Safari to Lower Awash

home of Lucy, the famous Australopithecus

Between the mouth of the Great Rift Valley and the open plains of the Afar region, the Awash River flows north and then turns east into the desert, passing through a string of increasingly sodorous lakes, until it finally terminates in the remote Lake Abhe.

This area contains some of the most important palaeontological sites on the African continent.

Excavations here during the 1970s produced evidence of our hominid ancestors dating back at least four millions years.

This valley produced the most complete set of remains of an Australopithecus afarensis skeleton, dating back 3.2 million years, which was famously nicknamed ‘Lucy’.

A few years later another female skeleton, nicknamed ‘Ardi’, was recovered, this time dating back an extraordinary 4.4 million years.

This area is usually visited as part of a private-guided overland safari, starting in Addis Ababa and exploring the southern parts of the country, including any or all of Awash, Aledeghi, Harar, the Bale Mountains and the Southern Omo Valley, over the course of one or two weeks.

There are presently no accommodation facilities in this area, nor are the excavation sites open to the public.

However, if you are keen on your palaeontology, then we do know some of the senior people at the national museum in Addis Ababa and we are sometimes able to arrange special accompanied trips into the area. Please do ask us for details.

only suitable for specialist expeditions