Ethiopia Cultural Tour

Welcome to Ethiopia! Upon your arrival at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, you will find our representative waiting at the arrival lobby. After a warm greeting, he or she will transfer you to the hotel at downtown city.

After a rest, the guide and the driver will lead you to visit National Museum of Ethiopia, housing collections of archaeological findings, artistic achievements as well as clothes of different ethnic groups, and the greatest treasure of the museum - the partial remains of 3.2-million-year-old skeleton of "Lucy", an early hominid ever discovered. Next, we will go to see the religious and traditional artifacts of Ethiopian cultural groups at Ethnographic Museum, set in the former palace of Emperor Haile Selassie, a defining figure in modernizing Ethiopia. In the afternoon, we will sightsee the highest ranking Holy Trinity Church and large bustling marketplace, Merkcato.

Accommodation: Radison Blue Hotel

After breakfast, we will pick up the box lunch and drive to Arba Minch, the largest city and home base to some of the best scenery in southern Ethiopia. On the way, we will tour around Stelae field of Tiya, featuring sets of huge stone pillars bearing some enigmatic form of symbols, which were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1980, and pay a short visit to Alaba village.

Meals: Breakfast, Box lunch
Accommodation: Paradise Lodge

In the morning, we will go to visit highland Dorze Village at the doorstep of Arba Minch, where the locals live in dome shaped huts and make a living on farming and weaving. There we will also sightsee the featured Wolayta farmlands in the bowl of verdant hills and valleys. Then we will go back to Arba Minch and in the afternoon enjoy a boat ride on Lake Chamo, spotting hippopotamus, different kinds of water birds, and particularly some of Africa's largest crocodiles.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Haile Resort

According to the itinerary, today we will depart for Jinka, a fast-growing touristic town located on the way to Mursi villages. En route drop by Konso Cultural Landscape characterized by stone walled terraces and fortified settlements on the semi-arid highlands. We will visit the Konso Museum to see its famous anthropomorphic wooden statues, and take a walk around the Konso village compound built with a family graveyard and mummies.

In the afternoon, we will go on driving to Jinka, passing Omo Valley inhabited by several tribes, and may pay a visit to Key Afer, a weekly tribal market, if it's Thursday. It will be at dusk when we arrive at Jinka.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Eco-Omo Lodge

The Ethiopia cultural trip today will start with a 2 hours' game drive in Mago National Park, during which you could enjoy sweeping savannah landscape and discovering rich wildlife such as hartebeests, giraffes, elephants, lions, leopards... as well as a good variety of birds. Then we will go on the trip to visit Mursi Tribe, one of the most featured tribes in Africa, where the tribe women still follow their tradition of wearing lip plates, which are actually pottery or wooden discs inserted into the lower lips. In the company of the guide, you will pay a visit to the tribe people and observe their way of life and unusual traditions. In the afternoon, we will be on a 3 hours' drive to Turmi, a small market town serving as a practical base for visits to indigenous tribes living in the southern Omo Valley.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Emerald Resort

In the morning, we will go north to the town of Dimeka and tour around their market if it's a Saturday. Nearby tribes including Hamer, Ari and Benna usually come here for trade. Except common consumer goods, exotic crafts such as woodcarvings, masks, pottery and jewelry could also be found.

In the afternoon, we will go to meet the Harmer tribe. They are a group of semi-nomadic people who values cattle highly in their daily life and culture. Their bull jumping ceremony is very famous which initiates a boy into a man. If lucky, you may see young men and women gathering together perform their traditional night dance, Evangadi.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Buska Lodge

This morning, we will drive to visit another ethnic group called Dassanech at the town of Omorate, 70 km (43 mi) away from Turmi. They have elaborate hairstyles and scarifications on the body. After arrival, we will take a dugout canoe across the Omo River to their settlement. After that, we will drive back to Turmi for you to have a self-paid lunch. In the afternoon, we will go back to Arba Minch.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Haile Resort

Enjoy a free morning at leisure. In the afternoon, we will take the flight ET134 (13:35/14:30) back to the capital city Addis Ababa. Here is the end of our Ethiopia cultural tours. Thanks for booking our services. Wish you all the best!

Meals: Breakfast