4 Day Omo Valley Tours: Explore the Diversity of Ethiopia's Omo Valley and its Native Tribes
4.8
21 Ratings
Addis Ababa
Embark on a 4-day adventure through Ethiopia's Omo Valley, exploring its diverse nature, rich culture, and fascinating history. Visit tribal villages, witness incredible wildlife, and learn from knowledgeable local guides.
Duration: 4 days
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights

Fly Addis to Jinka(BCO)-Turmi

Jinka - Pick you up in Jinka airport up on your arrival.

Firs stop is Mursi Tribe in where you will noticed the feature of the Mursi women wearing ornamental clay disks (debhinya) in their bottom lips as symbols of beauty and adulthood. When a girl is in her early teenage years, her bottom lip is cut and kept open with the clay disk until it heals. After it, we will drive back to jinka for lunch. You will then hike to Ari Village for 2 hours back and forth. In almost all villages you’ll meet potters, blacksmiths and women grinding grain to make the Ari version of injera, which uses maize or sorghum instead of tef and has dagussa (‘finger millet’) mixed into it. If you’re lucky someone may invite you to try bunaketele, a delicious drink made from coffee leaves, chillies and several spices including lemongrass. After it, over night in hotel.

Turmi-(Kangaten)Nyangatom trib(-Karo-Turmi

Turmi - In the morning after breakfast we will drive to Kangaten. A small town located on the other side of the Omo River crossing over a bridge to visit the Nyangatom tribe.
The elders of both sexes wear a lower lip plug the men’s made from ivory and the women’s from copper. Young girls wear a dress made from goat- or sheepskin with unique decoration made from nails. After visiting this Tribe’s village for as much time we need and head to Karo, Karo Tribe’s village of Korcho located in near by the shore of Omo River where you will make a great deal of interactions with these unique tribes of Karo (The least numbered tribes in terms of population size). Visit their door to door activities by walking through their villages and interact with them by entering their home. then you will continue your journey Hamer tribes small town of Turmi where you will meet the tribes including Banna and Hammer on our way down. In the late afternoon we will visit deep communal village of Hammer tribes.

Turmi-Omorrate-Jinka

Jinka - In the morning after breakfast we will drive to Omorate, the border town with Northwest of Kenya where the unique tribal communities of Dasenech are found. We will cross the Omo River with a local boat made from Fig tree. The Daasanach tribe are found in the most southern part of the Omo Valley and they live at the point where the Omo River delta enters Lake Turkana. They are primarily pastoral people, growing maize, beans and pumpkins at the time of year when the delta floods. During dry seasons they rely on their cattle and goats for milk, meat, and hides. Their homes are dome-shaped, made from branches covered with hides with mats covering the floor. In the afternoon, we will drive to Turmi if there is bull jumping ceremony you will attend that. They perform every 3 days. A deep-rooted traditions, values, and culture - bull jumping is a ceremony performed by the Hamer tribe as a rite of passage for young men. We will then drive to Jinka for over night in your hotel.

Jinka-Mursi-Jinka Fly to Addis Ababa

Jinka - After breakfast visit jinka museum. Behind glass cases starting with the Karo and the Bodi with the others in the next big room: cow skin skirts and clothing, baskets, weapons, utensils, body decorations, musical instruments, games. Then Mursi women lip disks and ear plates, the small stools / headrests (keri) that Banna and Hamer men carry around. While I recall seeing some of these in the Addis museums, the grouping by people helped with the compare and contrast.

Most of all the groups have a pastoralist lifestyle element based on cattle, though many have also been practicing agriculture to supplement. A few groups, such as the Mursi, are still nomadic, moving from one location to another as they feel they need to, but others practice sedentary farming, living in villages with fixed locations, with only the men going out afar to tend their animals, sometimes for weeks at a time. From museum, we will drive to Airport then fly back to Addis.

What's Included
  • All entrance fee
  • Government tax
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
  • Breakfast
  • Airport and departure taxes
  • Mago National Park fee
  • Guide
  • 3 nights Accommodation
What's Not Included
  • Drinks
  • Photos or video fees
  • Domestic Flight
Additional Information

Explore the nature, culture, and history of omo Valley on this 4-day excursion. After a convenient hotel pickup, enjoy experiences that include visiting the archaeological site of admiring the wild life of Mago National Park to see Mursi (ear loop and lip loop), Ari,Hamer( bull jumbing),Dasanech,Kara(known for body painting),Banna and Yangatom and access to an informative local guide. Experience the diversity of Ethiopia’s Omo Valley, watch for amazing wildlife, and visit tribal villages Learn about the Omo Valley’s history and culture from an informative guide Make the most of limited time with convenient hotel.

  • This tour/activity will have minimum of 2 travelers
Location
Bole Addis Ababa International Airport
any other places that are requested by our clients Hotel pickup offered During checkout you will be able to select from the list of included hotels. Airport pickup offered During checkout you will be able to select from the list of included airports. we will write your name and show you at the
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(21 Ratings)
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Volodymyr
Jun 19, 2024
Unforgettable 4 days Omo valley tour - It was amazing private tour to Omo Valley. Mickey met me in the airport in Addis Ababa ,purchased for me ticket to Jinka, obtained for me local sim card which was very helpful and took me to my hotel. Next day on arrival to Jinka I was met but my guide Aby and his driver. Lovely people, they were visiting with me 4 local tribes for 4 days and even took some extra mile which wasn’t in the program and that was very kind of them. 4x4 vehicle was pretty new and always clean inside/out.Both guide and driver spoke very week English . That tour should be on “must do list” of every traveller and I would recommend this company. Next time when I’m in Ethiopia I’m planning to book with them Danakil Depression tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
442camdend
May 10, 2024
Highly recommend - Had a great 4 days trip with Danakiol Depression Tours to omo valley That was our first international trip . My wife met with an accident the day before the trip and suffered from minor multiple leg injuries but we couldn't cancel the trip . Tour Coordinator Mr Mickey supported us very well . He was very nice cooperative humble human being , also available at dot time, whenever needed. We are so grateful to him. Friends told us that, the group tour would be like taking out school children in a row , but we never felt like that . The trip was really felt outing with our own family. Even though all were from diff cities, in the end of trip , everyone became like family and friends . we enjoyed a lot . The local guide Ms.Beki also exceptional . Overall the trip was an amazing experience . The stay in Bangkok was world class. We were so pleased with their service and care . We had an amazing experience with danakil depression tours . Customer service was top notch and exceeded our expectations. I highly recommend them to anyone.
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Henryn2024
May 9, 2024
Fascinated trip - I just did a 4 day trip with Awaze tours to the north of Ethiopia with my 70 year old mother. Our driver and all our guides took every possible step to make sure that we were both comfortable, safe and happy for the entire journey. I would highly recommend danakil depression tours to anyone visiting Ethiopia. The entire team is helpful and supportive throughout the whole journey. A special thanks to Alem (an incredible driver and fantastic guide who did everything he could to make our trip as special as it was), Aby (always smiling and knew every corner of Addis), Habte (for organising everything and making the process so easy and care free) and Afram (our fantastic driver in Addis) Hope to see you again soon!
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Richardlk7075yc
May 8, 2024
Outstanding tour operator - Outstanding is the least I can say. Planning a trip to a country like Ethiopia is no small feat; considering the complexity of such far away destination, the number of things to see, the fear of getting around in such an exotic place, and if it happens to be in your Bucket List, the must-be-perfect concern, seems to be an overwhelming task. Nonetheless, after coming back from a 20 days trip organized with Danakil Depression Tours ,I can say we made the perfect choice! My wife and I wanted to see many different things, and having a passion for photography knew we were going to be a bit of a pain taking longer than usual in every place as well as along the route. Through a lengthy exchange of emails previous to the trip we made all that clear to the people of Danakil Depression Tours and at the end agreed on an itinerary that on paper was perfect. Now, 20 days later, more than 2,400 Klms (1,500 miles) traveled by land, 5 domestic flights, 3,371 pictures, and 8 hotels from North to South, I can say it was way better than expected. We took a direct flight from Washington DC to Addis Ababa and after landing the adventure began. Every day was a trip by itself, our guides were always on time and although we had a detailed itinerary we always had room to change it depending on how things developed or how we felt. Wanted to spend more time here or there, fine; tired and wanted to cut it short, fine; wanted to add this on the route, fine also; it was a perfect routine where we always felt that the main objective was for us to enjoy the experience. We went to Lake Tana, the Blue Nile, Gondar, Simien Park, Lalibela, Harar, and spent a week traveling among tribes in the Omo Valley. Every place was incredible but the fact that we did this in close contact with the people of the country made a huge difference. The work done planning with Alex and on the ground experience with Bre and Alex was just out of this world. Very professional, dependable and truly concerned with us fulfilling our objectives of the trip. We avoided a couple of areas due to either time constraints or concerned with the conflict up North (which by the way does not limit in any way your ability to plan your trip) and now we know whom to call! Thanks for an unforgettable experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
541ellyk
May 8, 2024
The Most Authentic Omo Valley Tour - We have traveled to 74 countries and this by far was one of the best trips yet. We had seen Micjey’s name repeated in many of the reviews. We also had an excellent recommendation from a friend who traveled with him previously. The recommendations were all true and our time with Da akil Depression Tours and Mickey exceeded our expectations. First he knows the languages and the tribal people and they know and respect him. Secondly his fully outfitted 4 x 4 and the small group concept (it was just me and my wife) made it possible for us to visit remote places and see/photograph ceremonies that would not be available to larger groups . Thirdly he was flexible and responsive with regard to our needs and desires. The tour was pretty much Taylor made to meet our goals. Finally Mickey is a nice person; he has a great sense of humor, he is positive and his general demeanor made every day positive and fruitful. We are 72 & 67 but our visit to this remote part of the world was without any negative issues/events.
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183tytusl
May 6, 2024
Excellent experience - Excellent experience. We were lucky enough to be driven for 10 days from Addis Ababa round trip to the Omo Valley ,danakil and around addis by a wonderful guide called Aby and a fabulous driver called Eferem who went out of their way to make our trip perfect, and they succeeded. From the slightly more touristy villages to the ones where we were alone, from the bull jump (not to be missed) to the sight of a school, from the many colorful markets to the desolate savannah lands, everything was capable of leaving us speechless. The facilities were all well above expectations, the organization always perfect, punctual and precise. I thank Mickey for the service provided which is worth every penny spent
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Williamlr1200cm
May 6, 2024
Absolutely Trust and well organized - Mr Mickey is an exceptional guide and driver and a person you can trust absolutely. The experience in the Omo Valley, already incredible in itself, becomes simpler than I thought with him. He always responded with kindness, competence and patience to my questions via email and whatsapp. He reassured me and advised me on the organization I had already undertaken myself. In Jinka I met his family. He has an excellent relationship with the locals whose language he speaks and respects them in the traditions he knows (he has even written a book). Things that I thought were very difficult with him were solvable. He is an honest person you can trust. He can also organize a beautiful tour for you in Addis Ababa and Harar and anywhere in Ethiopia and has excellent collaborators! The climate in Ethiopia was excellent. No problem with mosquitoes (I'm a doctor and I feared it like everyone else). No problems with the food. Set off for this wonderful poor country which has a complex history and geography and discover realities that will change quickly...I thank Mickey and his collaborators for this fantastic experience! Now I am returning to Italy with my son with my heart full of images and smiles that I have received
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Sofiamp205yj
May 1, 2024
Lifetime experience - Has the most amazing 12 day tour of Ethiopia with danakil depression travel It was truly a trip of a lifetime! And so many diverse experiences and landscapes! It left me breathless! My fantastic guide Mickey ALWAYS ensured I was super well taken care off! I felt like received the VVIP treatment. He was just marvelous! And HUGE shout out to Woreku, who is an excellent and ever patient driver! Thank you to the Mickey and the whole team for making this trip of a lifetime so memorable and immensely enjoyable! I cannot thank you all enough!!
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L1561czcarolinem
Apr 28, 2024
Highly recommend - Wow,what an experience,can’t describe how amazing experience I had and seeing the tribes. I chosen Danakil Depression Tours based on Trip advisor recommendations and I didn’t regret for a bit, worth every penny, the cost is very reasonable for the experience that you will be having, I had chance to meet Fitsum who is the founder of this company danakil depression tours, he personally took us around for tribes visiting, he is local from Jinka and made sure we will have an amazing and pleasant time in Jinka, I want to HIGHLY RECOMMEND Mickey and his company if you planning to go to Ethiopia,
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Panagiotisc912
Apr 26, 2024
Excellent Service - We just came back from 4 days Omo Valley tours and from the beginning to the end, the service was excellent. We were looking for a group for Danakil Depression, then he let us join his clients for both Danakil and Omo Valley. We had a really great time in both Danakil and Omo Valley. Special thanks to Mickey; he responded immediately when we asked him a question. There were more than 5 drivers in the group, but our driver, Million, was the best driver. We call him Mr. Fantastic. He is so friendly with everybody, and everyone was wonderful. We highly recommend Danakil Depression tours to visit Ethiopia, the most trusted tour operator. Thank you so much for all things you have done.
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