The Many Faces Of Omo Valley, Ethiopia – A Photo Essay

Going to Ethiopia, I honestly didn’t know what to expect.  When you think about Africa, you conjure up images of giraffes munching on leaves up above, lions grumpily growling, or the majestic migration of wildebeest.  What is easy to forget is the human side of the continent and how incredible the people are once you get to know them.  These are the many faces of Omo Valley in Ethiopia.

A Thought Provoking Experience

What makes Ethiopia uniquely different from the other parts of Africa is that it is less of an animal safari and more of a human safari.  That probably sounds a bit strange and at times it really does put you in morally ambiguous situations where you question whether you’re completely disrupting a society’s existence or bringing about positive improvement. 

The beauty of travel though is that it really does get you thinking about humanity at a broader level, puts you out of your comfort zone, and forces you to think about the simple values of life.

A Little About Omo Valley, Ethiopia

The region of Omo Valley of Ethiopia probably deserves a little bit of an introduction.  I certainly didn’t know much about it and after a bit of research I knew that I couldn’t miss this opportunity.

Omo Valley is truly one of the last surviving group of people where modernization has hardly touched them which feels impossible in an era of Internet.  For centuries, 200,000 or so Omo Valley tribes have pursued preindustrial lifestyles that until more recently have been left alone to their own devices because the land was considered useless and too remote for exploitation.  Beyond the gifts of tourists and garbage left behind, men, women, and children all express themselves in their own unique culture and tribal identity.

What makes them so fascinating is the fact that in such a small area, there is an incredibly diversity of language and genetics that also live as traditionally as they currently do.  With 14 tribes, each carries its own language, customs, way of life, and heritage.  It also may not be a coincidence that the oldest Homo Sapien fossil fragments were found here.

It’s the curiosity that bring visitors like myself to the region for the chance to witness rituals such as bull jumping and gladiatorial combat.

The People And Tribes Of Omo Valley Ethiopia

With that, what better way to share my experiences in Ethiopia than to introduce to you all of the incredible people I met along the way.  It’s the new faces, friendly handshakes, and unexpected hugs that make for the best travel experiences and Omo Valley truly punctuated that.

We’ve organized our photos into different groups which more-or-less chronologically follows what our 9 day Ethiopia itinerary played out.

Note that the photographs below aren’t meant to be graphic but an inside look at a hidden culture so I hope no one is offended. 

Guides

If you read how we spent our 9 days in Ethiopia, you’ll know that we did something unique by hiring two separate local guides.

Was it necessary? Probably not, but in a way, it kept each of them more accountable, and we leveraged both of their strengths and the connections they had in various tribes of Omo Valley. In the end, this ended up working out quite well.

Sadly, Solomon has since passed but Melak is still running personalized tours.

Arba Minch To Start It Off

After landing in Addis Ababa, we connected with a local flight to Arba Minch, the closest airport to Omo Valley.

This was easily our nicest stop on the trip. Our hotel Emerald Resort (formerly Swaynes Hotel), was quite comfortable and the next day we even got to do a relaxing boat ride around Lake Chamo.

Spending Time In Jinka With The Locals

Once we made it to the actual gateway into Omo Valley in the town of Jinka, the landscape changed dramatically.

Since our guides are pretty well-connected to the community here, we had many chance and planned encounters with Ethiopian locals, giving us a true unfiltered version of seeing this part of the country.

While Arba Minch is the major hub, Jinka is the actual gateway into Omo Valley.

Heading Into Mursi Tribe Lands

The most well-known of the Omo Valley tribes is the Mursi Tribe. They are often known to be the most aggressive as well.

Thankfully, through our guides’ connections, we were granted permission to not only visit, but stay the night with a Mursi tribe community.

This is when you truly realize, you aren’t in Kansas anymore.

Donga Stick Fighting Tournament

We didn’t realize the significance of this until much later but the morning we were supposed to leave the Mursi tribe, our guides found out that a Donga stick fighting tournament had been called.

Donga is the meeting of each villages’ top fighters where sticks are used as weapons. It’s quite brutal but a fascinating experience to see the warriors duke it out one on one to certain glory or severe head wounds.

These aren’t exactly scheduled on the calendar somewhere so we were incredibly lucky to witness this National Geographic moment in-person.

The Ari Tribe

After a few days spent with the Mursi tribe, we got to spend time with a contrasting tribe, the Ari Tribe.

In many ways, I felt like this tribe was much more adapted to modern civilization and a result, most of the villages were near the town of Jinka.

They were extremely welcoming and the kids especially were oh so cute.

Hamar Tribe Hospitality

Another major tribe in Omo Valley are the Hamar Tribe. For our first encounter with this distinct ethnic group, we spent time in one of the gathering places near the town of Turmi – Dimeka Market.

It’s at this market that we saw goats being traded, sorghum being ground down to a powder, the red dye for women’s hair, and the Borkota, a common hand-held piece of furniture that can be used as a chair and neck rest.

Read our story on American Express Essentials about the mighty indispensable Borkota.

At the end of the trip, we also camped in a Hamer Tribe village which we’ll get to further below.

Bull Jumping Ceremony

One of the important rites of passage for the Hamer Tribe is the Bull Jumping ceremony. This is when a boy becomes a man (called Maza). To unlock this achievement, the boy must pass the test of jumping over a line of bulls.

What I learned from my day here is that it’s a full day affair, with the friends and family coming together to celebrate, intricate jewelry, face-painting, and whipping.

Travellers We Met

On one of our morning breakfast stops, we unexpectedly met Elof and Nana, who were along their biking journey from Sweden to South Africa.

The Heat Of Nyangatom

Venturing further away, we also had an opportunity to see the Nyangatom Tribe. Located in a more arid and desolate part of Omo Valley, it was fascinating to see how their lifestyle was completely different from the others.

During our day here, we saw some of their beading work and were welcomed into their huts.

The beating sun made it hard to be out there for too long but thankfully there was shade underneath the tree for a reprieve from the heat.

Chilling With The Karo Tribe

One of the last tribes we visited was the Karo Tribe.

Living near Omo River, we found that they were much more laid back compared to the other tribes. There were a few opportunities to photograph Karo tribe members and drink a beer as well.

Camping With Hamar Tribe

To close out our time with the tribes of Omo Valley, we ventured back to one of the families of the Hamar Tribe that we’d been traveling with.

After camping overnight outside of their home, we had a heartwarming morning drinking tea and jamming to music by The Weeknd who is Canadian Ethiopian.

Saying Goodbye

If you read our Ultimate Omo Valley Ethiopia Travel Guide, you’l know why we ended up cutting our trip short. Still, it was sad to say goodbye to our guides and driver.

It’s the people that make every trip special and this one was no different.   A trip to Omo Valley truly immerses yourself into all the different tribes and you’ll see things that are so unique that you’ll think you’re on an episode of National Geographic.

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