12-Day Southern Ethiopia and Bale Mountains Tour with Omo Valley

• After breakfast, we drive to Arba Minch (approx. 7-8 hrs.), stopping on the way at Tiya, 80 km from Addis Ababa, to explore the Stelae Field of Tiya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mysterious engraved stelae stretch across southern Ethiopia, and the field comprises around 45 stones measuring up to 2-3 m in height. We then continue to Arba Minch through fantastic scenery, including the best viewpoint over the two Rift Valley lakes - Lake Abaya to the north and Lake Chamo to the south. We arrive at the lodge in the late afternoon, and you may relax there while enjoying stunning views from the terrace.

Hotel: Arbaminch Tourist Hotel.

• After breakfast, we visit the Dorze people, passing through fantastic scenery that includes the Wolayta farmlands, with views of lush green hills and valleys. The Dorze village is located high in the Guge Mountains, overlooking Lake Abaya and Lake Chamo.

• After breakfast, we drive to Konso (travelling time approx. 3.5 hrs.). Konso is another UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site. We will visit the village compound and the local museum, and we are usually also welcomed into the Konso chief's compound, which includes the family graveyard, house, and mummies. The Konso people have a rich rural culture and construct ingenious terraces and walls that encircle their fields and villages to protect them from livestock damage and flooding.
• From Konso, we continue our journey to the colourful market of Key Afer (Thursdays only), frequented by several tribes of the Omo Valley, such as the Derase, Tsemay, Benna, and Ari, before reaching Jinka in the late afternoon.

Overnight: Nasa Hotel.

• We enter Mago National Park (travelling time approx. 2 hrs.), admiring different animals and birds on the way, and proceed to visit the Mursi tribe and their villages - one of the unique tribes in Africa. Here, women use massive round lip plates for beauty reasons.
• After lunch, we continue our trip to Turmi (approx. 3 hrs.), where we will meet the fascinating Hamer tribe. Turmi is our base for exploring the southern tribes of the Omo Valley. The whole region of southern Omo has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980.

Overnight: Emerald Lodge.

• After breakfast, we visit the colourful market in Dimeka near Turmi (Saturdays only), frequented by several tribes of the Omo Valley.
• Turmi is well known for its traditional events, and with some luck, we may even participate in a Hamer marriage ceremony, with its bull-jumping ceremony and more. In the late afternoon, we will also visit a nearby Hamer village and encounter the tribe in its daily surroundings. We may even witness a moonshine dance (Evangadi), a traditional dance of young Hamer men and women.

Hotel: Emerald Lodge.

• Today, we take an excursion to visit the Dassanech ethnic group (70 km one way), famous for their nomadic lifestyle and fascinating decoration and scarification on their bodies. There are also great views of the Omo River when crossing in a dugout canoe.
• After lunch, we drive back to Konso (approx. 3.5 hrs.). We will reach the well-kept Kanta Lodge in the late afternoon.

Overnight: Korebta Lodge, Konso.

• After breakfast, we drive to Hawassa (approx. 8 hrs.), the capital town of the Southern People's Nations and nicknamed

• In the morning, leave Hawasa for Senkelle Wildlife Reserve, where you can easily approach Swayne's hartebeest, oribi, and some other mammals. On the way back, stop at Lake Chitu, where we can spot numerous flamingos, then drive back to Awasa.

Hotel: Hawasa Lake View Hotel.

• We drive from Hawassa to the Bale Mountains National Park headquarters in Dinsho, where we will take a gentle but exciting walk and usually encounter a great variety of animals and birds, particularly many of the endemic mountain nyala.
• We then continue to Goba, where we will spend the night.

Overnight: Wabeshebele Hotel, Goba.

• We drive into Bale Mountains National Park (34 km), the second national park in Ethiopia and a site underway to become a UNESCO World Nature Site due to its stunning landscapes and rich flora and fauna. We explore the highest all-weather road in Africa to reach the largest moorland tract in Africa, the Senetti Plateau. With luck, we should encounter the endemic Ethiopian wolf and its favourite prey, the giant mole rat. In addition to the Senetti Plateau, we will explore the Harena escarpments and their rainforests. Highland birding here includes the Abyssinian catbird, Abyssinian woodpecker, white-backed black tit, Abyssinian ground thrush, yellow-crowned canary, Somali chestnut-winged starling, olive pigeon, and mountain buzzard. In the late afternoon, we drive to the Bale Mountain Lodge for the night.

Overnight: Wabeshebele Hotel, Goba.

• We leave the mountains and drive to Lake Langano in the heart of the Great Rift Valley (approx. 4 hrs.).
• We may either visit Lake Abyata Shalla National Park, with great views over the Rift Valley, or you may relax at the beach of the lake resort, where swimming is possible.

• We drive back to Addis through Debre Zeit (approx. 4 hrs.) and reach Addis late in the afternoon. A day room until departure will be provided.
• You will be invited to a traditional Ethiopian dinner and dance show at a renowned restaurant in Addis Ababa in the evening. Then you will be transferred to the airport for your departure.