1: ITINERARY
01. SAT. Arrival in Addis Ababa. Transfer to the chosen hotel. Have a free morning. Afternoon (1400 hrs from the hotel) tour of the capital: visit Entoto mountain with views over the capital, the National & the Ethnographic museums, St George church and the Mercato, biggest open air market in Africa.
Meals free. ON (overnight) hotel.
02. Leave your hotel around 0730 am & drive to Arbaminch (500 kms). On the way visit the Guraghe and Wolayta people villages and their culture. Admiring also very nice views on the way. Reach Arbaminch late in the afternoon.
Lunch on the way. Dinner & ON at the Swaynes hotel, with spectacular views over Chamo & Abaya lakes. http://www.greenlandtoursandhotels.com/swaynes/
03. Morning drive to Chencha, for the Dorze people, with their unique houses and traditions. Visit the false banana cultivations, from which they extract their traditional bread (the Kotcho), the weaving works and more. Afternoon make a boat excursion on Chamo lake for crocodiles, hippos, birds and a fantastic sunset.
Meals & ON Swaynes hotel.
04. Leave your hotel around 0700 am & drive to Jinka. See on the way the Konso, Derase, Tsemay, Ari and Benna people. Make a stop for the visit of a Konso people village, which are famous for the terracing agriculture, and have particular traditions. Lunch on the way; dinner & ON in a hotel in Jinka (choices are Tebekew or Resort)
05. Drive to the Mago National park, admiring different mammals and birds. Proceed to visit the Mursi people and their villages. Here for beauty women use to put round plates into their lips. Afternoon drive to Jinka and visit the museum.
Lunch on the way; dinner & ON in hotel in Jinka
06. THU. Drive to Turmi. On the way admire Thursday’s KeyAfer village market of the Tsemay & Erbore people. Proceed to visit the Hamer people and villages.
Lunch on the way; dinner & ON Turmi Evangadi lodge http://www.greenlandtoursandhotels.com/evangadi/
07. Leave your hotel around 0730 am & drive to the Nyangatom people crossing the Omo river with small boats at Kangate. Walk to the villages. Then back to Kangate, meet the vehicles and drive about 1 hr to visit the Karo people, for their very interesting decoration and scarification all over their body. From Kortcho village you’ll enjoy also a spectacular view over the Omo river. Late afternoon drive back to Turmi, to visit the Hamer people and their villages + culture
Lunch on the way; dinner & ON Turmi Evangadi lodge
08. SAT. Drive to Dimeka village, to admire the colorful Hamer, Karo and Dassanech people market at Dimeka village. Ones the market is done, have a full day for the Hamer people. With luck we’ll try also to participate to the Hamer people marriage ceremonies, with the bull jumping. And in the evening visit the Evangadi dances
Lunch on the way; dinner & ON Turmi Evangadi lodge
09. Drive to Omorate, at bank of Omo river, to visit the Dassanech people and their villages. Here also very nice decoration, ornaments and scarification make these one of the other very interesting visit of the omo valley. Afternoon back to Turmi.
Lunch on the way; dinner & ON Turmi Evangadi lodge
10. Drive to the Erbore people and visit their villages and interesting culture. Then proceed to the Weyto river valley. Proceed to reach Arbaminch.
Lunch on the way; dinner & ON Swaynes hotel
11. Drive to the Rift Valley lake of Langano, visiting the Wolayta and Sidamo people. Late afternoon relax at Langano, with possibility walking in the nearby Munessa forest, bird-watching (this is inhabitant of 400 species of birds), spot mammals and monkeys as the culubus monkey, have the possibility to explore the area by horse-riding, and can have a relaxing swimming in the only bilharzias free lake.
Lunch on the way. Dinner and ON Wenney eco-lodge http://www.greenlandtoursandhotels.com/wenney/
12. WED. Drive back to Addis. Afternoon free for visiting souvenir shops and other.
Lunch free. Dinner traditional restaurant with folkloristic dances in Addis.
After dinner transfer airport for departure
We also suggest extensions to the Historic route or Danakil depression or the Surma area or people of the north-west in Ethiopia; or to the fantastic beaches in Zanzibar or Monbasa or Malindi or Djibouti or the parks in Tanzania or Kenya.
WT-CODE 690