Ethiopia: 3-Day Omo Valley Tribes Tour from Addis Ababa

Embark on a 3-day tour of Ethiopia's Omo Valley, where you'll meet the Hamer people in Turmi, the Karo people in Murulle, the Nyangatom people, and the Ari people in Jinka. You'll also visit the Mursi tribe in Mago National Park.

Day 1:

After breakfast, take a flight to Jinka. You will be met upon arrival and drive to Turmi Hamer Village. The Hamer 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. Spend the night at the Paradise Lodge in Turmi.

Day 2:

Drive to Murulle to meet the Karo people, known for their striking body decorations using white chalk for ceremonies, with women scarifying their chests for beauty and men marking scars for enemies or dangerous animals killed. Afterward, visit the Nyangatom people, 17 km away, noted for their long, lean bodies, adorned with numerous necklaces and decorated goatskin skirts, before returning to Turmi. Lastly, drive to Jinka to meet the Ari people, the largest group in the lower Omo Valley, recognized for their banana tree skirts, pottery expertise, blacksmithing, and traditional liquor distillation. Spend the night at the Jinka Resort.

Day 3:

After breakfast, take a day excursion to Mago National Park to visit the Mursi village. The Mursi are one of the exotic ethnic groups in Ethiopia. They live in very low huts made of straw leaves around Mago River. The women like to wear terra cotta on their enormously stretched lower lips and ear lobes. After the tour, take a flight back to Addis Ababa.