Seven Days of Living Culture, Landscapes & Connection

Arrive at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, where a Bush Escapes representative welcomes you, assists with luggage, and transfers you to the hotel.

Depending on arrival time, visit the National Archaeological Museum, home to Lucy and other important archaeological treasures. The museum is closed on Mondays.

Continue to Holy Trinity Cathedral, renowned for its stained glass, sacred atmosphere, and imperial history.

Visit the Adwa Victory Memorial Museum, opened in 2024 to commemorate Ethiopia’s victory at Adwa in 1896. Its exhibits bring the strategy, leaders, weapons, documents, and landscapes of the historic battle to life.

Return to the hotel for a comfortable first night in Addis Ababa.

After breakfast, drive to Mt Entoto, rising to approximately 3,200 metres above sea level and offering sweeping views across Addis Ababa. Discover its association with Emperor Menelik II, Entoto Mariam church, palace history, and Ethiopian artefacts.

Optionally visit Shiro Meda Market, known for handwoven shawls, fabrics, traditional clothing, jewellery, and thoughtful souvenirs.

Begin the descent towards Addis Ababa’s riverside walkways, passing strawberry fields, urban agriculture initiatives, environmental restoration projects, viewpoints, and restored green spaces.

Hear stories of former pottery workshops, the women who carried firewood into the city, Kechene Cemetery, and the neighbourhoods that shaped the river corridor.

Continue through Arada Park and enjoy lunch and a Jebena coffee ceremony at ETT Coffee, with traditional snacks and Ethiopian coffee knowledge.

Visit the National Palace Museum, formerly Jubilee Palace, and make a short stop at Kenbena Plaza before returning to the hotel.

Transfer to the airport and board domestic flight from Addis Ababa to Arba Minch, scheduled approximately 08:05 to 09:15, subject to confirmation.

Continue to Chencha, approximately 40 kilometres from Arba Minch, to visit the Dorze people. Explore their cotton weaving, local market, Shama cloth, subsistence farming, and tall beehive-shaped homes.

After lunch, take a relaxing boat trip on Lake Chamo. Watch for hippos and crocodiles from the water and visit the lakeshore area known as Crocodile Market.

Return to Arba Minch and settle into the evening beside the Rift Valley lakes.

Set out after breakfast on the approximately 280-kilometre drive to Turmi, a journey of six to seven hours through the changing landscapes of southern Ethiopia.

Explore the Konso cultural landscape, recognised for terraced hillsides, stone-walled villages, mora meeting places, woven materials, farming traditions, and carved grave totems.

Walk through a kanta village and learn how community life, protection, agriculture, and social learning are organised across the hills. Market days in Karat, often called Konso, are Monday and Thursday.

Continue to Turmi, home of the Hamar people. Learn about body decoration, village life, Evangedi dance, and the ceremonial meaning of bull jumping. Bull jumping is not a daily event and cannot be guaranteed.

Visit a Kara or Karo village along the eastern banks of the Omo River and learn about a community whose livelihoods are closely connected to the river’s seasonal rhythms.

With local guidance, appreciate body and face painting, clay hair styling, craft, food production, fishing, cattle, goats, and the everyday expressions of identity and beauty.

Understand the close ancestral and linguistic relationship between the Kara and Hamar, as well as the trade and cultural connections shared with neighbouring communities.

Keep the afternoon unhurried, allowing time for respectful conversation, photography only with permission, and a deeper appreciation of the landscape and people.

After breakfast, drive approximately 140 kilometres / three hours to Jinka.
Stop at Key Afer, a colourful market and cultural crossroads for Benna, Hamer, and Tsemay communities. The principal market day is Thursday.
Where local conditions permit, there may be an opportunity to encounter Mursi community members in the area. Learn about their social identity, body adornment, and cultural expression through respectful, guided interpretation.
Continue to Jinka and settle into the lodge, with time to rest after the southern route.
MEALS & OVERNIGHT
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Overnight at Eco Omo Lodge.

After breakfast, drive to Jinka town and board domestic flight back to Addis Ababa, scheduled approximately 10:15 to 11:40, subject to confirmation.

After lunch, visit Merkato for final shopping and an energetic farewell to Addis Ababa’s commercial life. Merkato is closed on Sundays.

Visit Golla Art Gallery, a creative hub for contemporary Ethiopian art and handmade products, including textiles, jewellery, leather accessories, and natural-fibre baskets.

Enjoy a traditional cultural dinner at YOD Abyssinia with Ethiopian food, music, dance, and Tej honey wine.

Transfer to Bole International Airport for the return international flight to Nairobi. Departure timing will be coordinated around the confirmed flight schedule.