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Omo Valley

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The Omo Valley, often more precisely called the Lower Omo Valley, is a place like no other. Home to a number of tribal communities, the variety and diversity of life – truly a melting pot of humanity – will blow you away. We think it’s a must-visit if you want to understand Ethiopia and Africa more broadly.

The concentration of experience and variety, often so juxtaposed to your own daily life, forces you to reflect on what it means to be human in today’s world. 

The Lower Omo Valley region has been as UNESCO World Heritage Site since the discovery of human remains dating back nearly 2.5 million years.

As you explore the region, you’ll discover fortified hilltop settlements, terraced fields, anthropomorphic grave markers, and rock engravings dating back 5000 years.

The Omo also has some beautiful landscapes; Nech Sar National Park frames much of the region with mountains, lakes, and forests, and harbors 70-plus mammal species, as well as prodigious crocodiles and the endemic Nechisar nightjar – the latter arguably the world’s rarest bird.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The Lower Valley of the Omo is located in south-western Ethiopia. It extends over an area of 165 km2. The age old sedimentary deposits in the Lower Omo Valley are now world renowned for the discovery of many hominid fossils, that have been of fundamental importance in the study of human evolution.
The Lower Omo River in south west Ethiopia is home to eight different tribes whose population is about 200,000. They have lived there for centuries.
The best way to get to the Omo Valley is via a domestic flight to the nearby airport town of Arba Minch. From here, you will take to the road and drive into the Omo Valley, stopping at various small towns along the way for overnights as you explore the region over the course of 4 to 5 days.
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NATIONAL PARKS

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Ethiopia is home to over 20 lakes, most of which are a result of the Great African Rift Valley

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