Africa is a continent that most of the people did not have the chance to explore. For most people, desert and warm summers are the first association when someone mentions this continent. Still, are these two things everything that Africa can offer?
Without any doubt, the answer is – NO.
This time we will focus only on one country – Ethiopia. More precisely, we want to prepare and inform you about one region of Ethiopia under the name Omo Valley.
Ethiopia is a huge country and it has more than 100 million citizens. You probably do not know a lot about this country, so we suggest you check AbsoluteEhiopia and find out more.
Anyway, we are here to talk about Omo Valley. It is a region of Ethiopia that is famous because of the local tribes. The majority of them are completely isolated from the world. They respect their tradition a lot and they do not have any interest in modern technology and other stuff. Because of that, it is attractive for many people around the globe.
If you have the desire to visit this place and see life without technology, there are a couple of things you should know.
What to Expect from Omo Valley?
First of all, you can expect to see how everything would look if time has stopped once in human history. Many people primarily hesitate to come here because they are coming to a completely unknown place. Still, if you are an adventurist, this is definitely the right place for you. The things you will see here you won’t be able to find anywhere in the world.
There are 5 different things that we would want to highlight that every tourist can expect.
Mursi Tribe
This tribe is known as an aggressive group of people. Yet, they are not aggressive in the way that they are going to hurt you. Their entire way of life is aggressive and staying with them will be a completely new experience for people from Europe or the USA for instance. One of those fascinating experiences is walking to the watering hole together with them.
Donga
Well, this is something you won’t be able to plan. There are ceremonies that Mursi Tribe organizes. Still, they won’t organize it because of the tourists. They have their time when these ceremonies need to be held. More precisely, they organize it only once a year. Hopefully, the agencies can try to adjust your schedule to Donga.
Donga is actually a stick fighting tournament. Men from this village fight for glory and status in the village. If you win the tournament, your chances to become a leader and get married are growing.
Hamar Tribe
This is another tribe that will show you a completely new way of life. You will be able to spend the entire night together with their families under the starts. This tribe is located between Lake Chew Bahir and the Omo River.
Bull Jumping Ceremony
This ceremony is part of the Hamar tribe’s life. With this ceremony, young boys are becoming grownups. If he passes this the “test”, that means the boy is ready to become a father and has his own family.
Lively Markets
This is the place where members of the Hamer Tribes usually spend their day. It is a place where they try to sell their wares. When you look closer, this is the only “job” they could have.
How Much Time do I need to Split?
The tourists that come here are usually located in different parts of the world. Most of them come from Western Europe and the United States. A long trip by plane is waiting for them and that is the reason why this is the most common question.
Well, the answers can be different. More precisely, it depends on what you want to see and experience. Objectively, approximately 8 days will be enough to visit everything and meet all the tribes that live here.
When we talk about time, there is one piece of information that we need to add. It is quite hard to determine how much time it will take you to come from one place to another. Google Maps is not going to help you in this case. You will have to follow the guides that you get and that is the only way not to get lost.
P.S. Do not try to remember the road that you went through. They all look similar and that will raise the chance of finding yourself in the middle of nowhere.
How Many Tribes Are There In Omo Valley?
We already mentioned two of them that you will see. Still, that doesn’t mean they are the only ones. There are 8 different tribes that have 200000 people in total. In case you want to visit them all, you will need more than 8 days to accomplish that goal.
Which Clothes Should I Carry When Travelling to Omo Valley (Ethiopia)?
Keep in mind that the weather is always warm down there. During the day it is quite hot. It will be tough for the first one or two days to get used to the temperature. However, the right clothes could help you adjust to these conditions a bit easier. We suggest you bring lightweight layers in natural fabrics. For instance, linen, cotton, and bamboo are good choices. You will feel comfortable and these clothes are easy to wash and dry. Over the night, you will probably sleep outside together with the tribe families. They got used to that and it is a wonderful experience. You won’t have a chance to do the same in some of the larger cities across the world.
Conclusion: Is It Safe?
Finally, we will end this article with the question that all the tourists are asking. The tribes in Omo Valley live differently from all of us. However, that doesn’t mean they will want to hurt you. We already mentioned that some of the tribes live an aggressive way of life. Still, the chance to hurt some of the tourists does not exist. They are hospitable and happy because someone wants to learn more about their culture.
We encourage you to visit Omo Valley and entire Ethiopia. You will be able to learn many things from places that kept their traditional way of living.
