At breakfast we meet our guide for a pre- safari briefing before driving south towards Debre Zeit/Nazareth to the Oromia Rift valley region. We pass large farms of Teff which is the grain to make “Injera” the Ethiopian bread. We will have our lunch in Ziway and may have an opportunity to visit the winery.  After passing through the Rift Valley lakes of Langano and Abijata we arrive in the afternoon at Shashamene for Dinner and Overnight at the Haile Resort and undertake a guided town walk – which is also called the Jamaika of Ethiopia, because of the Rastafarian settled there under the reign of Haile Selassie.

Accommodation:  Haile Resort

Driving: 250 Km

Activities: Vinery visit, guided town walk

Mealplan: B L D

After an early breakfast. A long drive takes us further south to Yabello, the capital of the Borana community. They are pastoralist and are mainly engaged in livestock farming. In their lands, water is a very scarce commodity, and to obtain it, they dig wells in the earth to which they descend forming human chains with which they extract the water. When they carry out this task, they sing and form the so-called “singing wells”.  They are spread all the way to North Kenya and Somalia. We arrive in time for lunch and visit a Borana Homestead in the afternoon. Dinner and overnight will be at the Yabelo Hotel

Accommodation:  Yabelo Hotel

Driving: 320 Km

Activities: Borana Homestead

Mealplan: B L D

El Sod, the House of Salt, is a village located 90 km away from Yabelo. It is a spectacular geological formation.  The crater was by a collapse of a volcanic explosion. In the center of the carter is a black lake from where salt is harvested, brought up the steep carter walls with donkeys – a spectacular site. For centuries, men dive into the lake to collect the salt and sell it across Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. We can opt to descend the steep walls which takes about 1 hour. The return is quite strenuous and take 2 hours. We also can simply watch the spectacle from the rim.  We return for lunch to Yabelo and drive in the afternoon to Konso for dinner and overnight at the Kanta Lodge

Accommodation:  Kanta Lodge

Driving: 330 Km

Activities: Salt harvesting at El Sod

Mealplan: B L D

Today we drive further south to banks of the Omo River. We leave the highlands and drive to the plains around Mago and Omo National Park. The Omo River provides water for various wildlife species and various ethnic groups who have kept their traditional way of life for centuries.  Our first stop is the market in Key Afer where we will also our lunch.  After the market visit where the different ethnic groups exchange their wares and display their traditional clothing we proceed to Jinka for dinner and Overnight at Omo Eco Resort.

Accommodation:  Omo Eco Resort

Driving: 200 Km

Activities: Market visit 

Mealplan: B L D

This day is dedicated visit the Mursi an ethnic group who count not more than 4000 members. The Mursi are basically herdsmen but farm after the rains along the river banks. The unusual jewelry for the women are huge clay plates in the split lower lips. With the help of the local guide we are able to negotiate for photographs. We may spot Olive baboon and Guenther’s dik-dik. Other wildlife you might spot includes defassa waterbuck, gerenuk, bushbuck, Jackson’s hartebeest, lesser kudu and patas monkey. For lunch we return to Jinka town and drive in the afternoon to Turmi, the Tourist Hub in the southern Omo Valley.

Accommodation:  Buska Lodge / Paradise Hotel

Driving: 220 Km

Activities: Mago National Park / Mursi cultural experience

Mealplan: B L D.

After breakfast we venture out to visit the Hamer people and the Karo tribe. A local English speaking guide takes us on a walk through the villages and the market. With some luck we can watch their rituals like a traditional wedding or the passage from boyhood to adulthood where the young man has to run across the backs of 30 heads of cattle lined up next to one another. At the market we try to mix with the locals to get a few photographs from this colorful tribe. It is clear that we have to negotiate for permission and pay for the shots. Our guide will assist us in this. After lunch we drive to the banks of the Omo River to visit another ethnic group – the Karo people. They are a Nilotic group which is famous for their body painting. They are a very small tribe of about 1000peole and are closely related to their neighbors, the Hamer and Banna people. 

Accommodation:  Buska Lodge / Paradise Hotel

Driving: 50 Km

Activities:  Hamer & Karo Cultural encounters

Mealplan: B L D.

After breakfast we drive up to the Konso Highlands. We arrive there for lunch and pay the Konso King and visit a village where we get to learn about their rich culture and their agrarian lifestyle. The Konso Cultural Landscape which is a designated world heritage site since 2011, is an arid area of stone walled terraces and fortified settlements which constitute a spectacular example of a living cultural tradition stretching back centuries.  Dinner and overnight will be at the Kanta Lodge.

Accommodation:  Kanta Lodge

Driving: 190 Km

Activities: Konso King & Village

Mealplan: B L D

Today we drive to Arbar Minch and climb up the mountains to visit the Dorze people. They are always delighted to be visited, as the children display their unique Dorze dance. Their houses are tall structures, resembling a beehive. Inside the hut, a section is partitioned off for the family’s animals (cows and goats) to sleep inside during the cold rainy season. The Dorze people are very skilled weavers, providing a vast majority of the country’s traditional cotton and other uniquely Ethiopian clothing. We return to Arba Mich where we shall enjoy a boat ride on lake Chamo before dinner and overnight at the Paradise hotel.

Accommodation:  Paradise Lodge

Driving: 160 Km

Activities: Dorze Village, Boat on Lake Chamo

Mealplan: B L D

After breakfast we depart for Addis Ababa. The 400km trip although on tarmac will take us the 

whole day.  We stop at the towns along the for tea and lunch breaks. For people who find this to exhausting we can always arrange a flight back to Addis at extra costs. We arrive in the evening for overnight at the friendship hotel after a traditional dinner with song and dance.

Accommodation:  Freindship Hotel

Driving: 450 Km

Activities: Traditional dinner

Mealplan: B L D

This day is reserved for a sight-seeing tour of Addis Ababa city. After breakfast we drive to the Entoto mountain, the first residence of the King Menelik when he moved in 1881 the capital of Shewa from Ankober to Entoto. This visit is followed by a visit Orthodox church. Depending on our onward international travel arrangements we may opt for a day room and dinner before transfer to airport for departure.

Accommodation:  Friendship Hotel

Driving: 50 km

Activities:  Addis City Tour

Mealplan: B L D