Welcome to Addis Ababa. On your arrival at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, after clearing immigration and customs, you are welcomed by Gemsbok Safaris staff and transferred to your hotel.

Addis Ababa is the largest city of Ethiopia and its capital. Addis Ababa, which in Amharic means “a new flower”, is located in the centre of the country, 2,100–2,300 m above sea level, one of the highest capital cities in the world. It is a pleasant city with interesting museums and one of the largest open-air markets in Africa, “Mercato”. Addis Ababa is Africa’s diplomatic capital, with the headquarters of the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

In the afternoon your sightseeing of Addis starts with a visit to the National Archaeological Museum, which ranks among the most important museums in sub-Saharan Africa. It houses the 3.5-million-year-old bones of Lucy, believed to be an ancestor of all humankind, and many ancient exhibits that reflect the importance of Ethiopia as the ‘Cradle of Mankind’. Its historic room features finery worn in wars, such as crowns, weapons and pictures of wartime heroes and kings.

Continue to the Ethnographic Museum. With its two main sections covering local crafts and the regions and peoples, it is an ideal place to start learning about Ethiopia’s rich ethnic diversity. The museum has an impressive array of religious crosses, triptychs and murals, as well as Haile Selassie’s (Ethiopia’s last Emperor) bedroom and bathroom.

Visit St. George’s Cathedral (Giorgis Cathedral) at the north end of Churchill Road. Designed in the traditional octagonal shape, it was built in 1896 to commemorate Ethiopia’s victory over the Italians at the Battle of Adwa. The cathedral houses the work of Afewerk Tekle, the renowned Ethiopian artist responsible for the stained-glass windows of Africa Hall, and a small museum in the compound.

Once you finish, return to your hotel.

Meals: lunch and dinner.

Transfer to the airport for your flight to Arba Minch, home of two of Ethiopia’s largest Rift Valley lakes, the beautiful landscape of “God’s Bridge”, the forty springs, Nechisar National Park, crocodile ranches and the highland Dorze villages on its doorstep. The city is also a gateway to the Omo Valley and Konso on the southern circuit.

On arrival, enjoy a boat trip on Lake Chamo, one of the best features of the park, viewing large numbers of hippos and crocodiles at very close range. The shore known as “Azo-Gebeya” (Crocodile Market) offers one of Africa’s most impressive displays of big crocodiles.

Later, visit the Dorze people at Chencha, 40 km from the city. The Dorze are renowned cotton weavers whose tall beehive-shaped dwellings are among the most distinctive traditional structures in Africa. The Shama cloth produced around Chencha is regarded as the finest in Ethiopia; plain white Gabbi robes and brightly coloured Netala scarves are sold along the roadside. Explore the colourful local Dorze market.

Travel distance about 250 km, 5–6 hours. After breakfast, drive to Jinka, visiting Konso on the way. The Konso are known for their intricately terraced hillsides, recognised by UNESCO, their fine woven materials and the carved totems with which they decorate their graves.

You visit the Konso Cultural Community. The rolling hills of the southern Rift Valley, dotted with bright green moringa trees and thatched huts, are home to the Konso, traditional farmers who grow cereals and cotton and keep cows and goats. Konso villages (kantas) are built into the hillsides and encircled by stone walls; the winding paths all lead to the mora, a large thatched pavilion that serves as a meeting place, where young unmarried men sleep at night to protect the community. From cultural performances to handcraft demonstrations, you learn about Konso traditions and the roles they still play today. Continue to Jinka and check in to your hotel.

Total driving distance about 230 km, 6–7 hours. Take an excursion to Mago National Park to visit a Mursi village. The Mursi are one of the most traditional ethnic groups. They live in low huts made of straw; the women wear terracotta plates in their stretched lower lips and ear lobes, and the men are famous for their hairstyles and body scarification. The larger the lip plate, the greater a woman’s value when she marries; she removes the plate for eating and sleeping.

Drive on to Turmi, home of the Hamer. Both Hamer men and women take great pride in their appearance, shaving and colouring their hair, oiling their bodies and decorating themselves with beads and bracelets. They are famous for their body decoration, the moonlight (Evangedi) dance and bull jumping, the rite of passage from childhood to adulthood, which does not take place every day.

Total driving distance about 150 km, 3–4 hours. After an early breakfast, set off with a picnic lunch to Murulle to visit the Karo on the banks of the lower Omo River. The Karo use ornate body art, intricate headdresses and scarification to show beauty and status. This small tribe numbers under 1,000 but is the main non-nomadic farming group of the lower Omo Valley, and places more emphasis than its neighbours on body and face painting, using coloured ochre, white chalk, yellow mineral rock, charcoal and pulverised iron ore found in the area.

Later, visit the Nyangatom, whose ornaments not only decorate but also show a woman’s social status. Men and women wear lip piercings of metal, wood or ivory, and men sometimes wear sharp metal rings and bracelets as personal weapons. Nyangatom women wear many strands of beads, which they never take off: a girl receives her first strand from her father and adds more through her life, sometimes up to 6–8 kg. Unmarried women wear goat-skin skirts embroidered with bright beads, while married women’s skirts are plainer. Drive back to Turmi.

Early in the morning, drive to Jinka and fly back to Addis Ababa. On arrival, your sightseeing of Addis includes:

The Holy Trinity Cathedral, built in 1945, is renowned for its stained-glass windows depicting scenes from the Old and New Testaments. It also houses the tombs of the late emperor and his family, and the tomb of the English feminist Sylvia Pankhurst. (The cathedral is currently under maintenance.)

A visit to Merkato, the largest open market in Africa, where virtually every possible commodity is on sale, from livestock to computers. It is closed on Sundays, and for a visitor good at bargaining there is a huge selection of Ethiopian arts and crafts. If time does not allow a visit to Merkato, you will visit Shola market, a smaller and more easily accessible version of Merkato.

Later you are dropped at your hotel to refresh and relax. Tonight you enjoy a cultural evening and farewell dinner at one of Addis Ababa’s restaurants. Ethiopia is a mosaic of peoples with more than 80 languages and many lifestyles, costumes and cultural dances; enjoy some of these dances and traditional dishes with a glass of Tej, a wine made from honey.

Transfer to the airport for your departure flight. Many thanks and have a safe flight.