Tour Guide, Arba Minch, Ethiopia
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The Lower Omo Valley of southern Ethiopia is home to some of the world’s last unchanged cultural groups. The area is a melting pot of cultures and communities and represents some of the greatest genetic variances on the continent. Many describe the Omo as being the birthplace of mankind. It’s not hard to see why come and witness untouched pure culture and traditions of Omo Valley tribes.
Arba Minch town and their attractions:
Despite the industrial feel of the city, there are places in the surrounds very much worth a visit. The highland area of Dorze for example, at 2,400 metres altitude, is 15 miles north of Arba Minch and is named after its Omotic-speaking ethnic group, known for their beehive-like house structures.
Dorze’s climate is typically cold and moist year-round, making for an ideal place to grow tropical fruits and cotton. As a result, the village is host to a thriving market, selling largely locally produced goods. Dorze is also subject to attractive views over Lakes Chamo and Abaya and has an impressive night sky given its high altitude and thin atmosphere.
Abra Minch and Dorze sit on the edge of Nech Sar National Park, which houses Lake Chamo and Abaya, the second biggest by surface area in Ethiopia, as well as beautiful mountain landscapes and forests, including God’s Bridge, a mountainous area of dense acacia scrub separating the two lakes.
After the collapse of the Derg in 1991, the park suffered neglect when the surrounding pastoralist tribes moved in. As a result, many of the large mammal species in the area were wiped out, including wild dog, Grevy’s zebra, cheetah, black rhino, elephant and buffalo among many others. There have been on and off attempts since to reintroduce species once found here. The current mammal species list is currently estimated at not much more than 40, more than half of which are bats, including the banana pipistrelle, Africa’s smallest species.
Despite the demise of mammals in the park, the birdlife is spectacular, with up to 275 species identified including the endemic Nechisar nightjar, which was first seen alive in 2009 and the white-tailed lark, whose only home within Ethiopia is Nech Sar.