Traditional Cultures
Adventurous, open-minded travelers interested in learning about the plight of indigenous peoples and keen to understand their way of life will appreciate this itinerary and remote locations.
You’ll meet the tribespeople in Ethiopia’s remote Lower Omo Valley with this trip, a relatively undeveloped region. A boat trip upriver will allow you to meet the Karo people, famous for their ornate body art and jewelry, and other unique tribespeople from this culturally diverse area.
The southwest corner of Ethiopia is one of the last outposts of traditional life. In the Omo Valley, eight ethnic tribes reside, including the Mursi, Hamar, and Karo people totaling less than 200 000 people.
Other highlights of the trip include Lalibela’s UNESCO-listed rock churches and Gheralta’s little-known hand-carved sanctuaries. You’ll get to trek with the geladas of the Simien Mountains with baboon researchers and safari in the Bale Mountains – trying to spot the endangered Ethiopian wolf, mountain nyala, and other endemic species amid landscapes that defy expectation.
Add time in the holy city of Harar or the active volcanic Danakil Depression to your trip. You can also elevate your experience with helicopters to access remote corners of the country that provide sensational views and ultimate exclusivity.
Experience the diverse cultures and traditions of the southern Serengeti National Park and its incredible wildlife on foot and in open 4×4 safari vehicles.
Learn about the Maasai herdsmen as they tend to their cattle and goats inside the vast protected area of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The Maasai are one of Africa’s most culturally distinctive tribes, easily recognizable for their brilliant red blankets and colorful bead jewelry. These semi-nomadic people are warrior pastoralists, famous for herding, and sometimes rustling cattle for their fighting skills.
Visit the local Manyatta of the Datoga community – agro-pastoral nomadic Nilotic speaking people that live a semi-permanent lifestyle, bordering the Maswa Game Reserve. The population estimates range for Datoga living in Tanzania, between 30 000 – 76 000.
Walk with the Hadzabe tribe, modern hunter-gatherers. Follow them as they hunt game, collect honey and dig for tubers and local plants as they have done here for countless generations. You’ll experience one of the very last hunter-gatherer communities in East Africa.
If you are interested in learning about indigenous people and keen to experience their way of life, you will appreciate this itinerary.
Are you enthusiastic about experiencing and learning about the Himba and San people and their way of life? Then, this itinerary offers the golden opportunity to mingle with people who live close to the earth.
You’ll visit the San Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana. Bushmen tribes are well-known for their profound connection with the land, intimate knowledge of the natural world, and the delicate balance they maintain with the environment.
From here, you’ll fly to the remotest corner of Northwest Namibia to visit and spend time with the Himba people who live a pastoral life in the Kunene River Valley. The friendly Himba people are tall and slender and renowned for their unusual sculptural beauty, enhanced by intricate hairstyles and decorations. They are known for their matted red braids, which are painstakingly made by mixing animal fat, ash, and ochre, a red material found locally.
You can look forward to a river cruise on the Kunene River, quad biking in the sand dunes, and visiting remote villages to spend time with people who live close to the earth.
An optional add-on is a visit to the San Bushmen’s homelands near Tsumkwe. Here you’ll meet the most traditional of all the San communities as they live their daily lives in the Kalahari landscapes.
