Africa
Omo Valley: The Extraordinary Tribal People of southern Ethiopia
Including Lalibela Extension
Lining up to impress the girls, a group of young Suri men stand around chatting to girls between rounds of their stick fight (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The Ari people of southern Ethiopia have a very sophisticated way of using the land for food harvesting and medicinal purposes. Here, corn is stacked for drying by Ari people (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The stunningly beautiful women of the Arbore tribe, who live in three small villages on the shoreline of Lake Chew Bahir. Even as they age, they retain such a statuesque beauty. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The act of 'Donga' or stick fighting is a uniquely Suri tradition in the Omo Valley. Fights can occur to prove clan power, to initiate young men or even between men fighting over the best woman to marry. It isn't a guaranteed event at all but if it occurs during our tour it is a rare glimpse into the real lives of the Suri people (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The Nyangatom originate in South Sudan, but now a large group of them reside in the beautiful Central Rift Valley of southern Ethiopia. Scarring is an integral part of Nyangatom decoration and in the past a Nyangatom man would mark his chest with a scar each time he killed a warrior from another tribe. These days, the scars are created more for beauty than for killing prowess (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a young Suri boy with flowers and face painting (Image by Inger Vandyke)
While sitting with a group of Hamer women making bread, we realised that swarms of bees were also attracted to this activity, due to a small and spontaneous supply of water. To combat the unexpected bees, Hamer women burned coals to make smoke and keep them away. Portrait of an elderly Hamer woman in smoke (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Traditionally Suri women have self-scarred their bodies to make themselves more attractive to men. Accompanying this rite is piercing of both their lips and ears. Here a young Suri woman shows off her beautiful body markings (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a young boy with blue eyes, a rare genetic anomaly in African people (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Prayer sashes at Lalibela (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Karo herder and his sheep at dusk (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A ray of sunlight illuminates a priest's crucifix at Lalibela, Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Young children of the Hamer tribe grow up surrounded by the beauty, support and love of their mothers (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a 'touristy Suri' girl with her baby. Although beautiful and a definite must photograph aspect of the Suri people, this practice of decoration using body painting and flowers etc is mostly done for tourists. Our tour will explore both personalities of the Suri - this one, and the more traditional Suri people living in the Kibish region of the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Lalibela pilgrim (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Young children play in between spectating at a Suri stick fight or 'donga' (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The Hamer women and girls are often considered to be some of the most beautiful people in the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
An elderly Suri woman stands in the doorway of her hut. Her bottom lip is missing the traditional lip plate that is a feature of the Suri tribe (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A beautiful, smiling Hamer woman. She is wearing a Binyari, or the heavy necklace with a 'lock' adornment, indicating she is the first wife of her husband (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A Lalibela priest reads his bible by the light shining through a crucifix shaped 'window' in a rock church (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Hamer women adorn their legs with chains of bells before they dance a traditional 'Gola' at the start of the bull jumping ceremony, a tradition amongst Hamer, Tsemay and Banna people in the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Stunning face painting in the Suri people of the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A selection of brightly coloured gourds for sale at the tribal markets of Key Afara, one of the best markets in the Omo Valley for photography (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Hamer children grow up surrounded by so much beauty (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The rock-hewn churches of Lalibela make for incredible photography (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Preparing for battle. The referee of a Suri donga, or stick fight, helps a warrior to fix his head protection before the next round of fighting. Warriors from the Suri tribe protect themselves from serious injury in helmets and guards fashioned from plastic bottles and thread (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a scarred Suri woman in the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of Keri, a beautiful Hamer first wife in the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Aba Mezgebe's feet, Asheten Maryam, near Lalibela (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a young boy from the Dizzi people in the coffee region of southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a young Suri boy smiling with his scarification and face painting (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A group of young Karo men pose high on the river bank above the Omo River (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The beautiful act of face painting in the Suri people of the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a stunning Karo girl in Dus. The women of the Karo decorate their hair using a combination of animal fat and red ochre. They also proudly wear numerous strands of colourful beads around their necks. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a Mursi woman in the doorway of her hut at Mago National Park in southern Ethiopia. Like their related Suri people, the Mursi traditionally insert large lip plates as decoration. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A group of Hippopotamus on Lake Chamo. We journey out on the lake to watch local Gamo fishermen catch both Nile Perch and Tilapia. During the trip we may see Hippos, Nile Crocodiles and a variety of spectacular African water birds. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A beautifully decorated girl of the Mursi tribe stands in the hills of the spectacular Mago National Park near Jinka in southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Three beautiful Arbore girls and their hut in the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
For over a week, they will live alongside the initiate boy, feeding him, preparing him and helping him to practice - for Hamer boys to prove they are men, they are required to participate in a bull jumping ceremony, where the chosen boy has to run several times across the backs of six or so bulls. In the lead up to the ceremony, a group of young initiated men help him to prepare. On the day of the ceremony this group of young men all paint their faces in the same way, so they can help the initiate boy remain focussed. Portrait of a young Hamer boy who is a part of that group. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a young Suri boy in the Kibish area of the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The Karo village of Dus in the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of Noko with his gun in a Karo hut (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A Karo boy stands waiting for livestock to be herded into an elaborately constructed enclosure in the village of Dus, the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a traditional Suri woman and her baby in the Omo Valley. She is carrying the horn of a large Waterbuck on her head (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Detailed beading in the traditional dress of the Tsemay people (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A Gamo fisherman plies the waters of Lake Chamo on a traditional papyrus boat used to catch both Nile Perch and Tilapia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Traditional mud building construction in the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a beautiful Nyangatom girl at sunset (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a traditional Nyangatom girl from South Sudan. Along with numerous strands of necklaces, Nyangatom women pierce their bottom lips and insert a brass ring in them for decoration. Traditionally Nyangatom people were the crocodile hunters of the Omo River. These days they are mostly agro-pastoralist, semi-nomadic people residing in one of the most starkly beautiful regions of Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A priest at the chapel of Asheten Maryam holds one of his treasured bibles (Image by Inger Vandyke)
There are two very significant personalities of the Suri tribe in the Omo Valley. The first is one that is mostly done for tourists and involves the use of body painting and decoration with flowers and skins. This 'touristy' Suri decoration holds very little anthropological value (it was originally done only for special occasions but is now done every day for tourists and photographers). This, however, is the real Suri. Portrait of a beautiful young Suri girl with her traditional green head covering and long copper bracelets (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a young Suri boy with his decorations fashioned from feathers, paint and a gourd (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Lichens cover the outside wall of the St George church in Lalibela, Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The famous Tomoka Coffee House in Addis Ababa is Ethiopia's oldest coffee brewing establishment. We will stop here to enjoy some superb coffee on our street photography tour of Addis (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Aba Mezgebe's smile (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Early morning walk with cattle herders of the Mursi people (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a young Tsemay girl. The Tsemay belong to the same tribal cluster as the Hamer and Banna people in Ethiopia. Tsemay girls are differentiated by their elaborate coats made of goat skin and cowrie shells and also their vertical tattoo markings on their foreheads (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a pretty young Nyangatom girl in traditional dress (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of Bodo Shauki, a young man of the Banna tribe who is wearing their traditional headbands of beads with an added twist of hair clips (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A pretty Tsemay girl with her vertical tattoos on her forehead in Key Afara, Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A typical village of the Arbore people. Stacked up against their large huts are piles of tied papyrus reeds collected from nearby Lake Chew Bahir to be used as fodder for their animals (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A cattle herder at a remote cattle camp of the Mursi people (Image by Inger Vandyke)
An amused young Suri man recalling the antics of the most recent round of fighting at a Donga (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of Wata, an elderly man of the Arbore people (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The striking beauty of a Mursi woman with her lip plate and decorations of warthog tusks in the Mago National Park (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A young Suri warrior calls out that the fight is 'on' again (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a Nyangatom woman in the door of her hut in a remote village of the central Rift valley of Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of Bonko, a young Hamer man on the cusp of his initiation from boyhood to manhood at the bull jumping ceremony. We were blessed to meet with him before his big event and learn more about how he prepared for this once in a lifetime event that affects him. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Detail of Mursi body painting (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Herding the cattle to a vital 'blessing of the cows' before a Hamer bull jumping ceremony (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Visiting a cattle camp of the Mursi isn't always easy and is never guaranteed. If we manage to visit one on our tour, we will learn a lot about how the Mursi or Suri people manage their cattle. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
An elderly Karo man holds a puppy in a toy boat he has carved out of wood (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A Lalibela Priest holding a candle (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Detail of an intricately scarred breast on a Suri woman (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Legumes for sale in the market at Kibish (Image by Inger Vandyke)
One of the warrior clans at a Suri 'Donga' or stick fight (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a beautiful Suri girl near Kibish in the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a Suri man with his 'earrings' of local bush tomatoes (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A Nile Crocodile lounges on the shores of Lake Chamo. Local Gamo fishermen regularly have to navigate the perils of Nile Crocodiles when they ply the waters of the lake fishing for Nile Perch and Tilapia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
While many Nyangatom women opt for necklaces in their traditional colours of red, yellow and green, you can still occasionally meet a girl simply wearing strands of wooden beads (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a young Dizzi girl standing in the doorway of her parents' decorated Tukul in the coffee growing regions of southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The Hamer people of the Omo Valley have a rather strange custom of whipping their women before their traditional bull jumping ceremonies. Hamer women wear the scars of their whipping with great pride. To them it signifies their strength and suitability for becoming a Hamer bride. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a Suri warrior preparing for a stick fight (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a traditional Dassanech woman in front of her hut near Omorate in southern Ethiopia. For a long time the Dassanech had taken to fashioning elaborate headdresses out of re-used bottle tops but in 2018 they collectively took a stance against this practice. It was being done entirely for photographers and tourists so they decided to stop doing it in the name of cultural preservation. Instead they have returned to wearing traditional 'bures' or red beaded necklaces and metal bracelets and anklets. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of an elderly Karo lady in Dus (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A priest holding his crucifix at Lalibela in Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a Toposa girl with her trademark extreme scarring. Originally from South Sudan, the Toposa are closely linked to the Nyangatom people and will often intermarry with Nyangatom men (Image by Inger Vandyke)
An ancient prayer book at Asheten Maryam (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Beautiful Arbore girls in southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of Noko, one of the Karo tribal elders in Dus, the Omo Valley. He is standing in front of a Marmar and this wooden shelter serves as a sort of 'parliament house' for elders to meet and discuss matters involving the tribe. Young couples may also come here to start their marriage ceremonies. It was constructed around 10 years ago using a variety of hardwoods collected from nearby forests. It, and other structures of Dus village, serve as a testimony to the great skill these people have with constructing facilities that truly endure the test of time. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a Mursi woman wearing her signature lip disk (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Aba Mezgebe, the father of the church at Asheten Maryam near Lalibela, reveals one of his church's ancient bibles (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A black and white portrait of a traditional Suri girl with her beautiful ear plate piercing, near Kibish in southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a stunning, smiling Arbore girl (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of Nakalamchi, a Suri woman in the Kibish region of the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of Nurutu, a traditional Ari woman, in her home near Jinka (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A group of Suri warriors prepare to fight out round 2 of a rare Donga, or stick fight, between them and a neighbouring clan (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The beautiful act of face painting in the Suri tribe of the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Sunrise over the beautiful Lake Chamo, near Arba Minch in southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a beautiful Arbore woman in her village (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of Bariti, a beautiful Arbore girl (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The referee checks that the helmet of a Suri warrior is fixed on properly before the next round of Donga fighting starts (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The beautiful decorations of a Hamer woman include heavy metal bracelets and animal skins decorated with beads (Image by Inger Vandyke)
On the road in remote parts of the Omo Valley in southern Ethiopia. It is in this wild region that crossing mountains throws you into entirely different landscapes and cultures (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A beautiful Hamer woman wearing the heavy Binyari necklace that indicates she is the first wife of her husband (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a young Nyangatom girl in southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a young Hamer man (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Fingers of light greet the day near Lake Chamo in southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Suri warriors march in to a Donga, or traditional stick fight (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Stilt walking children of the Banna people. Tradition states that the Banna took to walking on stilts while they wandered the countryside, to avoid attacks from large predators like lions. There is very little evidence to truly support this claim but stopping to photograph these boys is a fun break on the road between Turmi and Jinka in southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of Napokot, a traditional Nyangatom woman, outside her hut in the remote Central Rift Valley region of southern Ethiopia. The Nyangatom people originate in southern Sudan and they are known for their copious amounts of beaded necklaces, usually red, green and yellow in colour. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Preparing the hair of a young Hamer woman. When Hamer women marry they are required to adorn their hair with a mixture of red ochre and animal fat. Prior to marriage, they may wear their hair any way they wish. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a traditional Suri man with his incredible, scarred biceps (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a painted young Suri boy in southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Holding hands in the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The priests of Lalibela (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Modern day tribal. Portrait of Adani, a local guy from Arba Minch in southern Ethiopia. Although many young people from the Omo Valley head north to receive a better education, a few of them retain their traditional jewellery which is worn alongside modern clothes when they come back (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Beautiful Nyangatom girls in their hut (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A clash of modernity and tradition, this portrait of Babuku, a young Suri boy with his face painted in the more modern Suri way, surrounded by the copper bracelets worn by traditional Suri women of his tribe (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A group of Karo people walk over to meet us through clouds of dust in their village of Dus (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A Suri warrior takes a break between rounds of a traditional 'Donga' or stick fight. These carefully controlled fights between clans of Suri men are a rare event but when one occurs, the rituals surrounding them are fascinating (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a beautiful Nyangatom woman and her baby in a remote village of the Central Rift Valley in southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a decorated Hamer man in doorway in Turmi, southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a muslim man in the Mercato of Addis Ababa (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Lining up to impress the girls, a group of young Suri men stand around chatting to girls between rounds of their stick fight (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The Ari people of southern Ethiopia have a very sophisticated way of using the land for food harvesting and medicinal purposes. Here, corn is stacked for drying by Ari people (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The stunningly beautiful women of the Arbore tribe, who live in three small villages on the shoreline of Lake Chew Bahir. Even as they age, they retain such a statuesque beauty. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The act of 'Donga' or stick fighting is a uniquely Suri tradition in the Omo Valley. Fights can occur to prove clan power, to initiate young men or even between men fighting over the best woman to marry. It isn't a guaranteed event at all but if it occurs during our tour it is a rare glimpse into the real lives of the Suri people (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The Nyangatom originate in South Sudan, but now a large group of them reside in the beautiful Central Rift Valley of southern Ethiopia. Scarring is an integral part of Nyangatom decoration and in the past a Nyangatom man would mark his chest with a scar each time he killed a warrior from another tribe. These days, the scars are created more for beauty than for killing prowess (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a young Suri boy with flowers and face painting (Image by Inger Vandyke)
While sitting with a group of Hamer women making bread, we realised that swarms of bees were also attracted to this activity, due to a small and spontaneous supply of water. To combat the unexpected bees, Hamer women burned coals to make smoke and keep them away. Portrait of an elderly Hamer woman in smoke (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Traditionally Suri women have self-scarred their bodies to make themselves more attractive to men. Accompanying this rite is piercing of both their lips and ears. Here a young Suri woman shows off her beautiful body markings (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a young boy with blue eyes, a rare genetic anomaly in African people (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Prayer sashes at Lalibela (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Karo herder and his sheep at dusk (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A ray of sunlight illuminates a priest's crucifix at Lalibela, Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Young children of the Hamer tribe grow up surrounded by the beauty, support and love of their mothers (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a 'touristy Suri' girl with her baby. Although beautiful and a definite must photograph aspect of the Suri people, this practice of decoration using body painting and flowers etc is mostly done for tourists. Our tour will explore both personalities of the Suri - this one, and the more traditional Suri people living in the Kibish region of the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Lalibela pilgrim (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Young children play in between spectating at a Suri stick fight or 'donga' (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The Hamer women and girls are often considered to be some of the most beautiful people in the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
An elderly Suri woman stands in the doorway of her hut. Her bottom lip is missing the traditional lip plate that is a feature of the Suri tribe (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A beautiful, smiling Hamer woman. She is wearing a Binyari, or the heavy necklace with a 'lock' adornment, indicating she is the first wife of her husband (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A Lalibela priest reads his bible by the light shining through a crucifix shaped 'window' in a rock church (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Hamer women adorn their legs with chains of bells before they dance a traditional 'Gola' at the start of the bull jumping ceremony, a tradition amongst Hamer, Tsemay and Banna people in the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Stunning face painting in the Suri people of the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A selection of brightly coloured gourds for sale at the tribal markets of Key Afara, one of the best markets in the Omo Valley for photography (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Hamer children grow up surrounded by so much beauty (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The rock-hewn churches of Lalibela make for incredible photography (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Preparing for battle. The referee of a Suri donga, or stick fight, helps a warrior to fix his head protection before the next round of fighting. Warriors from the Suri tribe protect themselves from serious injury in helmets and guards fashioned from plastic bottles and thread (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a scarred Suri woman in the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of Keri, a beautiful Hamer first wife in the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Aba Mezgebe's feet, Asheten Maryam, near Lalibela (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a young boy from the Dizzi people in the coffee region of southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a young Suri boy smiling with his scarification and face painting (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A group of young Karo men pose high on the river bank above the Omo River (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The beautiful act of face painting in the Suri people of the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a stunning Karo girl in Dus. The women of the Karo decorate their hair using a combination of animal fat and red ochre. They also proudly wear numerous strands of colourful beads around their necks. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a Mursi woman in the doorway of her hut at Mago National Park in southern Ethiopia. Like their related Suri people, the Mursi traditionally insert large lip plates as decoration. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A group of Hippopotamus on Lake Chamo. We journey out on the lake to watch local Gamo fishermen catch both Nile Perch and Tilapia. During the trip we may see Hippos, Nile Crocodiles and a variety of spectacular African water birds. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A beautifully decorated girl of the Mursi tribe stands in the hills of the spectacular Mago National Park near Jinka in southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Three beautiful Arbore girls and their hut in the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
For over a week, they will live alongside the initiate boy, feeding him, preparing him and helping him to practice - for Hamer boys to prove they are men, they are required to participate in a bull jumping ceremony, where the chosen boy has to run several times across the backs of six or so bulls. In the lead up to the ceremony, a group of young initiated men help him to prepare. On the day of the ceremony this group of young men all paint their faces in the same way, so they can help the initiate boy remain focussed. Portrait of a young Hamer boy who is a part of that group. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a young Suri boy in the Kibish area of the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The Karo village of Dus in the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of Noko with his gun in a Karo hut (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A Karo boy stands waiting for livestock to be herded into an elaborately constructed enclosure in the village of Dus, the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a traditional Suri woman and her baby in the Omo Valley. She is carrying the horn of a large Waterbuck on her head (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Detailed beading in the traditional dress of the Tsemay people (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A Gamo fisherman plies the waters of Lake Chamo on a traditional papyrus boat used to catch both Nile Perch and Tilapia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Traditional mud building construction in the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a beautiful Nyangatom girl at sunset (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a traditional Nyangatom girl from South Sudan. Along with numerous strands of necklaces, Nyangatom women pierce their bottom lips and insert a brass ring in them for decoration. Traditionally Nyangatom people were the crocodile hunters of the Omo River. These days they are mostly agro-pastoralist, semi-nomadic people residing in one of the most starkly beautiful regions of Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A priest at the chapel of Asheten Maryam holds one of his treasured bibles (Image by Inger Vandyke)
There are two very significant personalities of the Suri tribe in the Omo Valley. The first is one that is mostly done for tourists and involves the use of body painting and decoration with flowers and skins. This 'touristy' Suri decoration holds very little anthropological value (it was originally done only for special occasions but is now done every day for tourists and photographers). This, however, is the real Suri. Portrait of a beautiful young Suri girl with her traditional green head covering and long copper bracelets (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a young Suri boy with his decorations fashioned from feathers, paint and a gourd (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Lichens cover the outside wall of the St George church in Lalibela, Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The famous Tomoka Coffee House in Addis Ababa is Ethiopia's oldest coffee brewing establishment. We will stop here to enjoy some superb coffee on our street photography tour of Addis (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Aba Mezgebe's smile (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Early morning walk with cattle herders of the Mursi people (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a young Tsemay girl. The Tsemay belong to the same tribal cluster as the Hamer and Banna people in Ethiopia. Tsemay girls are differentiated by their elaborate coats made of goat skin and cowrie shells and also their vertical tattoo markings on their foreheads (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a pretty young Nyangatom girl in traditional dress (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of Bodo Shauki, a young man of the Banna tribe who is wearing their traditional headbands of beads with an added twist of hair clips (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A pretty Tsemay girl with her vertical tattoos on her forehead in Key Afara, Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A typical village of the Arbore people. Stacked up against their large huts are piles of tied papyrus reeds collected from nearby Lake Chew Bahir to be used as fodder for their animals (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A cattle herder at a remote cattle camp of the Mursi people (Image by Inger Vandyke)
An amused young Suri man recalling the antics of the most recent round of fighting at a Donga (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of Wata, an elderly man of the Arbore people (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The striking beauty of a Mursi woman with her lip plate and decorations of warthog tusks in the Mago National Park (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A young Suri warrior calls out that the fight is 'on' again (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a Nyangatom woman in the door of her hut in a remote village of the central Rift valley of Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of Bonko, a young Hamer man on the cusp of his initiation from boyhood to manhood at the bull jumping ceremony. We were blessed to meet with him before his big event and learn more about how he prepared for this once in a lifetime event that affects him. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Detail of Mursi body painting (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Herding the cattle to a vital 'blessing of the cows' before a Hamer bull jumping ceremony (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Visiting a cattle camp of the Mursi isn't always easy and is never guaranteed. If we manage to visit one on our tour, we will learn a lot about how the Mursi or Suri people manage their cattle. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
An elderly Karo man holds a puppy in a toy boat he has carved out of wood (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A Lalibela Priest holding a candle (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Detail of an intricately scarred breast on a Suri woman (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Legumes for sale in the market at Kibish (Image by Inger Vandyke)
One of the warrior clans at a Suri 'Donga' or stick fight (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a beautiful Suri girl near Kibish in the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a Suri man with his 'earrings' of local bush tomatoes (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A Nile Crocodile lounges on the shores of Lake Chamo. Local Gamo fishermen regularly have to navigate the perils of Nile Crocodiles when they ply the waters of the lake fishing for Nile Perch and Tilapia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
While many Nyangatom women opt for necklaces in their traditional colours of red, yellow and green, you can still occasionally meet a girl simply wearing strands of wooden beads (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a young Dizzi girl standing in the doorway of her parents' decorated Tukul in the coffee growing regions of southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The Hamer people of the Omo Valley have a rather strange custom of whipping their women before their traditional bull jumping ceremonies. Hamer women wear the scars of their whipping with great pride. To them it signifies their strength and suitability for becoming a Hamer bride. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a Suri warrior preparing for a stick fight (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a traditional Dassanech woman in front of her hut near Omorate in southern Ethiopia. For a long time the Dassanech had taken to fashioning elaborate headdresses out of re-used bottle tops but in 2018 they collectively took a stance against this practice. It was being done entirely for photographers and tourists so they decided to stop doing it in the name of cultural preservation. Instead they have returned to wearing traditional 'bures' or red beaded necklaces and metal bracelets and anklets. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of an elderly Karo lady in Dus (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A priest holding his crucifix at Lalibela in Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a Toposa girl with her trademark extreme scarring. Originally from South Sudan, the Toposa are closely linked to the Nyangatom people and will often intermarry with Nyangatom men (Image by Inger Vandyke)
An ancient prayer book at Asheten Maryam (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Beautiful Arbore girls in southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of Noko, one of the Karo tribal elders in Dus, the Omo Valley. He is standing in front of a Marmar and this wooden shelter serves as a sort of 'parliament house' for elders to meet and discuss matters involving the tribe. Young couples may also come here to start their marriage ceremonies. It was constructed around 10 years ago using a variety of hardwoods collected from nearby forests. It, and other structures of Dus village, serve as a testimony to the great skill these people have with constructing facilities that truly endure the test of time. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a Mursi woman wearing her signature lip disk (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Aba Mezgebe, the father of the church at Asheten Maryam near Lalibela, reveals one of his church's ancient bibles (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A black and white portrait of a traditional Suri girl with her beautiful ear plate piercing, near Kibish in southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a stunning, smiling Arbore girl (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of Nakalamchi, a Suri woman in the Kibish region of the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of Nurutu, a traditional Ari woman, in her home near Jinka (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A group of Suri warriors prepare to fight out round 2 of a rare Donga, or stick fight, between them and a neighbouring clan (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The beautiful act of face painting in the Suri tribe of the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Sunrise over the beautiful Lake Chamo, near Arba Minch in southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a beautiful Arbore woman in her village (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of Bariti, a beautiful Arbore girl (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The referee checks that the helmet of a Suri warrior is fixed on properly before the next round of Donga fighting starts (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The beautiful decorations of a Hamer woman include heavy metal bracelets and animal skins decorated with beads (Image by Inger Vandyke)
On the road in remote parts of the Omo Valley in southern Ethiopia. It is in this wild region that crossing mountains throws you into entirely different landscapes and cultures (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A beautiful Hamer woman wearing the heavy Binyari necklace that indicates she is the first wife of her husband (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a young Nyangatom girl in southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a young Hamer man (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Fingers of light greet the day near Lake Chamo in southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Suri warriors march in to a Donga, or traditional stick fight (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Stilt walking children of the Banna people. Tradition states that the Banna took to walking on stilts while they wandered the countryside, to avoid attacks from large predators like lions. There is very little evidence to truly support this claim but stopping to photograph these boys is a fun break on the road between Turmi and Jinka in southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of Napokot, a traditional Nyangatom woman, outside her hut in the remote Central Rift Valley region of southern Ethiopia. The Nyangatom people originate in southern Sudan and they are known for their copious amounts of beaded necklaces, usually red, green and yellow in colour. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Preparing the hair of a young Hamer woman. When Hamer women marry they are required to adorn their hair with a mixture of red ochre and animal fat. Prior to marriage, they may wear their hair any way they wish. (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a traditional Suri man with his incredible, scarred biceps (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a painted young Suri boy in southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Holding hands in the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)
The priests of Lalibela (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Modern day tribal. Portrait of Adani, a local guy from Arba Minch in southern Ethiopia. Although many young people from the Omo Valley head north to receive a better education, a few of them retain their traditional jewellery which is worn alongside modern clothes when they come back (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Beautiful Nyangatom girls in their hut (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A clash of modernity and tradition, this portrait of Babuku, a young Suri boy with his face painted in the more modern Suri way, surrounded by the copper bracelets worn by traditional Suri women of his tribe (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A group of Karo people walk over to meet us through clouds of dust in their village of Dus (Image by Inger Vandyke)
A Suri warrior takes a break between rounds of a traditional 'Donga' or stick fight. These carefully controlled fights between clans of Suri men are a rare event but when one occurs, the rituals surrounding them are fascinating (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a beautiful Nyangatom woman and her baby in a remote village of the Central Rift Valley in southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a decorated Hamer man in doorway in Turmi, southern Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)
Portrait of a muslim man in the Mercato of Addis Ababa (Image by Inger Vandyke)
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Saturday 15th February – Friday 28th February 2020 Leader: Inger Vandyke and a local guide |
14 Days | Group Size Limit 5 |
| Lalibela Extension Friday 28th February – Tuesday 3rd March 2020 |
5 Days | Group Size Limit 5 |
Photographic Highlights
- A chance to visit some of Africa’s most elaborately decorated indigenous people including the Surma, Mursi, Hamer, Arbore and Dassanach tribes
- Join award winning photographer Inger Vandyke to meet these tribal people and engage with them for photographic portraits
- A true adventure in the wildest regions of southern Ethiopia, exploring the coffee plantations of the midlands, the Weito River area, Omo River, Mago National Park and the Omo Valley
- Local guides who are knowledgeable about the natural and human history of the Omo Valley
- Excursions in tribal villages at sunrise and sunset to enjoy the best light of day for photography
- The famous rock hewn churches of Lalibela, one of Africa’s holiest sites
- A trek to the beautiful, remote church of Asheten Maryam, high on the hill above Lalibela
OMO VALLEY PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS WITH WILD IMAGES
The extraordinarily diverse country of Ethiopia is home to some of the last true tribal people in all of Africa. In the south west of Ethiopia lies the Omo Valley, a living anthropological treasure of spectacular people including the Hamer, Surma, Dassanech, Karo and Mursi tribes. In the face of their ever changing world, each of these tribes is struggling to maintain their traditions of dress, dance, decoration and way of life. A visit to Ethiopia’s Omo Valley is to visit a world that is fast disappearing. A world of beauty, diversity and strength that has vanished from great tracts of Africa.
Collectively the Omo Valley people draw inspiration from the wilderness that surrounds them and this is reflected in their varying styles of traditional dress.
The first group we will meet on our Omo Valley tour is the spectacular Surma tribe near Kibish. Piercing lips and lobes and inserting lip plates are a strong part of the Suri culture. At puberty most young women have their lower teeth removed in order to get their lower lip pierced. Once the lip is pierced, it is then stretched and lip plates of increasing size are then placed in the hole of the piercing. Having a lip plate is a sign of female beauty and appropriateness; a common thought is that the bigger the plate, the more cattle the woman is ‘worth’ for her bride price, though this is questioned by anthropologists.
The Suri pride themselves on their scars and how many they carry. Women perform decorative scarification by slicing their skin with a razor blade after lifting it with a thorn. After the skin is sliced the piece of skin left over is left to eventually scar. On the other hand, the men traditionally scarred their bodies after they killed someone from an enemy group. These rituals, which are extremely painful, are said by some observers to be a way of getting the younger Suri used to seeing blood and feeling pain.
A sport and ritual the Suri take very seriously is stick fighting, or rather, ceremonial duelling. In most cases, this stick fighting is done so young men can find wives. It is a way for young men to prove themselves to the young women. To the Suri, the ideal time to stick fight is just after it rains. The fights are held between Suri villages, and the fights begin with 20 to 30 people on each side. Of these 20 to 30 people, all get a chance to fight one on one against someone from the other side. During these fights there are referees present to make sure the rules are being followed. Many stick fights end within the first couple of decisive hits. Stick fighting has proven to be dangerous because people have died, e.g., from being hit in the stomach. Since stick fighting draws a large audience, it may become risky. Shooting incidents can easily erupt between men who have other disputes, in real life, and want to fight it out.
Each household in the Suri village is managed by a married woman. The women prepare the food, take care of the children, and cultivate their own fields and gardens, and are allowed to use their profits however they wish. There are also age grades. Young men (Tegay) are the ‘warrior grade’, not yet fully responsible adults. They are mainly responsible for herding and defending the cattle. Junior elders (Rora) are the dominant decision-making age-grade and entrance is gained in an initiation ritual that is held every 20 to 30 years. During this initiation the young men to be ‘promoted’ are tried and tested by elders, and are sometimes whipped until they bleed. Decisions in the Suri community are made by men in an assembly. Women are not allowed to voice their opinions during these debates but are allowed to do so before or after the debates take place. These debates are closed and summed up by the community’s ritual chief (the komoru).
The economy of the Suri is based on livestock herding and agriculture. They keep cattle and goats, the main source of wealth. Crops planted are sorghum, maize, cassava, cabbage, beans, yams, spice plants and some tobacco. During the dry season, the Suri also collect honey. The Suri pan gold in nearby streams which they sell for cash to highland traders. Suri women also used to make earthenware pots and sell them to neighbours, like the Dizi, as also sold produce of game hunting, but these activities have sharply declined in the pas decades. The average married male in the Suri tribe owns somewhere between 30 and 40 cows. These cows are not usually killed, unless needed for ceremonial purposes. Every young male has a ‘favourite cattle’ name (next to others). Cows are very important to the Suri – economically, socially, symbolically – and at times they risk death to protect their herd; Suri men are also judged by how much cattle they own. Men also are not allowed to marry until they have a sufficient number to start paying the bride-wealth. Cows are given to his prospective wife’s family after the initial wedding ceremony. To praise their cattle or mourn their deaths, the Suri sing songs for them.
We will spend three nights in Kibish in order to spend two full days with the Surma people, who are some of the least visited people in the Omo.
From Kibish we will make our way to Jima, Arba Minch and Turmi where we will visit the Arbore, Dassanach and Hamar tribes.
The beautiful Daasanach and Arbore tribes are related to the Turkana tribes in northern Kenya.
A semi-nomadic people, the Daasanach are semi nomadic who adhere to a clan structure across their regions in Ethiopia, Sudan and Kenya. They are very tall and slender, wearing red and yellow jewellery, leather head pieces lined with bottle caps and they are known for their unique, ornate hair buns.
The Arbore are a small tribe who live near the Weito River. The young women are striking with their long black head dresses and layers of colourful beads. The girls shave their heads until they are married when they start to grow their hair again.
From Kibish we will slowly make our way to the eastern part of the Omo Valley via Jimma and Arba Minch. Here we will spend three nights in the Turmi area photographing the spectacular Hamer people. Known as some of the most beautiful people in the Omo, the Hamer women are striking, wearing beautiful colorful beaded skins, ornate necklaces, and metal bangles around their wrist and ankles. Famous for their hairstyle — a crown of long dread-lock braids covered in ocher — the Hamer women are the most decorated of the Omo people.
If we are lucky during our stay we may encounter a traditional Hamer Bull Jumping Ceremony. The Hamar 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 initiated, and their scars give them a right to demand his help in time of need. The boy must run back and forth twice across the backs of a row of bulls or castrated steers, and he is ridiculed if he fails.
We will then visit the elaborately painted and scarred Karo People. The Karo excel in face and body painting practiced daily in preparation of their dances and ceremonies. They pulverize locally found white chalk, yellow mineral rock, red iron ore, and black charcoal to decorate their bodies, often mimicking the spotted plumage of a guinea fowl. The men create highly decorated clay hair buns, which can take up to three days to complete. Their ornate body scarring, where a cut is made with a knife and ash is rubbed into the wound to produce a raised welt, is also a known characteristic of the Karo.
Finally we will visit and spend time with the Mursi people of the Omo Valley near Jinka. The second group of people who adorn themselves with elaborate ‘lip disks’ the Mursi are a Nilotic, pastoralist tribe of people who undergo various rites of passage, educational or disciplinary processes. Lip plates are a well known aspect of the Mursi and Surma, who are probably the last groups in Africa amongst whom it is still the norm for women to wear large pottery, wooden discs, or ‘plates,’ in their lower lips. Girls’ lips are pierced at the age of 15 or 16. Occasionally lip plates are worn to a dance by unmarried women.
Ceremonial duelling (thagine), a form of ritualised male violence, is a highly valued and popular activity of Mursi men, especially unmarried men, and a key marker of Mursi identity. Age sets are an important political feature, where men are formed into named “age sets” and pass through a number of “age grades” during the course of their lives; married women have the same age grade status as their husbands.
We will enjoy a final night at the beautiful Paradise Lodge in Arba Minch where we will recap on our encounters with these magnificent people. The tour will end with a flight from Arba Minch to Addis Abbaba.
LALIBELA EXTENSION
The rock-hewn churches of Lalibela are some of the holiest sites in all of Africa. Lying on a hill that is partly surrounded by the town of the same name, the group of churches at Lalibela are presided over by a number of priests who host numerous pilgrims and visitors to these churches each year. Exploring the labyrinth of churches hand carved rock tunnels at Lalibela is an absolute photography highlight of any trip to Ethiopia.
We will visit each of the eleven churches in the complex and conclude one of our days in the famous Biete Giyorgis, or the Church of St George, to watch the sunset give the church a golden hue.
A highlight of our journey to Lalibela will include a relatively easy trek to the hill behind the town to visit the spectacular monastery of Asheten Maryam. The views from Asheten Maryam are so incredibly beautiful. There is quite literally a 270-degree view of the countryside surrounding Lalibela from up there. While the monastery itself is tiny, it is home to some fascinating biblical scriptures including ornamental bibles, scrolls and books.
Listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site in 1978, Lalibela is a beautiful destination for photography and the ideal place to end our photography tour through the highlands of Ethiopia.
Accommodation & Road Transport
Road transport is by 4×4 vehicles as roads in southern Ethiopia can sometimes be quite rough. With the exception of the tented camp at Kibish, accommodation is in comfortable lodges. Accommodation at Lalibela is in a comfortable hotel. Road transportation is by minibus/passenger van.
Walking
The walking effort is easy throughout.
Climate
Generally warm or hot, dry and sunny.
Photographic Equipment
Opportunities for wildlife photography will be minimal as our principal focus will be the people of the Omo Valley.
If you use a DSLR or mirrorless camera for wildlife, or you prefer to photograph people from a distance, then please consider bringing a larger zoom or telephoto lens for photography. It is our experience that sometimes people can feel a bit intimidated by large cameras and lenses so you may wish to bring a smaller sized zoom lens like the Canon 100-400mm which doesn’t appear as intimidating as a large fixed focal length telephoto lens.
For photographing the people of the Omo Valley, a travel lens similar to a Canon 24-105mm, 70-200mm or wide angle lenses from 10mm and smaller will be perfect for working with the people.
If you bring a good quality bridge camera instead of a DSLR (and this is a perfectly good option in Ethiopia due to the wide variety of photography subjects) it will be best if it has an optical zoom of 18-20x or more, combined with a reasonable wide-angle at the other end of the zoom range.
If you have a phone or tablet that can be used for photography, you may find these quite useful around people.
Similarly if you have a Polaroid camera like the Leica Sofort or an Instax Mini, these are wonderful to have on hand when you spend time with tribal people. If you decide to bring one of these, please bring lots of film with you as the photographs you produce will be quite popular!
Be sure to bring plenty of spare battery power. If you would like to talk over suitable equipment, please contact our office. We will be happy to advise.
Other Wild Images remote tribal culture tours in Africa:
Chad: Secrets of the Undiscovered Sahara
OMO VALLEY: THE EXTRAORDINARY TRIBAL PEOPLE OF SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA: PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR PRICE INFORMATION
2019: £5240, $7080, €6000 Addis Ababa/Addis Ababa. Single Room Supplement: £216, $289, €245.
Lalibela Extension: £1530, $2070, €1750. Single Room Supplement: £164, $222, €188.
2020: £5330, $7190, €6090 Addis Ababa/Addis Ababa. Single Room Supplement: £220, $300, €250.
Lalibela Extension: £1550, $2090, €1770. Single Room Supplement: £170, $230, €200.
If you are travelling alone, the single supplement will not apply if you are willing to share a room and there is a room-mate of the same sex available.
Deposit: £650, $850, €750.
Price includes surface transportation, accommodations, meals, entrance fees (including photography fees) and tips/gratuities.
Please note that the internal flights in Ethiopia are not included. These flights are inexpensive if included with your international tickets, provided you are flying into Addis Ababa with Ethiopian Airlines. If you prefer to book your own international flights, we will provide details of exactly which flights you need to book when we send out the tour start and end notification. We can provide the internal flight ticket on request for anyone flying into the country with another carrier, should you find this preferable.
This tour is priced in US Dollars. Amounts shown in other currencies are indicative.
Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency will be pleased to arrange your air travel on request, or you may arrange this yourself if you prefer.
OMO VALLEY: THE EXTRAORDINARY TRIBAL PEOPLE OF SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA: PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR ITINERARY
Day 1
Our Omo Valley photography tour will begin this evening in Addis Ababa. Overnight: Washington Hotel, Addis Ababa.
Day 2
Today we will head for the airport to fly from Addis Ababa to Jimma, where we will stay one night before our longer drive into the Omo Valley. If the flight timings allow we will enjoy a short tour of the city of Addis Ababa today, including the natural history museum and the Merkato, a huge open-air market. Overnight: Dololo Hotel, Jimma.
Day 3
This morning we will start the long journey into the Omo Valley from Jimma. En-route we will pass through some of Ethiopia’s largest coffee plantations and we may get the chance to stop and photograph some of the coffee workers going about their daily chores. On the drive from Jimma into the Omo Valley area, we will experience a drastic change in the scenery as we leave the Ethiopian highlands. Overnight: Guest House accommodation in a coffee plantation.
Days 4 – 6
From Jimma we will drive in to the remote Kibish area where we will spend three nights and two full days photographing the first of the “lip disk” tribal people, the Surma. The Kibish area is truly a ‘cradle of our civilisation’. Skeletal remains of early humans dating back 195,000 years have been found in the Kibish area. Our focus will be visiting the spectacular Surma people, whose women have removed their bottom teeth and replaced them with elaborate ‘lip disks’ as tribal decoration. Overnights: Mobile tented camp with shared toilet and shower facilities.
Day 7
Today we will undertake a full day drive from Kibish to Jimma and enjoyan overnight stay at a comfortable hotel. Overnight: Dololo Hotel, Jimma.
Day 8
Another full day drive from Jimma to Arba Minch. During our drives in the Omo we may have the chance to stop if we find tribal people on the side of the road (if time and the itinerary allows). Overnights: Paradise Lodge, Arba Minch.
Days 9 – 12
From Arba Minch we will drive slowly to Turmi stopping to photograph the Arbore and Hamar tribal people. We will spend three days in the Turmi and Karo areas photographing the Hamer, Karo, Arbore and Dassanach people. Overnights: Buska Lodge, Turmi and Jinka Resort.
Day 13
After an early start in the Mago National Park to visit the second of the ‘lip disk’ tribal people, the Mursi, we will spend the afternoon driving from Mago to Arba Minch. Overnight: Paradise Lodge, Arba Minch.
Day 14
On the final day of the tour we will fly from Arba Minch back to Addis Ababa, where you will have day use of an hotel room before our Omo Valley photographic tour ends this evening. Day Use: Washington Hotel, Addis Ababa.
LALIBELA EXTENSION
Day 1
We will overnight at Addis Ababa.
Day 2
This morning we will transfer to the airport for the flight northwards to Lalibela for a three nights stay. Often described as ‘The Second Jerusalem’ or ‘The African Petra’, Lalibela is a living museum of rock-hewn churches built in the 12th century. Founded at the center of the Lasta mountain chain, Roha, the historic name of Lalibela, was the seat of the Zagwe dynasty, of the Agew people. A visit to Lalibela is a must for any Ethiopia photography tour that visits the north of the country.
The eleven churches are divided into ‘First Group’, ‘Second Group’ and the more isolated Church of Saint George, using the ‘Jordan River’ as a dividing line! It is estimated that the churches took 23 years to construct. After lunch, we will visit the First group of churches and the traditional Ethiopian ‘tukul’ houses that surround them.
Photography opportunities at Lalibela are very varied and include the churches from both outside and inside, ancient bibles and prayer books, musical instruments and pilgrims from right across Ethiopia. Our talented local guide is very good at persuading the priests to do their special robes and hold their huge church keys or crucifixes, or a bible, so we can be sure of getting some wonderful images.
Overnight: Cliff Edge Hotel
Day 3
After an early breakfast we will drive as close as we can to the church of Asheten Maryam, situated on the very top of the mountain above Lalibela with a terrific view of the surrounding countryside and the town. There is a beautiful walk up a mountain trail from the roadhead, something that anyone should be able to manage.
The monastery is simple by comparison with the Lalibela churches, but there is an opportunity to experience Ethiopian rural life here as well as a very scenic landscape during the walk.
Descending from the mountain we will be back in Lalibela for lunch at the hotel. This afternoon we will explore the second group of rock churches, including the dark tunnels that connect them, for yet more very unusual photography.
Overnight: Cliff Edge Hotel
Day 4
This morning we will make an excursion to the cave monastery of Nakuto Le’Ab. Here we will enjoy the calm atmosphere and some of the priceless heritage of Lalibela, including processional crosses, historical parchments and other ecclesiastical objects.
We will then return to Lalibela for an early lunch and proceed onto the famous monastery of Yimrehane Kirestos. The monastery was built inside a huge natural cave using the Axumite architectural style by King Yimrehane Kirestos, one of the four saintly canonized kings of the Zagwe Dynasty.
Overnight: Cliff Edge Hotel
Day 5
A morning flight from Lalibela to Addis Ababa concludes our Ethiopia cultural photography tour.