OMO VALLEY with the New Year eve celebrated with the Hamer people

December 26. Day01. Monday. Arrival in Addis Ababa. Transfer to the chosen hotel. Have a
free morning.
Afternoon (1400 hrs from the hotel) tour of the capital: visit the Ethnographic museum, view
from Entoto mountain and the Mercato, biggest open air market in Africa.
Meals free. ON (overnight) hotel.
Dec27. Day02. Drive to the Rift Valley lake of Awasa.
Drive through the Rift Valley lakes of Zway, Langano, Shala & Abyata, to proceed to the
Rastafarian town of Shashamanne.
Proceed then to the Rift Valley lake of Awasa.
Lunch in Shashamanne; dinner & ON hotel in Awasa
Dec28. Day03. Visit a Guji people village.
Then proceed to Yabelo and visit a Borena people village
Have lunch on the way; dinner & hotel in Yabelo
Dec29. Day04. Early morning drive to ElSod crater. Here walk down to the crater where
Borena men extract salt from a marshy lake by hand & sticks. The salt is used for their cattle.
After Elsod visit, drive to visit the singing wells, where the Borena men pass to each other the
water and doing this hard work they sing.
Proceed then driving into the Konso people region.
Have lunch box; dinner & hotel in Konso
Dec30. Day05. Morning visit a Konso people village, famous for being the first in Africa to start
the terracing agriculture. Visit their culture, lifestyle, way of counting the age of the village, the
community works and much more. Note well that this is a UNESCO heritage site!
Have spectacular view over the hills too.
Then proceed to Turmi, the famous colorful Hamer people town.
Have lunch box; dinner & ON Emerald lodge Turmi www.emeraldresortandlodge.com
December 31. Day06. Saturday. Drive to visit the colorful Dimeka weekly market.
This is the Saturday’s market of Hamer, Dassanech, Karo and Tsemay people.
Enjoy this vibrant market, meet different people and see how they merchandise.
Afternoon visit a Hamer villages and understand their way of life and culture.
With luck we’ll try to participate to ceremonies as the bull jumping and the Evangadi dances.
The Hamer are known for their unique custom of "bull jumping" which initiates a boy into
manhood. First, female relatives dance and invite whipping from men who have recently been
initiated; this shows their support of the initiate, and their scars give them a right to demand his
help in time of need. The boy must jump back and forth twice across the backs of a row of bulls
or castrated steers, and is ridiculed if he fails.
Enjoy your dinner and a nice campfire to celebrate the New Year !
Have meals & ON Emerald lodge Turmi

January 01. Day07. Morning drive to visit the Karo people.
Enjoy also a spectacular view over Omo river from Kortcho village.
Afternoon relax and make walks around Turmi for the Hamer people and villages.
Have meals & ON Emerald lodge Turmi
Jan02. Day08. Monday. Morning visit the Monday’s market of Hamer, Dassanech, Karo and
Tsemay people at Turmi village.
Afternoon drive to Omorate, at bank of Omo river, to visit the Dassanech people.
Have meals & ON Emerald lodge Turmi
Jan03. Day09. Very early morning drive to Jinka town (about 2 hrs driving); then enter into the
Mago National park, cross it to proceed to visit the Mursi people and their villages.
Here for beauty women use to put round plates into their lips and men different scarifications all
over their body. Their villages and way of life is very unique.
Have a lunch box before or after the Mursi village visit; dinner & ON in a hotel in Jinka.
Jan04. Day10. Drive to visit one Ari people village with very interesting traditions.
Then proceed to Arbaminch.
Ones arrived, check-in and lunch at Emerald Resort Arbaminch.
Emerald Resort is a beautiful Resort with a spectacular view over the Rift Valley lakes of Chamo
and Abaya which are divided by a mountain called in Amharic “Yezghier dildi” which means
“Bridge of Heaven” and the Netch Sar National park, in Amharic meaning “white grass”.
Meals & ON Emerald Resort Arbaminch www.emeraldresortandlodge.com
Jan05. Day11. Arbaminch.
Morning drive to Chencha mountain to visit the Dorze people, with their unique culture, houses
and traditions. The Dorze are famous for their elephant truck shaped houses, their cultivation of
the false banana (from which root they extract their traditional bread called Kotcho), the weaving
works, cultivation of sorghum and more.
Afternoon visit Chamo lake, with the biggest crocodiles in Africa (reaching 6 meters length), lot
of hippos, birds and more.
Meals & ON Emerald Resort Arbaminch www.emeraldresortandlodge.com
Jan06. Day12. Drive back to Addis Ababa through the Wolayta people region and visiting on
the way a Guraghe people village. Visit also Tiya steles, Unesco heritage.
Lunch on the way. Dinner & ON hotel
Jan07. Day13. Free day in Addis for shopping, remaining visits and relax.
We invite you in a traditional restaurant with folkloristic dances for dinner.
Then transfer to Bole International airport for your departure.