Cultural journeys
Stone-walled hill towns, terraces built by hand over 400 years and carved wooden grave markers in Konso, a UNESCO landscape still farmed.
Paused while the Konso zone is under an official travel warning.
Length 03 days
Arba Minch
Crocodiles basking on Lake Chamo, zebra on the Nechisar plains and Dorze weavers in tall bamboo houses, from a base above two lakes.
Length 06 days
Omo Valley
Three nights in a tented camp on a bend of the Omo, with boat days to riverside communities few travellers reach by road.
Overview
In Konso, the hills are stepped from foot to crest with dry stone terraces, and the towns sit on top inside up to six rings of stone wall. People have farmed this dry country the same way for 21 generations, more than 400 years. UNESCO listed it in 2011 as a landscape that is still being worked.
Inside the walls, lanes run like a maze between compounds to the mora, a shaded meeting house, and the poles raised for each new generation. A local guide from Karat leads every walk, and the day is unhurried. This route is paused for now; we will reopen it when it is safe.
Itinerary
Your guide meets you at Bole International Airport for the morning flight to Arba Minch, then drives about two hours south to Konso. In the afternoon a local guide walks you through a walled town such as Mecheke, past the mora where men gather and the generation poles in the square.
You start with the waga, carved wooden figures that mark the grave of a respected man, shown with his wives and the enemies or animals he faced. On Monday or Thursday, the Karat market fills with grain, cloth and pots. Then the eroded canyon at Gesergio, called New York, before the drive back for the afternoon flight.
Itineraries can change with weather, road and flight conditions. We will tell you promptly if they do.
Gallery
Photo: Unsplash
Good to know
Dress code: Light, loose clothing that covers shoulders and knees, comfortable in the heat and respectful in the towns.
This tour follows the Strict policy. Days are whole calendar days before departure.
| When you cancel | What you get back |
|---|---|
| 30 or more days before departure | 50% refund |
| Fewer than 30 days before departure | No refund |
A non-refundable USD 150 per traveller (domestic flights) is deducted before these percentages are applied.
Questions
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Choose your dates above, or tell us what you have in mind and we will shape the trip around you.
