Safari to the Southern Omo Valley

a cultural experience on another level

Set in the southwest of Ethiopia, the Southern Omo Valley is a wild and scenic area which is home to some of the most fascinating tribal people in Africa.

A visit here is an experience like no other. It’s impossible not to be overwhelmed by the sheer magnificence of these warrior peoples and be amazed by the fact that they continue to live here in the traditional way almost as if the outside world didn’t exist.

It’s extremely important when visiting the tribes of the Omo Valley that the experience is delivered in a way that is positive for the local people. You need to be careful to avoid the kind of demeaning poverty tourism that is all too widespread.

Unfortunately visiting the area properly is an unavoidably expensive undertaking, but if you have the time and the funds available, then this will change your life.

A worthwhile visit to the Southern Omo Valley is expensive. Not only are the flights up and back costly, but the Lale’s Camp itself is only available for exclusive use.

It also requires a good deal of time. The bare minimum stay is 3 nights, but if you want to combine with the bivouac camps and really get the most out of the experience, then you need to think about 5-7 nights.

In other words, it’s quite a commitment.

Seasonality

The best time to visit the Southern Omo Valley is generally considered to be the Nov-Mar dry season.

The area has a subtropical highland climate, with pleasantly warm to hot days and warm to mild nights.

Peak daytime temperatures tend to be around 26C/80F, although can rise to 30C/86F, with Jan-Feb having the potential to be particularly hot and humid. Nighttime temperatures usually drop to a comfortable 12C/54F.

The main rains fall during Apr-Sep, peaking in May-Jul when precipitation can reach 200mm/8″ per month, which is pretty high.

Cultural celebrations (such as the Hamar bull-jumping ceremony) can happen any time of year and are very difficult to predict far enough in advance to arrange trips around.

Getting there

The best way to reach the Southern Omo Valley is to charter a flight into one of the dirt airstrips close to the river, which gets you right into the heart of the area without any hassle, but which is inherently expensive.

It is possible to fly on scheduled air services into the village of Jinka, from where it is about 2-3 hours drive down into the core areas along the river.

The vast majority of budget trips drive down from Addis Ababa to the Eastern Omo Valley, taking a couple or more days travelling down the Abyssinian Rift Valley, through Arba Minch and Konso, before arriving into the area via Turmi. Unfortunately coming in this way exposes you to the worst abuses of cultural tourism and is not something we recommend at all.

We do occasionally drive all the way down to the Southern Omo Valley, taking the remote back routes via the little-visited reserves of Chebera-Churchura and Maze, although these do tend to be rather long and specialist trips.

Where to stay

In our opinion there is only one place worth staying in the Southern Omo Valley, the very pleasant Lale’s Camp, which is the only property to be located right in the heart of the action and the only place that delivers cultural interaction with suitable sensitivity (being part-owned by the local people). The camp also operates two simple satellite bivouac camps to enable guests to make the most of their time in the various villages.

There are also options to undertake fabulous river expeditions, in the company of a very experienced guide, staying in various mobile tented camps along the way, usually over the course of 5-7 nights.

All of the other properties in the area are located in towns away from the river, offer simple facilities and sub-standard (sometimes verging on abusive) cultural interaction.

your choice of camp is absolutely crucial