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A Safari Tour Itinerary

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The Vanishing Tribes of the Upper Omo Valley – Surma Tribes Tour 2018

A Scheduled Trip to Ethiopia

Surma Tribe Kibbish

Highlights

A fabulous tour into the heart of the Surma tribal lands in the Upper Omo Valley and the Suri people who live along the seldom-visited western bank of the Omo River.


Scheduled group tour from
February 23, 2018 - February 28, 2018

Starting from
US$ 5,400
per person sharing

Duration
5 days / 4 nights

Transport
Fly-in Safari

Accommodation
Mobile Camping

Exploring
Gambella National Park, Kibbish


About this Safari


Oh my honey badger! This tour has already departed.

Still dying to go on this delightful safari? Get in touch with us and we will try and arrange a private safari tour for you »

Duration & Dates

5 Days / 4 Nights OR 4 Days / 3 nights (whichever way we can get 6 participants, which is the minimum number. Max number = 8). As of now, we are looking at February 23, 2018, as the start date of this trip, though we can be somewhat flexible. To avoid the risk of rains, best to avoid travel here from March onwards.

Price

  • US $4500 based on 6 persons if we did this as a 5-day/4-night trip, followed by a scenic flight over Gambella National Park;
  • US$ 3900 pp for a 4-day / 3-night trip plus the scenic Gambella flight.

Inclusions

This quote includes return charter flights from Addis-Mizan Teferi-Gambella-Addis, private guide, vehicle on-site, local guide and scout fees, plus all-inclusive luxury mobile camping. It does not include photos, tipping, personal expenses or services in Addis.

Featured image credit: Rod Waddington from Kergunyah, Australia


Request for the Full Itinerary

or call our African safari specialists at
+1 703 220 6393 or +91 9717 275237


Day By Day Itinerary

The Upper Omo Valley: Land of the Surma Tribes

Our Omo trip is an abbreviated one and visits only the Upper Omo Valley. By car, it takes 3 days (driving 8 hours/day) to get to the Upper Omo Valley from Addis Ababa and this possibly explains why this remote region is not usually included in the more commonly-visited Omo Valley itineraries that cover the many other tribes that live to the east of the Omo River.

On this trip, we will only visit the Surma tribes on the western bank of the Omo river. This is the land that we have dubbed as being the land of the “flowers and fruits” and lip plate decorations such as these stunning images below:

Surma Tribes

We understand that some people feel that it is intrusive and uncomfortable to take staged photos of tribal people. My feeling is that these people are some of the best and most original body artists EVER! They deserve to be paid for their work and their art deserves to be kept alive. And a certain amount of commercialization is probably the only way to do this. So think of yourselves as Patrons of the Arts instead of as voyeurs – because that is what you really are.


More

Your Accommodation: Mobile Camping

Mobile Camping Omo Valley

On this tour, we will be staying in mobile camps in the Upper Omo Valley.

Map of the Region: Omo Valley

The area you will be visiting (highlighted in yellow) is in south-west Ethiopia, bordering South Sudan.

Omo Valley Map
Omo Valley Map

For a more detailed map of the region, please visit http://www.canr.msu.edu/oturn/change-in-the-omo-turkana-basin

Scenic Flight over Gambella NP

Gambella NP abuts and adjoins Boma NP in South Sudan. Boma is home to the recently discovered second-largest migration of ungulates in Africa and this is the land of the white-eared kob, Mongalla gazelles, the famed Nile lechwe, huge herds of tiang and roan, not to mention all manner of other birds and beasts.

Gambella National Park, adjoining Boma NP.
Gambella National Park, adjoining Boma NP.

At certain times of the year, vast numbers of these ungulates congregate in the Duma Wetlands area of Gambella NP in Ethiopia. This is a very remote area, in the deep interior of the park, and there are no roads to get there. The best way to see Gambella would be in a heli that can land at will in safe areas, and from there you can observe the animals. However, helicopters are very expensive, especially considering that it can carry only 3-4 people at any given time.

On this trip, we have chartered a fixed wing aircraft that can fly at relatively low altitudes so that we can get a good glimpse, as it were, of an area that few people have ever seen. If it looks promising, we can organize a full-on helibased expedition another time. For your reading pleasure and to get an idea of what a wonderful opportunity this really is:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/w/white-eared-kob/


Gallery

  • Surma Woman. Credit Alfred Weidinger.
    Surma Woman. Credit Alfred Weidinger.
  • Surma Tribe Kibbish
    Surma Tribe, Kibbish, Ethiopia

Surma Tribes Tour 2018 Map

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Kibish

Gambella, Ethiopia


Best Time to Visit

January

Closed

February

Best

March

Closed

April

Closed

May

Closed

June

Closed

July

Closed

August

Closed

September

Closed

October

Closed

November

Closed

December

Closed

This safari begins and ends in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We recommend flying Ethiopian Airlines into the country.


Video


Enquire Now

You can add any other comments about your trip here. If you are travelling with children, please let us know how old they are.

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Chalo – Let’s Go to Ethiopia in 2020
A Cultural Tour Through Ethiopia 2018
Exploring Dallol and Rural Tigray: Ethiopia Tour
South Omo Tribes: An Ethiopia Tour

View all safari tours in Ethiopia »

Chalo Africa provides luxury African safari tours and holidays from the United States (Washington DC), United Arab Emirates (Dubai) and India.


We plan safaris to Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Uganda, Rwanda, Gabon, Chad, Ethiopia and elsewhere.
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