How to visit the tribes of the Omo Valley without a tour
Filmed on : november 2023
Filmed in : Ethiopia
We visited the Omo Valley in November 2023. Keep in mind, prices, transport, and other details might have changed since then.
Why visit the tribes of the Omo Valley ?
Visiting the tribes of the Omo Valley is like stepping into a different world. The region is home to an incredible amount of diverse people and traditions that you won't find anywhere else. Think of remote villages where all men wear body paint, lip plates, or ceremonies like bull-jumping. It's a unique opportunity to witness how these people live. Being there feels like a national geographic documentary. Visiting the Mursi, the Karo and the Hamar has been one of the most unique experiences of our 10-month backpacking trip through Africa ! Plus, the landscapes are stunning and offer a perfect backdrop for adventure. If you're looking for an unforgettable travel experience, the Omo Valley should definitely be on your list.
Taking a tour vs going solo
Going independently in the Omo Valley gives you much more flexibility and control over your itinerary. You can take your time to explore, choose the tribes that interest you most, and interact with locals on your own terms. It's much cheaper too, as you'll be cutting the middle man ; the money you pay will be directly in the pockets of the people you meet. Plus, the sense of adventure and accomplishment from navigating the valley solo is unbeatable. It allows for a more authentic and personal travel experience, immersing you deeper into the local culture. Taking a tour often means being moved around with many other tourists and we've witnessed first hand how the mood of a village changes as groups of 4*4 unload dozens of travelers at a time. The Omo Valley is safe, and you shouldn't be afraid of taking public transportation, drinking some beers at the bar and walking around on your own. By doing so, you'll get a better picture of the country.
How to get there ?
The Omo Valley is located in southwestern Ethiopia, near the borders of Kenya and South Sudan. To get there, from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, you'll need to reach Jinka or Arba Minch. Options are domestic flights, luxury buses, minibuses or by hiring a car.
If you've entered the country by flight, using Ethiopian Airlines, you'll get a 50% discount on domestic flights. That can make the journey much more affordable, so consider that when choosing an airline. Paying by cash your ticket at an Ethiopia Airlines booth means you can take advantage of the black market rate, further dividing your cost by 2 (see next section).
We personally took a luxury bus from Addis to Arba Minch. It's the regular big intercity buses, 4 seats per row with a corridor in the middle. They all go at 4am from the bus station. All companies offer the same price for the journey, and the level of comfort of these buses is equivalent.
The bus companies shops in Estifanos (9.011651, 38.763143)
To book a ticket, go to Estifanos, on the left side of the church, there is a booth per company. There will be many hustlers trying to "help" you, good luck trying to avoid them. They will get a commission from the shop, but apparently without impacting your price. Buy this ticket a day or two in advance, not sure if it's possible earlier than that. Also, buy a shuttle ticket to bring you to the bus station. Since it's a 4am departure, there is hardly any taxi in town, so this shuttle will pick you up at your accommodation and bring you there.
At the time, we paid 1180birr (around 12$ black market) to get to Arba Minch + 240birr (around 2.5$ black market) for the shuttle.
Hiring a car in Ethiopia is very expensive as they are heavily taxed, expect high rates.
Minibuses are an option as well, they are probably faster and less comfortable than luxury busses, but we only took them inside the city and not for these long trips, so you'd need to research that. From what we heard, they go later in the morning, and maybe a few times per day.
Ethiopia's black market
In Ethiopia, the black market exchange rate for currency offers almost twice the value compared to the official bank rate. For instance, exchanging dollars on the street can give you around 110 birr per dollar, while ATMs and card payments offer about 55 birr per dollar. To get the best rates, bring enough foreign cash (dollars preferred) and exchange it in Addis downtown. Avoid exchanging more than necessary, as the currency is hard to exchange outside Ethiopia and border rates are poor.
How to visiting the villages ?
There are many different tribes and villages that you can visit, depending on how much time, money you have. For most of them, you'd typically stay in their village for 1 or 2 hours, with a guide you hired there or in town. But it's also possible to arrange sleeping in a hut in the village, or timing your visit when a ceremony is happening. Discovering the Omo Valley by kayak is an option for the more adventurous. We visited the Mursi, the Karo and the Hamar. Each of the tribes have a different lifestyle and sometimes visible differences. The Mursi are famous for their lip plates and scars, the Karo for their body painting, the Hamar for the clay used by women in their hair and their bull jumping ceremony...
If you've got no contact in Jinka, no worries, the guides will approach you as you exit the bus. There are always guides around you in Ethiopia :)
Negotiate your price, make sure that you understand what you're paying, and trust the process. Couchsurfing can be a way to find guides in Ethiopia (we used it in Jinka).
You won't be able to visit a remote village completely on your own, once in the village, you'd need to hire a translator/guide to take you around, and maybe pay a small fee to the chief, plus maybe an extra fee for taking pictures. That's how it worked for us in Turmi : we rented a motorbike (Pol was driving it), we drove for an hour to reach the Karo village, and there we found a guide who took us around. We paid 900birr (9$ black market) for the two of us, for the guide and the village.
To go visit the Mursi tribe, you have to find a guide in Jinka, and arrange a car for half a day as they are quite deep in a national park. It's an expensive trip, we paid around 10800birr (100$ black market) for the two of us.
We attended a bull jumping ceremony with the Hamar next to Turmi, that we arranged with a local guy from Turmi. This was first time were we saw other tourists in the Omo Valley (we were there in November 2023). 3 large 4*4, with 15 tourists with huge cameras got dropped and it noticeably changed the atmosphere. It sort of became an attraction for tourist rather than a ceremony for themselves, so we actually ended up not liking at all that moment.
Some extra thoughts
We're super happy we visited the Omo Valley because we got to witness first hand how some of these people are living. We were a bit scared before going that it would be like an amusement park or a tourist trap. We honestly were positively surprised. In most instances it was just us two and our guide visiting the village, so most people were just going on with their day when we showed up. They did try to sell us some products but because we were just 2, coming in a cheap car/motorbike, the chief didn't require everyone to pretend and come around and greet us. That was different when big groups came, where it became the main attraction of the village, surrounding them and trying to get the most money our of them. That's why we're so glad we visited on our own without a big tour, the experience of the village itself is very different. In the villages, we played a lot with the kids, as there is no ulterior motive there, and language is less of a barrier when you play. These were the best moments.
Price wise, when we asked some tourists how much they paid for their tour, it was up to 250$/day. We overall spent 35€/person/day in Ethiopia, taking everything into account from visa to transportation, so the potential savings are huge !
The Omo Valley though is quite tough in terms of comfort in you're on a budget, the accommodations are bad (no water, smells, noise, broken mosquito nets). The roads are not the best, the food options can be quite limited (hopefully you'll like injera). But in the end, this makes the journey adventurous and the memorable moments even more amazing.
