How to visit the Omo Valley (responsibly)

By Joan Torres 26 Comments Last updated on April 25, 2024

visit Omo Valley

The Omo Valley is an area located in southeastern Ethiopia, home to more than 20 different ethnic tribes. This guide will show you how to visit it responsibly, on a budget, and as independently as possible.

For years, travelers and photographers – especially the latter – from around the world have been attracted by the wetlands of a region named South Omo, popularly known as the Omo Valley.

And the reason is that this southern, remote part of Ethiopia is inhabited by several distinct ethnic groups who still practice animistic beliefs today, and whose culture remains untouched, far from any trace of Western civilization.

Traditional ceremonies, timeless settlements and colorful markets.

The Omo Valley is such a unique place, a year-round cultural festival and heaven for photographers.

Visiting the Omo Valley, however, doesn’t come without its particular challenges.

It’s a very remote region, so fully independent travel is practically impossible, and occasionally, you will have to deal with irresponsible, insensitive tourists.

I spent 10 days traveling around the Omo Valley, mainly by public transportation, but I did hire local guides to visit the remotest villages. That helped me cut costs considerably, plus I believe it is the most responsible way to visit.

In this article, I wanted to share all my tips and knowledge, so you can plan your trip to the Omo Valley the same way I did.

Don’t forget to check my Ethiopia travel guide for all the practical information to visit the country

travel Omo Valley Ethiopia

In this Omo Valley travel guide you will find:

With its Backpacker plan, IATI Insurance is the best insurance for any kind of adventurous destination, like Ethiopia.

Is the Omo Valley worth visiting or not? The problem with mass tourism

Before even traveling to Ethiopia, I had already heard about all the horror stories that mass tourism has brought to the Omo Valley.

On the one hand, some travelers whine about the fact that most villages have turned into souvenir shops and that tribal people care about nothing but your money.

Seriously man, how do you expect local people to behave when each and every day of their lives, a shit load of 4x4s come packed with wealthy tourists whose only aim is sneaking a few free photos?

On the other hand, more well-traveled people complain about the behavior of tourists who treat tribal people like zoo animals and have zero respect for the local culture.

Because of this, whether the Omo Valley is worth visiting or not was a question under constant debate with other traveling folks I met on the road.

As I told you in the introduction, I traveled around South Omo by public transportation, always being the only white person in a bus full of tribal people.

Moreover, I always hired local, independent guides in all the villages I visited, young guides that took me to their home villages to visit their families, so the local interactions I had were always of a higher quality.

The horror stories about the Omo Valley are true, but I also believe that there is a way around it, a way to make it more authentic, more real, more enjoyable, and that is by following the tips from this guide 🙂

So yeah, I think visiting the Omo Valley is totally worth it.

Omo Valley independent travel
Visiting a local market in the Omo Valley

⛅ Best time to visit the Omo Valley

South Omo can be visited any time of the year except during the rainy season, from May to September, the wettest months being from May to July.

Bear in mind that it is not about the rain itself but the fact that there are no proper roads to reach the villages and, in the rainy season, they become extremely muddy, hence impassable.

Hammar tribe
Hammar women dancing on a sunny day

🗺️ How to book a tour of the Omo Valley

There are 3 different ways to book a tour of the Omo Valley.

1 – Booking a tour to the Omo Valley from Addis Ababa – Worst option

This is the worst way to visit the Omo Valley tribes.

First of all, it is very expensive. Tour operators in Addis start at $150 per person per day, assuming the car is full, and rates can go up to $300.

Moreover, traveling to South Omo from Addis is a 1 or 2-day journey, days which are also included in the daily rate.

Also, if you book a tour in Addis, it means that your guide will most likely be from Addis and the first thing you should know is that an Ethiopian dude from Addis is as foreign as you in the Omo Valley.

Probably, they will have a local contact who will also join you once you reach the valley, but it will never be the same, and they will just take you to the most commercial places.

How to find the right tour operator?

I can’t recommend any company in particular but if I went for this option, I would start looking at the Lonely Planet forum for Ethiopia.

Another very good reason for not going with any of these big tour operators is that they charge you crazy amounts of money, but then just give peanuts to the tribes.

2 – Booking a tour to the Omo Valley from Arba Minch – Just OK option

Arba Minch is a town located half-way to South Omo, and it is as far as public buses from Addis go.

The advantage of booking a tour here versus in Addis is that you can get it cheaper (especially because you can get to South Omo in 4 or 5 hours), and you can find private, local guides.

I actually met a couple who chose Arba Minch as a base from where they did several day trips to visit different tribes and villages. They paid $250 a day for a full car for themselves.

It’s a better option than Addis but the next option is much better.

3 – Booking a tour to the Omo Valley from Jinka – Very Good choice

Jinka is like the main town in South Omo, and the best base for making day trips to different tribal villages, as it has the widest range of hotels and restaurants.

It is a town mainly inhabited by the Aari tribe, but you are likely to see people from other tribes who come over for shopping.

In Jinka, costs will be substantially lower because distances between tribal villages aren’t that large, plus you can find actual local guides.

omo valley in Ethiopia
We managed to visit a very local celebration with no tourists

👨 How to travel independently in the Omo Valley – My way

If you want to visit the Omo Valley in the most responsible way, at the lowest price, you must visit it as independently as possible.

However, bear in mind that this option is only for those travelers who have plenty of time to spend in Ethiopia, plus you need to remember that it is not possible to make it 100% on your own but, at some point, you will have to hire a guide.

Omo Valley independent travel: How to move around by public transportation

There is public transportation running between the following towns:

The buses, however, are scarce, meaning that you may find 1 or 2 a day tops. It is recommended to go to the station the day before to ask for the right timings.

Also, remember that it takes half a day to travel between these towns. If you are lucky and find a local guide quickly, you may have time to visit a tribal village after lunch.

Note – There are more bus routes but those are the towns I visited.

Omo Valley independent travel: Accommodation

South Omo is well-sorted for hotels, especially Jinka and Turmi and you can find accommodation starting from 200 or 300 birr.

Where I stayed:

Jinka: Goh Hotel (500 birr) – Budget rooms with hot shower and a nice restaurant attached.

Turmi: Tourist Hotel (400 birr) – Acceptable rooms with private bathroom. They also have budget (like extreme budget) 150-birr rooms but I don’t recommend them. I stayed there the first night and it’s not only that the room was filthy but there were chickens hanging out in the common bathroom.

Omorate: Tourist Hotel (200 birr) – Not good, but there aren’t many options in this town.

Omo Valley independent travel: How to hire a local guide

Omo Valley fact: To enter the different villages, you must be accompanied by a local guide at all times.

You may find this rule kind of disappointing but seriously, I would not want to visit any of those villages on my own.

First of all, the tribal people don’t speak a word of English and most of them are illiterate, which means that you could not even be able to discuss a price – yes, there is an entry fee for each village.

And second of all, walking around on your own would just be too awkward, you wouldn’t be able to communicate with anyone and, in the best-case scenario, they would just tell you to get the hell out of their village.

Therefore, a guide is not only recommended, but it is also essential.

The way we did it was that, once we arrived at any of the towns, we would just ask around for a local guide. The main advantage of visiting the relatively large towns (like Turmi or Omorate) is that you find people from different nearby tribes. For example, in Turmi, we met a young man from the Hamar tribe who took us to his friend’s village because, on that precise day, they were celebrating the famous bull jumping ceremony.

There were no other tourists, and what was great about it was that we spent our time hanging out with the guide and his local, tribal friends. If we had gone with a tour company, they would have taken us to the most commercial villages where everybody goes.

Omo Valley travel tip – In order to cut costs, especially solo travelers, you can hire a guide with a motorbike. That’s what we did to visit the villages around Turmi. It’s half the price.

The local guys who took us to a Hammar village

⏱️ How much time you need to visit the Omo Valley

Due to its remoteness, traveling the Omo Valley takes time, but the total number of days will greatly depend on the way you travel.

Traveling by car directly from Addis

The journey from the capital takes 1 full day (one-way) and, typically, you need 1 day to visit a tribe. Sometimes, you may be able to combine it with a weekly market as well.

The least I recommend is 3-4 tribes, so the very minimum is 5-6 days

Traveling by public transportation from Addis

Going from Addis to Jinka by bus takes 2 entire days (one-way), with an overnight stop in Arba Minch, so you would need a minimum of 7-8 days, at the very least.

If you travel around the valley by public transportation, in order to make it as independent as possible, you should add 2 or 3 additional days, so at least 10 days, from the day you leave Addis.

Travel tip – In order to save time, you can also fly from Addis to Jinka

🛺 How to get to the Omo Valley (Jinka) from Addis

Addis to Arba Minch

From Addis, you need to take one of the coach buses that leave from Meskel Square. They always leave at around 4-5am and I recommend you book your ticket at the ticket office 1 or 2 days in advance at least.

The journey to Arba Minch takes around 8 hours.

In Arba Minch, I recommend you stay at Tourist Hotel. Budget, good quality rooms and a great garden-restaurant.

Arba Minch to Jinka

You can travel to Jinka by public bus or local shared Jeep, and I recommend the latter because it takes half time, plus it is way more comfortable.

Public bus: It takes 8 to 10 hours, it’s very uncomfortable and smelly. The local price is 35 birr but, depending on how foreign you look, they will charge you much more.

Local shared Jeep: ask at the hotel’s reception where you can find the fixer, but usually, they all stand just outside the Tourist Hotel. The local price is 200 birr but, once again, they may charge you more.

Beautiful people we met along our way in the Omo Valley

💰 Budget: How much does traveling the Omo Valley cost?

Cost of the different tours

If you book a tour from Addis, prices start at $150 a day, so for a 6-day tour (which is the minimum), you would pay $900, including very basic accommodation and assuming your car is full.

I personally believe that it isn’t worth $900 at all.

On the other hand, if you book it in either Arba Minch or Jinka, you can get much better deals, especially if you can share your car with other people.

For example, the day we visited the Mursi tribe (the tribe whose women wear plates in their lips) we just paid $180 for a full car (we were 2 people), and that also included visiting one local market and lunch.

Telling you the exact costs can be difficult because it depends on many factors, but what I can tell you for sure is that, if you book your tour in Jinka, your total costs will be cut by 50%, at least.

Costs involved when visiting tribes

How much I paid for all my tours:

Omo Valley travel tip – In the Omo Valley, most guides and tour operators will quote you a price in USD and, occasionally they will not accept the local currency. The reason is that, if you pay them in local currency, they have to give you the bank rate, which is much lower than the black market’s. It sucks because it’s like you are paying a 20% extra but then, once I got very angry with one guide because not only did he refuse to accept my birr but he gave me my 20-dollar change in birr, using the shitty bank rate. We started arguing, until he finally gave me my change in USD.

📸 Photography in the Omo Valley

Photography is one of the main reasons people visit the Omo Valley and, at the same time, it is the most controversial and sensitive topic, falling right in the borderline of ethics and travel.

Something you need to know is that photography is allowed, but it is not free, and it’s totally understandable. If I belonged to one of those ethnic groups, I would charge money to all the annoying tourists wanting to take a photo of me.

As of 2020, however, when you visit a village, you can also purchase a photo permit – it costs a few dollars and it’s usually included in the total cost of the tour. This way, you can take as many pictures as you want and the people from the village will always be happy to pose.

On the other hand, when you visit local markets and want to take a picture of any random people, they will for 5 or 10 birr, which is quite fair in my opinion.

Responsible travel photography tips

visit omo valley tribes
Mursi portrait

Things to do in the Omo Valley – My itinerary

These are the things I managed to see and do in South Omo. I could have visited more places but I was very satisfied with what I saw.

Jinka

Jinka is the administrative capital of South Omo, a relatively sizable town with all the amenities, including ATMs, restaurants and quite a few hotels. There isn’t much to do here other than meeting fellow travelers and doing day trips to nearby villages.

Day trip to Aari villages

This was the best thing we did in the Omo Valley.

In Arba Minch, I met a guy from Argentina who was traveling around Ethiopia for the second time, after 15 years. During his first visit, he met a lovely family from a small, rural village just outside of Jinka with whom he stayed for a couple of days, as a friend.

Imagine how things have changed in the Omo Valley!

Surprisingly, he kept in touch with one of the family members and, when he let them know about his visit, they didn’t hesitate to invite him to their house for dinner, tagging me along as well.

It was our best experience in the Omo Valley because, thanks to the Argentinian guy, I was able to interact with that family in the most genuine way.

The next day, we brought them some food and drink along with some prints of the photos we had taken the day before.

By the way, the Aari tribe is the most numerous ethnic group in South Omo and, although their villages and lives are very traditional, they are, to put it simply, the most modern tribe, meaning that most of them no longer wear traditional clothes and they have the largest number of educated people.

Hanging out with this beautiful Aari family

Day trip to Mursi tribe

Mursi is the ethnic group infamous for women wearing huge lip plates and really heavy earrings hanging from their ears.

Because of their uniqueness, they are the most revered tribe in the West, especially after National Geographic published a report about them.

Today, they are the most visited tribe in all South Omo.

And I believe this was the reason why I didn’t enjoy visiting them, because the few settlements which you are allowed to visit have become too commercial and, from the moment we got out of the car until we left, we had 10 Mursi people chasing us and blocking our way, trying to sell us their handicrafts.

We had barely spent half an hour there when we decided to leave.

Mursi woman

Day trip to Kako market

There are many weekly markets around the Omo Valley, the most touristic ones being in Turmi and Jinka and I recommend you skip those two and ask your guide about what off the beaten path markets take place during your visit.

Kako market

Turmi

Turmi is one of the main towns in South Omo, but it’s just a village composed of a few unpaved streets. Most people living here belong to the Hamar tribe, but we also met some Karo people.

Here, we met a local guide who took us to his friend’s village to witness a bull jumping ceremony.

bull jumping ceremony
Bull jumping ceremony

Day trip to Hamar village & bull jumping ceremony

In my opinion, the Hamar are the most photogenic tribe, especially because they all wear very colorful clothes and some women have very thick ochre braids.

We drove on a motorbike for 2 hours through the jungle until we reached a mesmerizing settlement composed of stalk cabins placed on a lush green meadow.

Absolutely beautiful, and very off the beaten path.

Hammar people drinking the local liquor

On that day, they were celebrating a bull jumping ceremony, a traditional ceremony in the Hamar tribe in which a young boy – usually around 15 years old – jumps (completely naked) over 10 or 15 aligned bulls in order to prove that he is ready to be married.

Before the actual ceremony, Hamar people dance for hours and drink home-made liquor.

It’s a real party, and we had so much fun. We spent about 6 hours there and, once again, we were the only tourists.

Women getting whipped – During the ceremony, it’s also a tradition that the jumper’s closest women relatives get whipped by the men – like really whipped, until they bleed – and if you take a closer look, you will see that most Hamar women have their back full of scares. It’s a pretty fucked up thing to witness.

hammar tribe whipped
Their wounds, after being whipped

Omorate

Omorate is a town located just 20km from the Kenyan border, that sits on the shores of the Omo river, the river this region is named after.

This is the best base for visiting the Daasanach tribe and, what I liked about it was that, although many tourists visit that tribe, the vast majority come here on a day trip from Turmi, so the town has a very local feel and I found people here to be the kindest in all South Omo

Day trip to Daasanach tribe

The Daasanach tribe is another ethnic group spread across Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia.

We hired a local guide in Omorate, around 45 minutes away on foot (it was very cheap). We were the only tourists in the village and spent a few hours just hanging out in the shade.

Omo Valley tribes
Dasanaach people

Omo Valley tribes

I just saw and interacted with 6 tribes (highlighted in bold), but there are many ethnic groups.

Conclusion: Is it ethical to visit the Omo Valley?

South Omo wasn’t my favorite part of Ethiopia, especially because human, local interactions can be very awkward sometimes, even if you don’t visit a touristic village.

However, I am very proud and happy to say that I managed to visit the Omo Valley in a way very few foreigners do, which allowed me to stay away (mostly) from all the horror stories most travelers I met in Ethiopia experienced.

❗ More information for visiting Omo Valley

📢 In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more.

Don’t forget to check our travel guide to Ethiopia.

As well as all our Ethiopia articles:

best time to visit Omo Valley

26 comments

Great content Jean – still hoping for 4 months in Horn of Africa starting in 2020… but failing that I will return to Ethiopia in 2021 inshallah – keep your head up during this pandemic – travel will be back X

Andy,
I trusted this blog and contacted the Omo valley tour guide that Joan, the writer of this blog recommended, his name is Mamo and did a five days Omo valley tour with him and it was a disaster. Mamo Is a liar, dishonest man and a thief not a tour guide. He is a scammed so much money from me and delivered so little and totally changed the Itinerary without my consent. I’m a female solo traveler during the five days I couldn’t say much because it was he and I and a driver in the middle of nowhere so I couldn’t really argue with him and I had to accept whatever scam he wanted to play. He also has severe anger problems. I already asked the writer of the blog to remove thid scammer’s information and do not promote him but he hasn’t. avoid this tour guide he was the worst person. He also had a very bad reputation in this town everyone knew him he’s an ex-con he used to be in jail for criminal activities which I found out after the tour ended. Avoid Mamo at all costs!

hi maryam so sorry about your bad guide just few weeks ago i went with a friend to ethiopia to omo vally and we had the best of the best guide plus local guides.we camp for 2 weeks in every villages were the tribal people live early morning and late afternoon we photograph for best light.we also had a great chef cooking delicious meals…i mean it was perfection!!!

Hi Jean. Been reading this post and you say the best option to get a tour of Omo Valley is from Jinka, and to contact Mamu. But how do you get safely to Jinka in the first place from the Capital? Thanks.

Jean, one more question:
I’ve been looking at guided tours of Ethiopia. One company, Intrepid Travel charges close to $4,000 for 13 days of the Northern regions without Omo. I think its insanely expensive especially that or the same time in Morocco they charge half that price.
Any companies you can recommend for decent tours of Ethiopia but cheaper prices? How easy is it to hit the major sites in the country north of the Capital on your own if you only have 2 weeks?
thanks
Daniel.

Hi Daniel, I don’t know any tour companies, sorry.
Traveling in northern Ethiopia is so slow, if you are traveling by public transportation. I suggest taking domestic flights to Laliebla, Gonder or Mekele for example.

Daniel,
I trusted this blog and contacted the Omo valley tour guide that Joan, the writer of this blog recommended, his name is Mamo and did a five days Omo valley tour with him and it was a disaster. Mamo Is a liar, dishonest man and a thief not a tour guide. He is a scammed so much money from me and delivered so little and totally changed the Itinerary without my consent. I’m a female solo traveler during the five days I couldn’t say much because it was he and I and a driver in the middle of nowhere so I couldn’t really argue with him and I had to accept whatever scam he wanted to play. He also has severe anger problems. I already asked the writer of the blog to remove thid scammer’s information and do not promote him but he hasn’t. avoid this tour guide he was the worst person. He also had a very bad reputation in this town everyone knew him he’s an ex-con he used to be in jail for criminal activities which I found out after the tour ended. I do not understand why Joan recommend such a criminal as a guide. Avoid Mamo at all costs!

Hi Joan,

Thanks for putting up all of this value-able information.
Do you think it is safe for a solo female traveller?

Suchi

Hi,
Your blog is very informative and thanks for sharing. I contacted Mamu and got his WhatsApp from your blog and just finished a four nights tour of Omo tribes. I’m a female solo traveler, this dishonest man ripped me off so aggressively, at the end of the tour charged me too much extracclaiming he paid $200 to tribes and charged me for it , also charged me for the room in Jinka that was supposed to be part of the package, On the election day he wanted to come back to Jinka to cast his vote he lied to me and said that roads are closed to some of the tribes and brought me back to Jinka but I found out all the roads to the tribes were open he just wanted to come back to cast his vote and lied to me. I’m going to write about him and warn female travelers to stay away from him please please please remove his information. This is my Instagram: massi282003 if you want more details about what he did I’m more than happy to share. I wanted a 3 day tour but he insisted I should do 4 nights otherwise he wound not be able to show me all 5 tribes, on Wednesday I was supposed to fly back to Bahir Dar, he said he buys the airline ticket and I just pay him but on Wednesday Jinka airport is closed, they never have flights to anywhere and the whole town knows that but he lied by promising to confirm my flight because he wanted to extend the tour to make more money and totally messed up my plans. Now my only option is taking the bus to Arba Minch and I might not have time to go to Bahir Dar. Please remove his information and don’t let another female solo traveller goes through this hell, I trusted your blog .

Hi Maryam,
I am sorry you went through that. I also messaged him after I found his number here and got quotes for some rates that looked too high (400 Euros per day for two people).
Just in case this information helps.

Hi,
The rate he gave me initially was ok but he added so much at the end of the tour claiming it’s the tip he paid to the tribes on my behalf, I wanted to do the trip in 3 night which was doable to see 5 tribes( 2 per day and one the last day) but he convinced me to do in 4 nights 5 days which didn’t add to the trip, just stretched it so he can make extra money, he planned it so poorly that only benefited him, on the Election Day he claimed the roads were closed which was not true and brought me back to his own town because he wanted to cast his vote on my expense and instead replaced it with his own village, his village is not tribals at all, why would I pay $150 to see his village, I could walk to his village from Jinka to see it on my own if I wanted to . He was so manipulative and dishonest to squeeze money as much as he could.

I have tried all my best for you, Marya, how come you write me such bad reviews about the person who treated you us your interest and also we both have an adea

I didn’t put anything besides the exact price it is all our deal bat this not what you want the reality is you look like a good person at the end you do what you want bat now I know what exactly you want it is all about you want to destroy my business honestly spiking I am the right person of the person who proud of his
knowledge and at the beginning since when we meet each other you have tried all your best and sending me a text to meet and I give you an itinerary with your interest so about Monday tour to omo I come in the morning and tell you the information I have it is because of the election in Ethiopia 🇪🇹 and we have a deal to change the program and put you un extra itinerary and what is the problem of this I did good us I am tour guides telling the fact of the information of your security so if this makes you a happy I am sorry for that and also I take you back to the home the next day so what is the problem of I did with you and also you need me to prepare the tour for you so I make us much us I can do all my best then at the end you want to me to do all the calculation of the picture and the video you took I told you 158 $ the whole tour then you give me 200 with tips and if you are not happy with the tour and some other why you don’t tell me her that I made a mistake us you are a teacher of the school any way I didn’t expect such bad reviews about me that I didn’t do anything with you even
I didn’t expect from you that the person who comes from a developing country

Hi, suchi how are you I hope you are well and in the good health I just want to tell you is I am not the person who do such bad things for the human being to tell you my states I am the person, who marred and 3 children from my beautiful wife and educational background Is well prepared, well experienced so please 🙏 I don’t need you to follow someone interest and experience it is because who is this person that you don’t know, her and you don’t now me us well to jade so I can promise you 100 % that you will have a great time with me around omi Valley and to be the witness of my job and too proud of the blog
( against the compass)

Mr. Mamo,
I had two other guides when I visited the North of Ethiopia and they both were the most honest professional guides nothing like you. Someone like you stand out. You lied to me so much and scammed money by being dishonest. I’m more than happy to list the number of lies you told me in order to make more money.
Lie # 1: the day I arrived I wanted to go to the Ethiopian airline office and book me flight for the day I was supposed to leave Jinka for Wednesday. this is exactly what you told me: you said , “ don’t worry about the ticket I confirm it for you for Wednesday”. Then the next day you told me that you already confirmed the ticket which was a total lie, you didn’t confirm the ticket because Ethiopia airline does not operate from Jinka on Wednesdays. Then a day before Wednesday to cover up your lie you said that Ethiopia airline cancelled the flight because there were only two passengers on the flight which was a lie because it’s been a year that Ethiopian airline does not have any flights from Jinka on Wednesdays. You didn’t care how your lie messed up my plans, you only cared to stretch the trip till Wednesdays to make more money.
Lie # 2: I fully paid you for the tour which included accommodations for four nights, five days , when I was about to board the bus to leave Jinka you asked me to pay you 700 bir for the room that you were supposed to pay.
Lie # 3: I talked to the hotel’s manager and he said the room was 400 bir without breakfast. But you took 700 from me.
Lie #4: the day of the election the roads were all open, I checked with other tourists and guides who travelled to various tribes that day but you lied and brought me back to Jinka. If you wanted to vote on Election Day, it’s wrong to be so greedy to charge a customer and lie and cut the trip short and still fully charge the client.
Lie #5: when I took the bus from Jinka since you already messed up my plans for flying, you lied and said you didn’t let the driver to put my suitcase on top of the bus and saved me money that way. I only had a small carry on, when I checked with the driver he laughed and said bus drivers never put a small suitcase on ceiling of the bus, the passengers bring it inside the bus.
Lie #6: I never agreed you pay $160 tips on my behalf. The amount of tips to take photos from tribes was supposed to be one third of that amount but you took $160 extra from me claiming you paid that much as tips.
You are a compulsive dishonest unprofessional guide. I make it my mission to let everyone on social media know what a scammer you are so you won’t have the opportunity to scam another tourist.

What a great blog! I am visiting Ethiopia in December til January to hopefully witness the Genna or the Ethiopian Christmas. I am hoping to visit Omo Valley too but, embarassingly perhaps, on a touristy mode through a tour organizer. I am a solo female traveler by the way with limited time to travel from North (Lalibela, Gondar, Bahir Dar), South (Omo Valley) and to East (Dire Dawa and Harar). Do you know of a tourist guides’ association that are based in each of these areas – a great idea to look for someone not for Addis who are just as foreign as me in visiting places like the Omo Valley. I am also looking and would like to insist for a female tour guide.

About visiting Mursi:
I’ve checked with the police, and you can visit mursi without a guide. I took a guide and didn’t get to know much more than I knew. You can rent a car (unfortunately I found only cars to rent with drivers) in Jinka for 5000bir (petrol included) per day (or even lower) and then you can travel freely in mago park (no need for a 4wd car, the road is good for a normal car). this is a much better option than the organised tours. I will check in the place in jinka on ioverlander website where you can rent a car on your own.
For those without a car or on a budget, there is a daily publi bus going from jinka to hana and hana to jinka, so you can return the next day. you can jump off the bus to see a mursi village, camp somewhere there and next day wait for the returning bus to jinka(maybe even doable in one day). The bus is used just by Mursi people, which will be an authentic experience. this way you can meet true mursis, that does not want to sell you something, but become friends.

More info here:
https://blog.ioverlander.com/places/51576-mago-national-park-entrance-gate-mursi-villages

If I paid 100usd just for visiting Mursi, I’d be disappointed. At the end I paid 33usd (and with the bus it would be even cheaper).

Thanks for your really informative and well structured post. It helped me plan my Omo journey. I’d like to share my experience, perhaps others will find it useful.

I saw no difference in price booking from Addis, Arba Minch or Jinka. Every guide I met and discussed prices with tried to fleece me. I paid 9000 birr for a group visit to the Mursi tribe. I paid really expensive prices for the next two days of Kara and Hamar tribes (3600 per day), which did not include accommodation. Our guides were all young and not very good.

I think the answer here is (1) get lucky with the guide you pick, and (2) get a good guide. You should haggle regardless, but try to get something where you retain the car every day. Finding a good 4×4 in Jinka and Turmi is really difficult – the quality varies wildly and you end up working with people who are not that close to your guide, and you can’t haggle with or choose not to go with when you see what they offer.

As Joan says, the distances are huge, the terrain is rough, you travel slowly. So get a comfortable 4×4.

I saw Mursi, Hamar, Kara, Nanna tribes, and this was enough for me. We saw the big Key Afar market, but I didn’t think this was particularly interesting. My highlights were the Kara tribe (beautiful location), Banna (amazing stilt-walking boys) and the bull jumping ceremony of the Hamar (the whipping is hard to watch).

Do not work with David in Turmi, he threatened us with violence when we refused to pay price for a broken down car which left us stranded in the dark.

Do not work with Mash, a guide in Turmi. He doesn’t know how to guide, and although he’s from Hamar tribe, he thinks if he just drops you off at the tribe, he’s done his job.

We found several guides in Jinka charging us between 9000-20000 birr per day. Outrageous prices. You’ll pay less if you pay in USD.

The bus from Arba Minch to Jinka leaves around 6am each day. Be at the bus station at 5am to get a seat and a ticket from the bus driver. I paid 250 birr. It’s an uncomfortable 8 hour ride, with a stop for breakfast in Konso (Karat), and some other mini stops.

Most transport options once you’re near Turmi are expensive and difficult to organise. Public minibuses going not very far so charge you 250-1000 birr. And it’s hard to get them because usually they’re full when they pass a town. You need to ask several people to help you, maybe they will call ahead and hold a space for you in the minibus. Expect to share your minibus with goats, chickens, and far too many people, as I did several times trying to get from Turmi to Arba Minch.

I think it’s better to have your own 4×4, which takes you everywhere, with your own trustworthy guide who knows their stuff. Whether you find them in Addis, Arba Minch, Turmi or Jinka doesn’t matter, I don’t think prices will be much different. You just need to find a good guide and car. Then pay what you need to for that. Organising transport yourself is really a pain in the arse, and people will try to fleece or scam you every time.

Good luck!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *