Southern Ethiopia's Omo Valley
2024
Highlights of the trip
During your stay you can enjoy the following highlights: Culture / Heritage, Faune and flora, Discovery, Adventure / Sports & Leisure.
Best times to go
The best time(s) to go is/are : Printemps, Eté, Automne.
Petit Futé
Where to stay - Addis-Abeba ?
The map of your stay "Southern Ethiopia's Omo Valley"
Detail of the stay : Southern Ethiopia's Omo Valley
How to get there - Addis-Abeba
Addis Ababa: visit the capital
Steps: Entoto
Arrival in Addis Ababa, visit the city's museums. The Ethnological Museum gives a very good overview of the cultural reality of contemporary Ethiopia and the ethnic groups that make up its cultural landscape in the south of the country. You can also dine at its delicious Lucy restaurant. A jaunt toEntoto Hill reveals one of Menelik II's first palaces and offers a panoramic view of the Ethiopian capital.
Places of interest : MUSÉE ETHNOLOGIQUE
Lake Ziway and Awassa
Steps: Awassa
On the way south fromAwassa, a short stop at Lake Ziway allows you to observe the many species of birds. From swarming marabouts to flocks of pink flamingos, not forgetting the many species of kingfishers and multicolored birds. Take a boat trip on the lake, observe the wildlife and visit the amazing fish market. VisitAwassa, popular with the capital's inhabitants at weekends.
Arba Minch and Sodo
Steps: Lac Chamo
Take a 4x4 to Arba Minch and visit the authentic town. If it's a Saturday, you can also visit the Sodo market. In Arba Minch, a number of hotels overlooking the two lakes, Abaya and Chamo , offer a chance to recover from the exhausting journey of the first few days.
Discovery of the kingdom of Dorzé
Steps: Konso
Climb by 4x4 to the heights of a beautiful mountain where the kingdom of Dorzé is located in the eponymous village. The landscapes are magnificent, and the architecture of the huts is remarkable and unique in the country. Don't miss a market: on Mondays and Thursdays, a magnificent fabric market in Dorzé. Tuesday and Saturday, market in Chencha (5 km from Dorzé). Thursday morning, Ezo market. In the afternoon, head for Konso.
The Konso villages
Steps: Turmi
Exploration of the Konsovillages and their remarkable social and urban structure. Drive to Turmi. Meet the Erboré, Bana and Hamer peoples at their markets. Overnight in a lodge for maximum comfort, otherwise: camping equipment and cook generally included in the departure price.
Dimeka
Steps: Dimeka
If it's a Tuesday, visit the Dimeka market, renowned for its cultural diversity. Many peoples of the South gather here. Alternatively, take a village tour with a guide. Then take the road to Jinka. You can choose a nice hotel or campsite for a change from the spartan accommodations of the trip.
Mago National Park
Steps: Key Afer
Early in the morning, a visit to Mago Park with the unmistakable Mursi, women with trays inserted in their lower lip. This is one of the highlights of any visit to the tribes of southern Ethiopia. If it's a Thursday, we recommend a stop at the authentic Key Afer market. In the afternoon, drive to Yabelo.
Yabelo and boranas wells
Steps: Yabelo
Unmissable Yabelo market on Saturdays. Visit the famous freshwater wells dug deep by the Borana ethnic group some 100 km from Yabelo, as well as the crater lakes where men collect alkaline deposits.
Dila and the Tuto Fela and Tututi websites
Steps: Tuto Fela
Take the road to Dila. Visit the archaeological sites of Tuto Fela, a megalithic site comprising two hundred and seventeen stelae, and Tututi, which boasts one thousand two hundred stelae spread over 3 ha, the most imposing of which are 8 m high. Overnight at Aregash Lodge, in the heart of hyena country.
Coffee plantations and Shashemene
Steps: Shashemene
Visit the coffee plantations around the town of Aregash, which offer magnificent scenery, and depart for the Bale Mountains. For the more curious, stop off at the Rasta village of Shashemene on the way, where many Caribbeans live after making a pilgrimage.
Trekking in the Bale Mountains
Steps: Dinsho
Trek into the Bale Mountains from the park entrance at Dinsho village. Overnight bivouac in the high mountains. Remember to book with an agency that provides equipment.
Africa's highest road and Abyssinian wolves
Steps: Dinsho
The next morning, return to Dinsho, then by car, road trip on the highest road in Africa, the one that passes through the park on the Sanetti plateau, where you have a great chance of encountering Abyssinian wolves, or at least finding traces of their presence. Overnight at the new Bale Mountain Lodge, close to the plateau at an altitude of 2,400 m.
Swimming at Lake Langano
Steps: Lac Langano
Then take to the road, heading for Lake Langano, the only lake where you can bathe as it is bilharzia-free. Take a well-deserved rest in one of the new lodges lining the lake and stroll along the banks.
Sodere and Addis Ababa hot springs
Steps: Sodéré
Visit the Sodere hot springs on the way toAddis Ababa. On arrival in the capital, do some last-minute shopping for souvenirs: traditional fabrics, silver jewelry, handicrafts... You'll find all kinds of gifts to take home. Go out in the evening to an ethiojazz or traditional Ethiopian music and dance club.
