnological Museum houses anthropological, musicological and cultural objects. The Ethnological Museum is the first university museum in Ethiopia. The Museum is located in the main Campus of Addis Ababa University which houses the Institute of Ethiopian Studies and it was the former palace of Emperor Haile Selassie. Our Fourth stop Descend down and drive to National museum, it contains many precious local archaeological finds such as the fossilized remains of early hominids, the most famous of which is “Lucy,” the partial skeleton of a specimen of Australopithecus Afarensis. Recently added to the basement gallery is a display on Selam, found between 2000 and 2004. This archaic fossil is estimated to date to 3.3 million years ago. Our fifth stop drive to Merkato, established by the Italian around 1937 it’s a large open-air marketplace in Africa, Covering several square miles and employing an estimated 13,000 people in 7,100 business entities.

Overnight Aya Addis Hotel Addis Ababa

Day 02 Drive Addis Ababa to Hawassa

After breakfast we will drive to Hawassa. On the way you have a chance to visit Abijatta-Shalla National Park. It contains 887 square kilometers including Abijatta and Shalla two alkaline lakes. The habitat of Abijatta-Shalla National Park contains open grasslands, dry savannas, arid shrub lands and that were dominated by Acacia trees, which include umbrella thorn acacias, red acacias and gum acacias. You will see Grant’s gazelles, Common Warthogs, the park is also home to 300 species of birds that are listed as endemics, residents, and migratory. Common Ostriches and Somali Ostriches are mostly common for their breeding.

Overnight Hawassa Haile resort/Similar

Day 03 Drive Hawassa to Arba Minch

After breakfast you will visit the local Fish Market and different kinds of bird watching at Amora Gedele After lunch you will drive to Dorze village. Dorze people who are expert in weaving called Shammas Weaving are a primary profession for a number of Dorze people. The shape of their house looks Elephant, in order to remember the existence of these animals around the area many years ago. They are known for their traditional weaving of huts made out of local bamboo. Enset “fake banana” is the stable food for these peoples.

Overnight Haile Resort Arba Minch/Similar

Day 04 Drive Arba Minch – Konso – Turmi

After having your breakfast you will take a boat cruise on the Lake Chamo, the third biggest Lake in Ethiopia. On the Lake you may have a chance to see the Nile crocodiles, hippos and different types of birds. Visit and proceed southwards to Konso village.one of the UNESCO site in Ethiopia know by their terracing in order to protect against soil erosion from the sporadic and often heavy rainfall in the region. The villages are encircled by one to six concentric rings of stone walls, mainly consisting of basalt boulders. One of the best types of coffee for the country is also from this village. Later drive to Turmi Hamer village.

Overnight Paradise Lodge in Turmi/Similar

Day 05 Drive Turmi – Karo – Turmi

This day you will drive to Murulle where you can find the Karo people.  Karo People is very famous for their splendid body decoration, which they paint their bodies and faces with white chalk to prepare for a ceremony. The women scar their chest believing it makes them beautiful. The men’s scars represent an enemy or dangerous animal killed. Visit and proceed to Nyangatom people, 17 km away from the Murulle area. To adore their long and lean bodies, the Nyangatom women wear numerous necklaces and long Skirts from goatskins that are richly decorated. Then back to turmi for lunch and proceed to the Hamer people. The Hamer they are known for their unique custom of “bull jumping,” which initiates a boy into manhood, practice of body adornment and wearing a multitude of colorful beads. The men of the tribe will often style their hair with clay, creating a sculpture of sorts that is styled with various pigments, mostly red and white, and in smoothing the clay they create very small protruding tube in which they house ostrich feathers from their hunts.

Overnight Paradise Lodge in Turmi/Similar

Day 06 Drive Turmi to Jinka

After breakfast you will drive to Omorate to visit the Dassanech tribe only 72 Km from Turmi then you will have a boat ride excursions on the Omo River to visit the Dassanech people (people of the Delta) who lives on the northern shore of Lake Turkana. Visit and drive back to Turmi for lunch. After lunch you will drive to Ari people, the largest population in the lower omo valley. The women wear skirts from the banana like tree, called Enset are expert in pottery, blacksmith and distillation of traditional Liquor.

Overnight Eco Omo Lodge Jinka

Day 07 Drive Jinka –Mago –Jinka and Fly to Addis Ababa

After breakfast at the hotel, take a day trip to Mago National Park to explore Mursi village, immersing in the Mursi culture known for their distinctive lip plates and scarification practices. The lip plates may symbolize social status and historical practices to deter enslavement. The Mursi also use scarification to indicate social standing, employing traditional methods to create and treat the scars. Afterward, return to Jinka airport for your flight to Addis Ababa, where you’ll enjoy dinner at a traditional Ethiopian restaurant featuring live music before transferring to Bole International Airport for your flight home.