Culture & Wildlife (Ethiopia – Kenya) 18 Days

01. Arrival in Addis Ababa. Have short tour of the capital: visit the National & the Ethnographic museums. Then start your tour south, to proceed to Zway or Langano Rift Valley lakes, with nice views, spot lot of birds and enjoy these lakes.
Lunch in Addis or on the way; dinner & ON hotel in Langano

02. Drive to Arbaminch (in amharic meaning forty springs) driving through the Wolayta people & villages and admiring spectacular green hills. Drive to Chencha mountain to visit the Dorze people, with their unique culture, houses and traditions.
Have lunch on the way. Dinner & ON Swaynes hotel Arbaminch. http://www.greenlandtoursandhotels.com/swaynes/

03. Morning drive to the Netch Sar National park to see spectacular views & animals as the endemic Swaynes Hartebeest, zebras & other.
Afternoon make a boat excursion on Chamo lake to admire the biggest crocodiles in Africa (reach 6 meters of length), hippos and birds.
Meals & ON Arbaminch Swaynes hotel

04. Drive to Jinka, admiring on the way the Konso, Derase, Tsemay, Ari & Bena people + very attractive views.
Lunch on the way; dinner and ON hotel in Jinka.

05. Enter into the Mago National park and admiring mammals & birds proceed the Mursi people and their villages. Here for beauty women use to put round plates into their lips while men have different scarifications all over their body. Visit their villages and culture. Then drive back to Jinka & proceed to the Hammer people region, to Turmi. If on time visit also on the way the Thursday’s Keyafer village market of the Tsemay & Erbore people.
Lunch on the way. Dinner & ON Turmi at the Evangadi lodge http://www.greenlandtoursandhotels.com/evangadi/

06. Morning drive to the Nyangatom people crossing the Omo river with small boats at Kangate. Walk to the villages & visit this other very interesting tribe of the Omo. Then back to Kangate, meet the vehicles and drive about 1 hr to visit the Karo people, for their very interesting decoration, scarification all over their body and culture. From Kortcho village you’ll enjoy also a spectacular view over the Omo river. Late afternoon drive back to Turmi.
Lunch on the way; dinner & ON Turmi Evangadi lodge

07. Drive to Dimeka village to admire the very colorful Hamer, Karo and Dassanech people market. Then back to Turmi, to admire the Hamer people & see a village and their way of life. With luck we’ll try also to participate to the Hammer marriage ceremonies, with different activities as the bull jumping; and the Evangadi dance. Lunch box on the way; dinner & ON Turmi Evangadi lodge

08. Morning drive to Omorate, at bank of Omo river, to visit the Dassanech people and villages. Then back to Turmi, for Hamer village.
Lunch box on the way; dinner & ON Turmi Evangadi lodge

09. Drive to visit the Erbore people and village, with unique culture.
Proceed then to visit a Konso people village to understand their culture and way of life, famous for their terracing agriculture and traditions. Proceed then to Yabelo.
Lunch on the way; dinner & ON Yabelo in hotel

10. Early morning drive about 1 hour + 45 minutes walk to ElSod crater where Borena men extract salt from a marshy lake by hand & sticks. The salt is used for their cattle. Visit then the singing wells where the Borena men pass to each other the water and doing this hard work they sing. Visit also a Borena people village.
Meals and ON hotel Moyale.

11. Make all necessary borders permits. Enter then into Kenya and proceed to Marsabit National park. Game drive.
Lunch box on the way; dinner & ON Marsabit in camping or lodge

12. Proceed to the Chalbi desert, admiring very nice views and the Gabra people and villages. Continue the drive to Kalacha village.
Lunch on the way; dinner & ON Kalacha in camping or local hotel

13. Drive to Loyangalani, at bank of lake Turkana. Admire the Turkana and Elmolo people and very interesting villages.
Lunch on the way; dinner & ON Oasis lodge or camping at Turkana

14. Full days visit of Turkana and Elmolo people aand their villages. Optional mak a boat trip on Turkana lake for Elmolo village.
Lunch box; dinner & ON Oasis lodge or camping at Turkana

15. Proceed to the Samburu National park. Afternoon have the game drive in the Samburu National park, one of the richest of fauna and flora (including the big five) in Kenya. Physically dramatic, the 104 sq kilometer landscape features rocky battlements, dry riverbeds and thorn scrub. As for wildlife, Samburu offers sanctuary to the endangered Gravy’s zebra, the rare beisa Oryx and the blue-shanked Somali ostrich whilst large herds of elephant roam the gaunt hills during the day before returning to bath on the banks of the river in the evening.
Lunch on the way; dinner & ON lodge in the park

16. Early morning enjoy a game drive in the Samburu National park. Proceed then to
lake Nakuru for the large number of flamingoes and more visits. Lake Nakuru is a fresh water lake with over 2 million flamingos that flock to feed on the teeming algae, over 450 different bird species have been recorded and it hosts a sanctuary to The Black Rhino and White Rhino.
Lunch on the way; dinner & ON lodge

17. Drive to Bogoria or Baringo lakes, for numerous birds, pelicans, flamingoes and great views. Continue then to OlPejeta rhino conservation, and visit the black rhinos, lot of giraffes, elephants, hartebeest and many more animals.
Lunch on the way; dinner & ON lodge

18. Drive to Mount Kenya and proceed to Nairobi, enjoying a scenic drive of the Great Rift Valley. Reach late afternoon Nairobi and make a visit of Kenya’s capital.
Lunch on the way. Dinner at the Carnivore Restaurant.
Then transfer to the airport for departure