Day 2: Addis Ababa – Harar

This morning we will be collected from our hotel and taken back to the airport, from where we will fly to Dire Dawa. In Dire Dawa before leaving town we will visit the historic train station. After which we will be driven on to Harar, where the prime attraction is the walled city. Known locally as Jugal, the old town is enclosed by a 5m-high wall that effectively defined the whole of Harar until the Italian occupation. On our tour we will see mosques, churches, the house of the French poet Rimbaud, the Adere people’s traditional houses, the markets, basket productions and much more. In the evening we will also visit a man who continues an age-old tradition of feeding wild hyenas on the outside of the city wall – a spectacle not to be missed!

Day 4: Harar - Awash National Park

Today we will drive to Awash and although a full day in the vehicles, we’ll have plenty of opportunities to stop and see the countryside we are driving through. We will visit the famous local qat market in the village of Awedae before heading into Awash National Park. This park is one of eastern Ethiopia’s main attractions and we plan to have a late afternoon game drive. Although over 80 mammal species have been recorded in the Park – the majority being bats, rodents and small predators – the game viewing is arguably less of an attraction than the scenery and birdlife. The Park is regarded as one of Ethiopia’s premier birding destinations, with over 450 species. The park also has a magnificent 150m-deep gorge, carved by the Awash River and its substantial waterfall.

Day 6: Sheikh Hussein – Goba

According to many Ethiopian Muslims, the 13th century tomb of Sheikh Hussein is one of the most sacred places in the country. Sheikh Hussein is believed to be the one who introduced Islam to the region and is said to have performed many miracles. We’ll visit his tomb with its whitewashed walls inscribed with Arabic sentences from the Quran and afterwards head to Bale Goba, visiting the beautiful Sof Omar caves on the way. The Sof Omar caves are a vast network of limestone caverns, reputedly the largest in Africa. These caves have been carved by the Webb River which descends from the Bale Mountains to the flat arid plains that stretch towards the Somali boarder. The caves are named after Sheikh Sof Omar, a 12th century Muslim leader who used them as refuge, and they remain an important site of pilgrimage for Ethiopian Muslims.

Day 8: Bale National Park – Awassa

This morning, heading out of the Bale National Park, we’ll stop at Dinsho, the park’s headquarters, from where we can take a walk to explore the local woodland and try to spot the endemic Mountain Nyala and Menekil’s Bushbuck. There may also be a chance to see animals such as warthogs and baboons too. We will then proceed to Awassa in the Great African Rift Valley.

Day 10: Konso – Turmi

The Konso are hardworking agriculturalists, who farm on ancient terraced lands. We will explore their villages on foot allowing us to observe their customs and lifestyles. After visiting the Konso villages we head deeper into the Omo valley to Turmi where the Hamer live. The most important event in the Hamer society is the bull jumping ceremony, which with some luck, we will attend. On the way, we will stop to visit the Erbore villages, who have ancestral and cultural links to the Konso and the pastoralists of the surrounding lowlands, the Erbore traditionally played an important role as middlemen in trade between the Omo River and the Konso Highlands.

Day 12: Turmi - Mursi – Jinka

Today we’ll head towards Mago National Park in whose lands reside the Mursi, perhaps the most famous of all the peoples of Southern Ethiopia. The Mursi, are known for their distinctive “lip plates” which can reach diameters of up to 6”. After spending some time meeting with the Mursi, we’ll head for the nearby town of Jinka.

Day 14: Arba Minch – Lake Langano

This morning we’ll head up to the village of Chencha to the Dorze tribes. Speaking an Omotic language and settled in the hills above the lakes, the Dorze people are renowned for their beehive-like house architecture and weaving techniques. In the afternoon, we’ll make our way to Lake Langano, right in the heart of the Rift Valley and a great place for a swim or for a spot of bird-watching.