Includes: Addis Ababa meet and greet service and airport assistance, all ground transportation by comfortable 4x4 Toyota landcruiser, accommodation including all meals - 8 or 7 nights in hotels plus 4 or 5 nights in tents, camping equipment i.e. good quality tents, mattresses, sleeping bags, chairs, tables and all cooking utensils, campsite guards and scouts, cook and camping fees, excursions to sites of interest as per itinerary, entrance fees for all sites, services of an English speaking guide.

Excludes: International airfares to/from Addis Ababa and any associated airport taxes, drinks, gratuities, porterage, travel insurance, visas, health requirements, all items of a personal nature and any service not specified.

Important Note:
All prices are subject to change due to any unforeseen circumstance.

ITINERARY:

Day 1 - Sunday - Arrive at Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa, where you will be met by our representative and transferred to the Imperial Hotel.

Day 2 - Monday - Drive from Addis Ababa to Arbaminch via the beautiful Rift Valley lakes - Lake Ziway, Lake Abijata and Lake Shalla. Overnight at the Bekele Molla or Swaynes Hotel.

Day 3 - Tuesday - The tour continues today from Arbaminch to Jinka via Konso and Woyito. The Konso people were the first in Ethiopia to practice farming/agriculture and their system of terracing can still be seen today. Today's route is culturally very rich - each of the different tribes having their own way of life. Overnight in Jinka at a simple, local hotel.

Day 4 - Wednesday - Onward from Jinka to Mago National Park. Drive to the village of the Mursi tribe and back to Mago Park for overnight camping. The Mursi are geographically located in South Omo and number about 5 000. They are primarily pastoralists, who move between their wet season range in the lower Tama steppe and their dry season range in the Mursi Hills sector of Mago National Park. Some practice flood retreat cultivation along the Omo River. They collect honey from traditionally made hives that one frequently sees in the park. The Mursi women wear clay lip plates and the men take part in stick fighting.

Day 5 - Thursday - From Mago to Murule and the two villages of the Karo tribe namely Karo Duss and Karo Chorcho. Overnight camping. The Karo and Hammer are friendly, handsome, photogenic tribes related in culture. Their main practice is cattle herding and great wealth is measured by the number of cattle they own. They are famous for their hairstyles and body painting.

Day 6 - Friday - Drive from Murule to Turmi via Omorate, a small town on the Omo River. En route we stop to visit the Geleb Tribe and proceed to Turmi for overnight camping.

Day 7 - Saturday - After breakfast, drive to the village of Dimeka to visit the Saturday market of the Hamer Tribe. Return to your campsite in Turmi for overnight.

Day 8 - Sunday - Drive from Turmi to Konso via Erbore and Woyito. Visit the interesting Erbore tribe with their unique adornments such as aluminium bead necklaces. Enjoy a lunch stop at Woyita and visit the Sunday Market where the Tsemai and Erbore people come together to trade amongst themselves. Overnight camping or at a local hotel in Konso. The Konso are partly pagan, with some Christians amongst them. They erect eerie wooden totems replete with phallic symbols over the graves of the dead (it almost seems related to what the Axumites did in the past: the stele of Axum). There are numerous cults based around the breeding and veneration of serpents. The Konso have adopted a complex age grading system. Sacred drums, symbolizing peace and harmony, are circulated from village to village according to a fixed cycle and are beaten in rituals that mark the transition from one age-grade to the next. Though under the Ethiopian government's rule, the Konso still have their own King.

Day 9 - Monday - Early morning we visit the Konso villages and proceed to Arbaminch after lunch. Enjoy a boat trip on Lake Chamo to a place called the Crocodile Market where one can see huge numbers of Nile crocodile. Overnight at the Bekele Molla Hotel, Arbaminch.

Day 10 - Tuesday - In the morning visit the Nech Sar National Park where Swayne's Hartebeest, Burchell's Zebra, Grant's and Thomson's gazelle, amongst others, can be seen. After lunch, drive to the Dorze village of Chencha. The Dorze tribe have their own local style of weaving cotton cloth. Their unique houses are constructed in the shape of a beehive. Return to your hotel in Arbaminch for overnight.

Day 11 - Wednesday - Drive from Arbamich to Langano with lunch en route. The rest of the day is at leisure to enjoy swimming and birdwatching at Lake Langano. Overnight at the Bekele Molla Hotel, Langano.

Day 12 - Thursday - Your tour ends with the journey from Langano to Addis Ababa. You will be accommodated at the Imperial Hotel for overnight.

Day 13 - Friday - Transfer to Bole International Airport where your tour ends.