Our years of experience and extensive network of local partners can help you build your dream trip from the endless possibilities of Ethiopia. We’ll talk through your ideas, give you some suggestions, set it all up and advise on travel, kit and preparation, so that you get the Ethiopian adventure you’ve always wanted.
Ultimate Ethiopian Tours
Transportation
Flight and Drive
Duration
11 Days/10 Nights
Accommodation
Hotels and Lodge
Day 1.
Arrival, Voyage to Harar
Upon Arrival at Bole international Airport, you will be directly connected to your domestic flight to Dire Dawa. Then, you will be picked up by our representative and visit Dire Dawa, best known to be the mosaic of culture and the museum of people as most cultures from around the country, and culture of the French, the Bulgarian, the Greek, the Armenian and the Indian are displayed in this remarkable city with the diverse architectural style of the buildings. Late in the afternoon, drive to Harar and spend the night at your Hotel.
Overnight: stay at Heritage Plaza Hotel or similar, Harar.
THINGS TO DO
Stylish Buildings, Cultural Museum
Day 2.
Harar city tour
Stroll through the 16th-century walled city of Harar, the fourth most important city in the Islamic World. See the home of Arthur Rimbaud, a renowned French poet who worked and lived in Harar as a “gun-runner” during the 19th century. You will also visit the colorful Islamic market, the Harari museum and the house of Ras Mekonnen (father of Haile Selassie.) In the evening, see the “Hyena Man” feeding the hyenas that gather nightly outside the town.
Overnight: stay at Heritage Plaza Hotel or similar, Harar.
THINGS TO DO
Market, Harari museums, Hyena Man
Day 3.
Explore Babile and the Valley of Marvels
The Valley of Marvels has wonderful landscapes, famous for its balancing rock formations. You’ll spend some time there going on short hikes and learning about the geology. Next, you will explore the town of Babile, which has a very large market on Saturdays and a camel market on Mondays and Thursdays. You’ll have time to explore the city at your leisure and explore all the hidden corners of this magical place. At the end of the day, you will return to Harar and rest in preparation for a final day of excitement.
Overnight: stay at Heritage Plaza Hotel or similar, Harar.
THINGS TO DO
Babile
Day 4.
Drive to Zway
After breakfast, you will drive to Ziway.
Overnight: stay at Haile Resort or similar, Ziway.
Day 5.
Drive to Awassa
In the morning after breakfast, drive to Hawassa. Hawassa is a bustling Ethiopian town in the heart of the Great Rift Valley. Visit the beautiful city of Hawassa, Tour Lake Hawassa, enjoy boat rides, bird, and of course, Ethiopian prepared fish by the lake. Then proceed to Wondo Genet, a recreational center built for the royal family members of Emperor Haile Selassie I. Here you will take a bath in natural thermal. Late in the afternoon, drive back to Hawassa to relax and enjoy viewing a beautiful sunset.
Overnight: stay at Haile Resort or similar, Ziway.
THINGS TO DO
Lake Hawassa and Bird Watching
Day 6.
Proceed to Arba Minch via Dorze Village
Drive to Arba Minch, En route, you will stop at Dorze Village to see the Dorze People, Popularly known as Ethiopia’s expert weavers and renowned builders of towering huts. They are among the most lively ethnic groups of the famous Omo Valley tribe. Their hut is made up of hardwood poles, woven bamboo, inset, and other natural materials. These huts can stand up to two stories tall and can last up to 80 years. You can find a fireplace, a seating area, and bedrooms inside the main hut. Smaller huts include guest houses, a workshop, a kitchen, and even cattle shed. When their huts are attacked by termites, they can easily remove it from its foundation and relocate it. This shortens the height of the hut but it also allows it to last much longer. Then, continue to Arba Minch and spend the night at the beautiful Lodge.
Overnight: stay at Haile Resort or similar, Arba Minch.
THINGS TO DO
Dorze Village
Day 7.
Drive to Turmi
After Breakfast, drive to the Konso small town, where the people wear colorful costumes, and use their steep land through impressive terracing; through annual wooden grave marks, they express their status. Their three-story community house called Mora is impressive; all the young boys above 12 years old stay there every night inside till they marry. – Have lunch in Weyto and continue driving to the Arbore tribe, who are pastoralists (livestock farmers). They believe that their singing and dancing eliminates negative energy and with the negative energy gone, the tribe will prosper. The women of the tribe cover their heads with a black cloth and are known to wear very colorful necklaces and earrings. Young children wear a shell type hat that protects their heads from the sun. The Abore use natural colors made from soil and stone for their Body paint. Traditional dancing is practiced by the tribe and wealth is measured by the number of cattle a tribesman owns. Finally, drive to Turmi overnight.
Overnight: stay at Buska Lodge or similar, Turmi.
THINGS TO DO
Konso, Arbore Tribe
Day 8.
Nyangatom and Karo
Early morning, depart from Turmi to the village of Kangatan. Here you will cross the Omo River and take a short walk through the local fields to visit a village of the Nyangatom tribe. After the visit, return across the river and proceed to the Karo village of Korcho, with a stunning location lookin over the Omo River. The Karo people, while the smallest tribe of the Omo Valley in number, are also known to be the most decorated. After the visit, return to Turmi for another opportunity to see Jumping of the Bulls.
Overnight: stay at Buska Lodge or similar, Turmi.
THINGS TO DO
Nyangatom, Karo
Day 9.
Excursion to Omorate
After breakfast, Cross Omo River to visit the Dassanech tribe. The First time, in the Omo Valley, travelers witnessed Ethiopia’s many ethnicities and cultural traditions. The Southern Cultural Route takes travelers to the heart of the most remote tribes, whose animist beliefs strike a chord with the true African experience. In the afternoon drive to Hammer people who have a bull-jumping ceremony; This ceremony is a transformation for young boys from young to adulthood; During the ceremony, you see the real Hamer traditional dance called Evangadi; and also the women from the jumper’s family are being beaten by his friends to show their love to the Jumper and that he is ready for adulthood.
Overnight: stay at Buska Lodge or similar, Turmi.
THINGS TO DO
Dassanech Tribe and Hamer Tribe
Day 10.
Drive to Jinka Via Bena Tribe
After breakfast, start driving to Jinka Via Bena Tribe. Just like most of the indigenous tribes in the lower Omo Valley, the Bena practice ritual dancing and singing. The men often have their hair dressed up with a colorful clay cap that is decorated with feathers. Both the men and women wear long garments and paint their bodies with white chalk. Women of the tribe wear beads in their hair that is held together with butter.
Overnight: stay at Nasa Pension or similar, Turmi.
THINGS TO DO
Bena Tribe
Day 11.
Explore Mursi tribe and fly back to Addis Ababa
Drive to Mago National Park to visit the Mursi people in their village. The Mursi are well known for the large clay discs their women wear inserted in their lower split lip. The Mursi women start cutting their lips between the age of 12 and 16 and thereafter, they put small wooden plugs into the hole and change it every night with the bigger one to stretch the lips till it can hold a 6 inch (15cm) round clay disc. The Mursi men wear very little, although a cotton wrap is becoming more common now. Then, Transfer to Jinka Airport and fly back to Addis Ababa
THINGS TO DO
Mursi Tribe