Ethiopia & East Africa · office in Gondar · Open daily · 8:00 - 18:00 (East Africa Time)
Southern & Eastern Ethiopia
The cultural heart of Africa — ancient communities, painted bodies and a way of life along the Omo river that has endured for centuries.
The lower Omo Valley in southwest Ethiopia is home to a remarkable diversity of peoples and languages, celebrated (with sensitivity) for their traditions of body painting, adornment and ceremony.
Communities such as the Hamer, Mursi, Karo and Ari live along the Omo river and its tributaries, keeping centuries-old customs alive in the markets, villages and homesteads of the region.
Visiting here is a profound cultural experience — undertaken respectfully, with local guides who know the etiquette, communities and right way to visit.
The great river corridor that anchors the cultures of the valley.
Where neighbouring peoples gather, trade and celebrate.
Homesteads decorated with body painting and intricate adornment.
Most travellers arrive through Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport, then fly or drive north. We arrange every flight, transfer and road leg as part of your itinerary.
Read the transport guideDomestic flights link the capital with Gondar, Lalibela, Axum and Bahir Dar across the northern circuit.
We arrange airport and hotel transfers as part of every itinerary.
The northern circuit can be driven between sites by private 4x4, which we arrange for you.
Meet communities — Hamer, Karo, Mursi, Ari — who maintain remarkable living traditions.
Photograph the region's celebrated body painting, adornment and markets.
Cross the Omo river and ride the dramatic roads along its banks.
Experience one of the richest cultural landscapes in Africa, ethically guided.
The cultural heart of Africa
A respectful, guided journey to the communities of the Omo Valley — Hamer, Karo, Mursi and Ari — with local guides who know the etiquette and traditions.
The river cultures of the lower Omo
Four days among the Omo valley's most distinctive peoples — the Hamer, the lip-plated Mursi and the painted Kara — by river, market and ceremony.
Lakes, wolves and the river peoples
The definitive south — Rift lakes, the Bale highlands, the Omo valley and Harar woven into a single ten-day grand tour.
The astonishing history of Ethiopia — the rock churches of Lalibela, castles of Gondar, stelae of Axum, monasteries of Lake Tana and the walled city of Harar.
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Ethiopia's remarkable endemic wildlife — giant troops of gelada baboons, the rare wallia ibex, the endangered Ethiopian wolf — plus the birds and big game of the lowlands.
Learn moreDone well, yes. We visit respectfully with local guides who know the etiquette, agree a fair arrangement with communities, and keep photography consensual. That is how we always run our trips there.
The route is well-travelled and organised through local partners. We recommend travelling with a guide, which every tour we operate provides.
Most travellers combine this destination with another — the northern circuit, the Danakil, the Omo Valley or beyond. See which places fit your route.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site and the crown of the Ethiopian highlands — the 'Roof of Africa' — where sheer escarpments fall thousands of metres.
The 'Camelot of Africa' — an imperial city of castles, churches and a rich royal history in Ethiopia's northwest highlands.
Home to the extraordinary rock-hewn churches of Lalibela — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Africa's great pilgrimage destinations.
Send us an inquiry and we'll help you build the perfect itinerary — tours, timing and logistics included.
