Ethiopia Cultural Sightseeing Tours

Ethiopia Tour

Ethiopia Cultural Sightseeing Tours

Enquire
Ethiopia Tours

The best cultural tours in Ethiopia help travelers engage with the art, lifestyle, archeology and architecture elements which make up the way of life of the people across the country. We offer a variety of Ethiopian cultural tours packages which will enable visitors to gather experiences and information to satisfy their cultural needs. Our cultural tours take you to the Mursi, Dorze, Tsemai, Dassanach, Hamer, Karo, and Surma people in the Omo Valley area in south Ethiopia. One can also visit the culture and the lifestyle of the people in north Ethiopia where he will have a chance to see dances and music of thousands of years old.

The historical beauty of northern Ethiopia is balanced by the diversity and cultural marvels of each tribe in the south. The Omo Valley is home to many tribes within a relatively small area. The Body, Hamer,

Tsemay, Dassanech, Banna, Karo, Muri, Surma, Ari, and Nyangatom are better known among others. It is believed to be the last great wilderness on the African continent. The Lower Valley of the Omo was registered by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1980.

MURSI :To the east of Omo are the Mursi Tribes within Mago National Park. These tribes are known for the ornamental clay lip plates of the Mursi girls. At a younger age, the girls’ lower lip is cut and held open by a wooden plug until the wound heals. The girls then stretch the lip by inserting progressively larger plugs over several months. The larger lip plate she can tolerate, the more cattle her bride price will bring for the father. The size of the plate can be as large as 12cm in diameter.

DORZE : The main village of the Dorze, Chencha, is in the mountains above the city of Arba Minch, about 440km south of Addis Ababa. The community claims that it is the first eco-village in Ethiopia, setting standards for others to follow. The

Ethiopia Tours

Jinka

people practice an ancient tonal form of music called hocket, which alternates pitch, notes, and chords in a fashion similar to that of ancient African pygmy tribes. Dancing is a big part of their social life. The Dorze practice what they preach, living in consent with their surroundings.

The exotic tall houses and the colorful cotton of the Dorze people continue to attract tourists, the latter specifically for their distinct cotton weaving patterns. They are probably the most weavers in Ethiopia, with their traditional cloth dominating the market in Addis Ababa. The houses of the Dorze, made of hardwood and bamboo, can reach 6m to 12 m in height. These huts, which last for up to 80 years, become shorter with age, as termites eat their base. A family will keep the house moving from place to place within the same compound, in order to mitigate the attacks of the termites.

Ethiopia Tours

Murulle

TSEMAI : Tsemai boys, like Hamer boys, have to jump over rows of cattle before they are initiated into adulthood. Men also have to give cattle, honey, goats, or sheep to the family of the woman they are to marry. They can intermarry with neighboring tribes such as the Hamer, too. These days, they are becoming dependant on agriculture.


DASSANACH : The Dassanach people survival in their semiarid environment includes fishing and hunting for crocodiles and hippopotamuses on the Omo River and Lake Turkana. The Dassanach people are not strictly ethnic. They absorb anyone, as long as they are circumcised, and are now people composed of 8 clans. Each clan claims special powers, such as power over drought, fire, water, crocodiles, snakebites, or various diseases. Men and women from the same clan can neither dance nor married. Girls do not get promoted to womanhood before they are circumcised.

Ethiopia Tours

Turmi and Dimeka

HAMER : Turmi is home to Hamer tribe. Hamer women are the most decorated, humble, and friendly of the Omo people. They wear beautiful beaded goatskins, ornate necklaces, and metal bangles around their wrists and ankles. The people pride themselves in their cattle possessions, even though they are increasingly becoming dependent upon agriculture. The bull jumping ceremonies and evangadi dance are the most well-known social events of the Hamer. A young boy who successfully jumps the bull will then be able to marry when he is ready. A row of 8 to10 bulls is formed and the naked initiate must traverse the row, leaping from one animal to the next four times. This tradition rite is followed by an intensive dance that involves a lot of flirting between the men and the women.

KARO : The Karo people live on the banks of the Omo River. The Karo are known for their face and body paintings. Karo girls put nails in their lower lips. The men create highly decorated clay hair buns, which can take up to three days to complete. Their hair buns and painted face masks are spectacular.

Ethiopia Tour

Dassanech

SURMA : The Surma people, living in southwestern Ethiopia, put such emphasis on beauty that their faces and heads are highly and creatively decorated. The designs can be intricate and the decorations for the head can include a fresh twig with flowers on it or numerous pieces of metal tubes through which hair is fitted. Women also wear lip plates like the Musi, and the size of the slit indicates the value of the woman. A woman with a bit slit could fetch up to 60 head of cattle for her family in marriage. Faces can be painted white with red dots everywhere or painted with a two-color paint scheme, looking something like the yin and yang symbol.
Surma men dwell on beatifying themselves more than other men in order to attract the opposite sex, especially during ceremonies or stick fights. They sustain themselves by drinking not only milk but also the blood of their animals without having to kill them. They are known by their traditional stick fighting game, which is called dunga. The stick fighting game is also used to set social structures. When the stick fighters engage each other, people stand around and watch.

Ethiopia Tour

Lucy

Detailed Itinerary Close

Ethiopia Cultural Sightseeing Tour Packages
TOUR CODE DURATION SITE TRANSPORT
HCTCST 011 6 Days/ 5 Nights ARBA MINCH – JINKA – TURMI AIR & SURFACE

Day 01: ARRVAL ADDIS – ARBA MINCH
Arrive Addis Ababa and transfer to your hotel accompanied by His-Cul Ethiopia Tour Operator representative. After early breakfast the same day morning, transfer to the airport and fly to Arba Minch. Upon arrival, check in your hotel and then drive to the Chencha Village to see the Dorze people. O/N in hotel

Day 02: ARBA MINCH – JINKA
In the morning, take boat on Lake Chamo to explore hippos and giant crocs, parts of Nechsar National Park and the lake’s shores, and then drive further south to the town of Jinka. On your way to Jinka, visit the Ari, Banna and Tsemay peoples in their respective location. O/N in hotel

Day03: JINKA – TURMI
In the morning, you will have excursion to Mago National Parks to visit the Mursi people who are best known for the “lip plate” worn by the women and, after lunch, drive to Turmi, the village of Hammer people. O/N in lodge

Day 04: FULL DAY AROUND TURMI
In the morning, you will have excursion to Omorate to see the Dassanach people (fishermen and hippo and crocodile hunters) and their traditional village. In the afternoon, visit the Turmi traditional market if today is Monday. O/N in lodge

Day 05: TURMI – ARBAMINCH
Drive back to Arba Minch en-route visiting the villages of the Konso people. O/N in hotel

Day 06: ARBA MINCH – ADDIS ABABA
Drive to Addis. En-route, visit the Rock-Hewn Churches of Adadi Mariam which is far closer in style to its counterparts at Lalibela than to any rock-hewn church in Tigray, the Stone-Age archeological site of Melka Kunture, and finally the Tiya Stele Field—a belt of secret-full carved steles and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the late evening, transfer to the airport for your evening return flight to home.



TOUR CODE DURATION SITE TRANSPORT
HCTCST 012 9 Days/8 Nights HAWASSA – ARBAMINCH – JINKA – TURMI –YABELLO – YIRGALEM Surface

Day 01: ARRVAL ADDIS AND FULL DAY CITY TOUR OF ADDIS
Arrive Addis Ababa and transfer to your hotel accompanied by His-Cul Ethiopia Tour Operator represetative. Then you will have a full day city tour of Addis which includes the modern and historic features of the city. O/N in hotel

Day 02: ADDIS – HAWASSA
Today pick up from your hotel is at 7:00 am. Meet your driver and guide and then, take the road south to get Hawassa. En-route, you will have a chance to see the Rock-Hewn Churches of Adadi Mariam which is far closer in style to its counterparts at Lalibela than to any rock-hewn church in Tigray, the Stone-Age archeological site of Melka Kunture, and finally the Tiya Stele Field—a belt of secret-full carved steles and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. O/N in hotel

Day 03: HAWASSA – ARBAMINCH
After breakfast, visit the local fish market and drive south to get Arbaminch. En-route, visit the Sankale Game Sanctuary which protects Ethiopia’s largest concentration of the endemic Swayne’s Hartebeest and where the sightings of this wild animal is practically guaranteed. En-route, visit the Dorze Tribe who are best known for their cotton weaving activities and whose tall bee-hived shaped houses make them more unique tribe than any other people in Africa. At this place, you will have a chance to see the colorful local market if this day falls either on Monday or Saturday. O/N in hotel

Day 04: ARBAMINCH - JINKA
In the morning, take boat on Lake Chamo to explore hippos and Africa’s biggest crocs. On your way to Jinka, visit the Ari, Banna and Tsemay peoples in their respective villages. O/N in hotel

Day 05: JINKA - TURMI
In the morning, you will have excursion to Mago National Parks to visit the Mursi people who are celebrated for the ladies’ “lip plate” and, after lunch, drive to Turmi, the village of Hammer people. (The Hammer People are the most decorated and friendly of the people in the Omo Valley area.) The colorful weekly local market at Dimeka is on Tuesday and Saturday. O/N in lodge

Day 06: FULL-DAY AROUND TURMI
In the morning, you will have excursion to Omorate to see the Dassanach people whose main livelihood is dependent fishing and hunting hippos and crocodiles. Today’s premier attraction is to visit tese people in their traditional villages. In the afternoon, visit the Turmi traditional market if today is Monday. O/N in lodge

Day 07: TURMI – YABELLO
Drive from Turmi to the villages of Konso, Erbore and Tsemai people (the KONSO Village is a UNESCO World Heritage Site) to see their respective villages before continuing to Yabello for an overnight stay. O/N in hotel

Day 08: YABELLO – YIRGALEM
Drive from Yabello to Yirgalem. En-route, Visit the Elsod Crater Lake and the mysterious Tutu Fella Stelae Field where one can have a chance to see more than 300 stele laying within a small village encircled by natural forest and where little excavation has taken place at. O/N in hotel

Day 09: YIRGALEM – ADDIS
Retrace from Yirgalem to Addis and after arrival refresh yourselves at your hotel. Finally in the early hours of the evening, you will be transferred to the airport to catch your international flight to home.



TOUR CODE DURATION SITE TRANSPORT
HCTCST 013 11 Days/10 Nights HAWASSA – ARBAMINCH – JINKA – TURMI –YABELLO – YIRGALEM – BALE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK Surface

Day 01: ARRVAL ADDIS AND FULL DAY CITY TOUR OF ADDIS
Arrive Addis Ababa and transfer to your hotel accompanied by His-Cul Ethiopia Tour Operator representative. Then you will have a full day city tour of Addis which includes the modern and historic features of the city. O/N in hotel

Day 02: ADDIS – HAWASSA
Today pick up from your hotel is at 7:00 am. Meet your driver and guide and then, take the road south to get Hawassa. En-route, you will have a chance to see the Rock-Hewn Churches of Adadi Mariam which is far closer in style to its counterparts at Lalibela than to any rock-hewn church in Tigray, the Stone-Age archeological site of Melka Kunture, and finally the Tiya Stele Field—a belt of secret-full carved steles and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. O/N in hotel

Day 03: AWASSA – ARBAMINCH
After breakfast, visit the local fish market and drive south to get Arbaminch. En-route, visit the Sankale Game Sanctuary which protects Ethiopia’s largest concentration of the endemic Swayne’s Hartebeest and where the sightings of this wild animal is practically guaranteed. En-route, visit the Dorze Tribe who are famous for their cotton weaving activities and whose tall aquarium-shaped huts make them more unique tribe than any other people in Africa. At this place, you will have a chance to see the colorful local market if this day falls either on Monday or Saturday. O/N in hotel

Day 04: ARBAMINCH - JINKA
In the morning, take boat on Lake Chamo to explore parts of Nechsar National Park and the lake’s shores, and then drive further south to the town of Jinka. On your way to Jinka, visit the Ari, Banna and Tsemay peoples in their respective location. O/N in hotel

Day 05: JINKA - TURMI
In the morning, you will drive to Mago National Parks to visit the Mursi people who are best known for the “lip plate” worn by the women and, after lunch, drive to Turmi, the village of Hammer people, of course; with a stop at Dimeka to see the weekly colorful and warmest local market if this day falls either on Tuesday or Saturday when people from Hammer and Banna come to attend it. O/N in lodge

Day 06: FULL-DAY AROUND TURMI
In the morning, you will have excursion to Omorate to see the Dassanach people (fishermen and hippo and crocodile hunters) and their traditional village. In the afternoon, visit the Turmi traditional market if today is Monday. O/N in lodge

Day 07: TURMI – YABELLO
Drive from Turmi to the villages of Erbore and Tsemai people to see their respective villages before continuing to Yabello for an overnight stay. O/N in hotel

Day 08: YABELLO – YIRGALEM
Drive from Yabello to Yirgalem. En-route, visit the Elsod Crater Lake (House of Salt) and the Tutu Fella Stelae Field where one can have a chance to see more than 300 stelae lies within a small village encircled by natural forest and where little excavation has taken place at. O/N in hotel

Day 09: YIRGALEM – BALE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
Today you will drive from Yirgalem to Bale Mountains National Park, home of many Ethiopia’s endemic birds and mammals through its southeastern highlands for two overnight stays. O/N in hotel

Day 10: FULL-DAY IN BALE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
Today you will continue your exploration of the Bale Mountains National Park by climbing up to Sanetti Plateau to see one of the loveliest mountain scenery in Africa, Ethiopian wolf, Golden Jackal and Klipspringer. O/N in hotel

Day 11: BALE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK – ADDIS ABABA – INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT
Leaving the Bale Mountains National Park behind, retrace to Addis, and in the early hours of the evening transfer to the airport for your evening return flight to home.