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About Ethiopia

The Omo Valley: ‘a melting point of many more unique cultures'

The road extending from Addis Ababa to the Southern region is really a paradise for people admiring culture and nature. About 75 Kms. from the capital, the road diverges in to two in the town of Modjo ; one to the east and the other to the north. The road heading to the South will travelers to the famed Omo Valley after passing different spectacular Rift Valley lakes.

The first lake to come cross is Zeway , one of the shallowest lake along the chain of Lakes with a maximum depth of only 4 meters. The lake is prominent in shading the most delicious fish species and hosting five Islands , some of them being historical for having ancient and unique people and others for having monasteries. The next twin lakes to be seen are Abiyata-Shalla. Both are grounds to admire different aquatic bird life and Shalla is the famous one being the deepest Rift Valley Lake not only in Ethiopia but in Africa north of the equator with 260 meters below seas level.

Exactly opposite to the two twin Lakes is Lake Langano , a normally inhabited lake by weekenders of Addis Ababa . Having an out-standing view, it is the only Bilharzias free lake having brown-shiny color.

Driving 50 Kilometers from Langano is the town of Shashemene , a very hot commercial center and famous for being a home for the ‘Ras Teferians' . The continuing the drive the traveler will arrive in the town of Arba Minch an ideal place to start exploring the different tribal groups in the region and also have a Safari in the Nech Sar National park which is famous for Zebra and other mammals and bird life. The Dorze people, known for their cotton woven clothing and bamboo- made beehive shaped houses are easily accessible from Arba Minch. Also the crocodile market on the last stretches and chains of the Rift Valley lake Chamo which is adjacent to Abaya, the longest rift Valley lake.

Driving further from Arba Minch is the real place to explore the Omo Valley tribes. This part of the country is home to many diverse and fascinating peoples and culture: the Konso, who for centuries have practiced terracing and intensive agriculture in their steep land and are known for the eerie wooden totems they erect over the graves of the dead.

The lower Omo Valley is home to an astonishing mix of small, contrasting ethnic groups- the Bume , the Karo , the Geleb , the Bodi , the Mursi , the Surma , the Aerbore and the Hamar , to name only a few.

The Surma and the Karo , for example are experts at body painting-using clays and locally available vegetable pigments to trace fantastic patterns on one another's faces, chests, arms, and legs. These designs do not appear to have any special significance but are created purely for fun and aesthetic effect.

Scarifications, on the other hand-also popular among most peoples of the lower Omo-does contain a number of specific symbolic messages. Mursi warriors carve deep crescent incisions on their arms to represent each enemy they have killed in battle. Elaborate hairstyles are another form of personal adornment. Hamar women wear their hair in dense ringlets smeared with mud and clarified butter and topped off with a head- dress featuring oblongs of gleaming aluminum; Galeb and Karo men sculpt and shave their hair into extravagant shapes, with special ochre ‘caps' of hair usually containing several ostrich feathers. The insertion of wooden and terra-cotta disks in to the ear lobes is a widespread custom. Mursi and Surma women also progressively split and stretch their lower lips to make room for similar disks there, too.

Sof Omar Caves
The fantastic limestone caves of Sof Omar make a day's outing from Dinsho, Robe or Goba. The road leaves Robe town, crossing the farming areas to the east, before descending into the lowlands. Here the vegetation is very different being dry lowland with wooded grasslands. The caves lie at 1,300 m above sea level. This is in marked contrast to what you will experience in the Bale Mountains at up to 4,000 m. Very different animals occur along the way as well, most noticeably the Greater and Lesser Kudu - both relatives of the Mountain Nyala, and the tiny dik dik antelope. The caves themselves carry the whole flow of the Web River that rises in the Bale Mountains , underground through wonderfully carved caverns for a distance of one and a half kilometres. There are over fifteen kilometres of associated passages, which require skill, time and special equipment for a full exploration. However, a friendly local guide will show you enough to take your breath away and make the trip worthwhile, for an hour or for as long as you care to spend. A cool dip in the clear River afterwards refreshes you for the return drive. Full details of the caves are provided in the booklet, "The Caves of Sof Omar" obtainable from the Ethiopian Tourism Commission.