The Rift Valley and the Cultural Mosaic of The South
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Sparkling Lake Abijatta, its shallows crowded with up to 300,000 foraging flamingos, all silhouetted in gorgeous orange hues
before the setting African sun.
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The lush hills around Dilla, where finely executed 5,000 year old rock engravings and medieval megalithic sites pay tribute to
Ethiopia’s long but often mysterious past.
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The evergreen forests that swathe the Rift Valley escarpment at Lephis and Wondo Genet, home to acrobatic colobus
monkeys, multi-coloured parrots and comically braying hornbills.
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The cultural kaleidoscope of South Omo, populated by 16 different ethnic groups whose traditional ways of life include body
painting and unique hair styles.
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Rough 4x4 tracks leading to the remote territories of localised avian endemics such as the bizarre Stresemann’s bush crow
and Nechisar nightjar - the latter billed as the “world’s rarest bird”.
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The fortified hilltop settlements, terraced fields and anthropomorphic grave-markers of the Konso, whose ancient cultural
landscape is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This is Southern Ethiopia. A green and fertile land of misty highland meadows and tall escarpment forests, bisected by the gaping
kilometre deep tectonic scar we know as the Great Rift Valley, its floor dotted with beautiful expansive lakes renowned for their
diverse profusion of birds. The single most ethnically diverse region in Africa, where modern cities such as Hawassa and Arba Minch
provide a gateway not only to the Konso Cultural Landscape and South Omo, but also to the singing wells of the desert-dwelling
Borena, to the towering Dorze homesteads that stud the highlands west of the Rift Valley, to thousand year old island monasteries…
and much more besides.
Central Rift Valley Lakes
Nech Sar National Park
Renowned for their stunning aquatic birdlife, the five freshwater
The wildly beautiful and diverse landscapes of Nech Sar National
and soda lakes of the central Rift Valley offer a host of other
Park include a dense swathe of groundwater forest bordering
attractions. For swimming and the beach, Lake Langano, with
the town of Arba Minch, the twin lakes Chamo and Abaya,
its upmarket resorts, is a popular weekend retreat from Addis
the spiky acacia scrub of the mountainous Bridge of God that
Ababa and great place to break up a longer southern safari. For
divides them, and the wide open Nech Sar (‘White Grass’) Plains.
those seeking a more urban break, Hawassa is a bustling regional
A popular excursion is a boat trip to Lake Chamo’s so-called
capital offering superb lakeside recreational and conference
crocodile market, a stretch of reed-lined sand flats populated
facilities. For history buffs, a local community tourism project
by some truly gigantic crocodiles as well as a few pods of hippo
offers boat trips to Lake Ziway’s Tullu Guddo Island, where the
and a wealth of aquatic birds. Monkeys are common in the
monastery of Maryam Debre Tsion - established in 842 AD to
groundwater forest, while the guided walks on the Nech Sar
provide temporary sanctuary to the Ark of the Covenant - houses
Plains offer a good chance of seeing Burchell’s zebra, Grant’s
a library of priceless ancient manuscripts, notably an illuminated
gazelle, Swayne’s hartebeest, greater kudu and other large
14th century tome vividly portraying 19 saints.
ungulates. Star attraction on the park’s avian checklist of 275
species is the Nechisar nightjar, Caprimulgus solala, which many
Inevitably, though, it is the lakes’ birdlife that most impresses:
regard to be the world’s rarest bird.
the larder-mouth pelicans and marabou storks that gorge
themselves at Ziway’s main boat jetty and Hawassa’s lively fish
market; the long-legged jacanas and pygmy geese that haunt
the lily-covered bays, the parrots and fish eagles that nest in
lakeside forests, and - truly one of Africa’s great ornithological
spectacles - the hundreds of thousands of beautiful pink-hued
flamingoes wading the shallows of Lake Abijatta.
Konso Cultural Landscape
This 230km2 UNESCO World Heritage Site is named after its Konso
inhabitants, an agricultural people whose 400 year old network
of contour walls has moulded their semi-arid and hilly homeland
into terraced fields designed to maximise soil and water retention.
The traditional hilltop paleta villages of the Konso, encircled by up to
six concentric dry-stone defensive walls and dotted with thatched mora
community houses, arguably rank as the most beautiful traditional
African settlements in sub-Sahelian Africa. The Konso are also renowned
for
their
anthropomorphic
waka
grave-markers,
impressionistic
hardwood statues carved with facial features mimicking the deceased
and teeth made from animal bones. The main base for exploring this
unique cultural landscape is the small town of Karat-Konso, site of a
superb museum housing some 200 waka and set within easy driving
distance of several traditional paleta.
South Omo
Centred on the pretty green town of Jinka, South Omo is Ethiopia’s
most culturally and linguistically diverse administrative zone,
supporting 16 different ethnic groups who all staunchly keep
to their unique traditional costumes, customs and beliefs. The
Mursi, inhabitants of South Omo are remarkable for their body
art. Hamer women are notable for their long-fringed, hennadyed dreadlocked hairdo, while the men must perform a unique
bull-jumping ritual as an initiation into adulthood. The Karo,
who live alongside the Omo River as it flows along the zone’s
western boundary, are celebrated for their colourful ritual body
painting. The best way to explore South Omo is to visit a few of
its small towns on their specific market days, when a diverse mix
of colourfully-adorned villagers can be seen buying and selling
wares. Also within South Omo, the little-visited Lower Omo
UNESCO World Heritage Site, set close to where the Omo River
empties into Lake Turkana, protects a number of important
paleontological sites.
The Great Rift Valley
Southern Ethiopia is bisected by the Great Rift Valley, a 6,000km long trough that stretches south from the Red Sea to Mozambique,
and ranks as the only terrestrial feature on the planet visible to lunar astronauts. The tectonic drift that created this vast chasm started
20 million years ago, and has been accompanied by regular volcanic activity, which can be seen in the many hot springs, dead craters
and live calderas, and rich flora and fauna. Far lower in altitude than the mountains that flank it, the southern Rift Valley is the most
classically African part of Ethiopia, thanks to its warm climate and cover of barbed acacia woodland and open savannah.
Dorze Houses
Occupying a 30km2 territory in the chilly highlands west of Nech Sar, the Dorze are subsistence farmers whose hand-woven shama
cloth is considered the finest in Ethiopia. The most remarkable feature of Dorze culture, however, is their unique domed homesteads,
which look rather like distended beehives, standing as tall as a two-storey building, with a beak-like frontal extension. The curvaceous
houses are constructed in two phases: first a tall scaffold is made from bamboo, then this is interwoven with layers of insulating grass
and enset (false banana) leaves to form solid walls and a roof. Surprisingly durable, any given Dorze house will most likely outlast
the married couple for which it was built, and it is designed in such a way that it can be lifted and relocated should the base become
infested with termites.
Text: Philip Briggs; Photography: David Kirkland, Aziz Ahmed, Ludwig Siege
The Rift Valley and the Cultural Mosaic of The South
© Ethiopian Tourism Organization. Version V1.0 1115
www.ethiopia.travel
GREAT ETHIOPIAN ROUTES
THE RIFT VALLEY AND THE CULTURAL MOSAIC OF THE SOUTH
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Lake Ziway’s Tullu Guddo Island is where Ethiopian tradition says the Ark of
the Covenant was stowed during the 9th century, while nearby French-owned
Castel Winery produces East Africa’s finest wines.
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Lined with resorts and ecolodges, Lake Langano, with its bilharzia-free waters,
is both a popular weekend beach and water sport retreat, and a great site for
bird watching.
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Named after the two large lakes within its borders, Abijatta-Shalla National
Park is an important waterbird sanctuary, hosting up to 300,000 pink-hued
flamingoes at the end of the rains.
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The Lephis Ecotourism Cooperative offers guided walks and horseback trips
into an escarpment forest inhabited by colobus monkeys, Menelik’s bushbuck
and the beautiful white-cheeked turaco.
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All roads in southern Ethiopia converge on Shashemene, a junction town
famed for the Rastafarian community founded there by Caribbean settlers on
land donated by Emperor Haile Selassie.
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Wondo Genet is a hot springs resort set in a dense escarpment forest alive
with primates and woodland endemics such as Abyssinian woodpecker,
yellow-fronted parrot and banded barbet.
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The hilly 58km2 Senkele Swayne’s Hartebeest Sanctuary is the easiest place to
see the endangered endemic antelope for which it is named.
Named after the lake it overlooks, the modern city of Hawassa combines the
urban structures of a regional capital with some fine lakeside wining and
dining, and an abundance of aquatic wildlife.
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The recently created Maze National Park is the second most important global
stronghold for the endemic Swayne’s Hartebeest, and the easiest place in
Ethiopia to see lions.
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Thought to be 5,000 years old, the Shappe Rock Engravings, 15 minutes drive
from the well-equipped town of Dilla, depict a herd of around 70 cattle on a
vertical rock face. Near Dilla, Yirgachefe is a micro region known for its unique
coffee variety.
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The largest of two similar sites close to Dilla, the Tututi Stelae Field comprises
around 1,200 megaliths, the tallest of which, now collapsed, measured 7.55
metres from base to head.
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The environs of Yabello Wildlife Sanctuary, near the town of the same name,
is the only place to see two ultra-localised Ethiopian endemics: Stresemann’s
bush crow and white-tailed swallow.
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The communal ‘singing wells’ at Dubluck south of Yabello are famed for the
local Borena tradition of forming a chanting human chain to haul buckets of
water from the well.
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Enclosed in a sheer volcanic crater, starkly beautiful Hayk Chew Bet (Lake Salt
House) is an important regional centre of salt extraction known as El Sod (Place
of Salt) by local Borena.
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Set in the chilly highlands above Arba Minch, Dorze is named after its
inhabitants, skilled cotton weavers whose towering homesteads are made of
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bamboo, grass and Ethiopian banana leaves.
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The ancient fortified villages of the Konso Cultural Landscape, a UNESCO
World Heritage Site since 2011, are adorned with totem-like grave-markers
and surrounded by steep terraced fields.
South Omo, named after the Omo River that flows along its western
boundary, is home to 16 culturally diverse and strongly traditional ethnic
groups.
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its rich cultural diversity as well as for its wide range of savannah wildlife
including lion, elephant, buffalo and various antelope.
Arba Minch is the only southern Ethiopian town serviced by flights. These are
operated by Ethiopian Airlines (www.ethiopianairlines.com), which should also
resume flights to Hawassa (the regional capital) and Jinka, the capital of South
Omo, following the completion of new airports currently under construction.
Most trunk roads through Southern Ethiopia are asphalted, but many minor routes
remain unsurfaced, as do tracks in the national parks and other reserves. Tours of
the region can be arranged through any tour operator in Addis Ababa. Taxis and
local guides are readily available in all larger towns. Privately owned local airline
companies can also arrange non-scheduled or chartered flights upon request.
ACCOMMODATION
International-quality accommodation is available in Hawassa, Arba Minch and on
the shores of Lake Langano. Midrange rooms are available in the above sites, as
well as in Ziway, Shashemene, Wondo Genet, Dilla, Yabello, Dorze, Karat-Konso and
parts of South Omo. Budget accommodation can be found in almost all towns and
larger villages in the region.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority: (www.ewca.gov.et).
Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society: (www.ewnhs.org.et).
Ethiopia Community Tourism: (www.rootsofethiopia.com).
Konso Tourist Information Centre: (www.konsotourism.gov.et).
Oromia Culture and Tourism Bureau: (www.oromiatourism.gov.et).
FURTHER READING
Bradt Guide to Ethiopia: (7th edition 2015, www.bradtguides.com).
Ethiopia’s Rift Valley: Geology and Scenery by Frances Williams and Paul Mohr (2011).
Destination Ethiopia: Central and Southern Ethiopia (2011, National Geographic
Society).
OTHER PRACTICALITIES
Ethiopian New Year (11 September) is the one holiday celebrated throughout southern
Ethiopia. Religious holidays tend to vary from one place to the next as the region
supports a diversity of faiths including the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Islam, various
protestant denominations, and even some traditional beliefs. Meskel (the finding of
the True Cross) on September 27 (except leap years) is the most popular celebration
particularly for the Gurage people.
Handicrafts can be bought throughout the region, but Dorze is particularly
recommended for quality cotton fabrics.
The climate of southern Ethiopia varies widely based largely on altitude. Bring a mix of
summer and spring clothing.
The attractive town of Arba Minch (Forty Springs) lies in a rich agricultural
area offering superb views across a lush groundwater forest to Lakes Chamo
and Abaya, and Nech Sar National Park.
Flanking the river of the same name, Mago National Park area is known for
GETTING THERE
Guide to the Tribes of Omo Valley by Minalu Adem (2014).
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Nech Sar National Park’s spectacular landscape of mountains, lakes and
forests harbours 70-plus mammal species, prodigious crocodiles and endemic
Nechisar nightjar.