Join us for a special trek Ethiopia.

Driftwood Adventure Treks has partnered with Tesfa Tours to create a cultural immersion treks Ethiopia. Imagine staying in the remote villages of Ethiopia as your explore their vast landscape!

We will be trekking with my dear friend and photography guide, Sum Sum. He speaks fluent english and has worked with many photographers such as Steve McCurry, Hans Silvester, BBC and National Geographic. His understanding of lighting, location and portraiture is invaluable! Get your cameras ready!

Trekking in Ethiopia

This is a community based trek, supporting local communities, through tourism. We will spend a few days in Lalibela, famous for its rock-cut monolithic churches. Then trek through the Wollo region and Basalt Mountains. We will be staying with local communities. These communities farm in the age old way with ox-drawn ploughs, and hand tools. Life for the farmers is hard, but they have a ready smile and love to receive guests! Accommodations are clean but sparce. Not for the faint of heart; all sites have a toilet (composting, urine separating toilet) and a shower (water warmed by sun only, but wonderful after a long walk). Double occupancy sleeping huts available.

Enjoy a sight-seeing tour of Addis, visit National Museum.
Visit the many churches of Lalibela. Lalibela is one of Ethiopia’s most sacred sites, with a network of 11 churches hewn into the bed rock. It was constructed in the late 12th century by the Saint-king Lalibela.
Daily 3-4 hour treks that offer opportunities to see stunning landscapes of the Ethiopian lowlands and gorges, local communities and wildlife. Excellent photo opportunities along the way.
You will get the opportunity to stay overnight in some remarkable locations such as a remote guesthouse that offers 360-degree views of the valley below. Taste the local cuisine with meals of enajra, vegetable wots and coffee/tea near cliff view.
Experience Ethiopian culture, have lunches with local communities and enjoy overnight stays at guesthouses.

Itinerary

Pricing Information

Dates TBD
Cost $5895

What's included:

2 internal Flights
All Photography fees
All meals while trekking, with the exception of a few towns, and in the Omo (cold drinks/coffee/water)
Gratuities to Drivers
Hotel Porters
Airport transfers

Not included:

International airfare
Meals in Lalibela and any wine/beer
Laundry service
Trip insurance (required)
Gratuities to guides

“The trek was stunningly beautiful and the Tukul villages that we stayed in were always carefully positioned so that we had breath-taking views of the Lalibela highlands. I was very pleased to get the chance to talk to the locals and to get an understanding of their way of life.”

Visiting the tribes in the Omo Valley
Photography Extension

After the trek there is an extension available to the Omo Valley, one of the last great tribal regions left in the world. This is an opportunity to see a whole other side of Ethiopia. We are fortunate to be working with Tizbt Sum Sum. He has been leading photography tours for the past 9 years. He has worked with such noted photographers such as Steve McCurry, Hans Silvester, Miro May, the BBC and National Geographic. He is well acquainted with tribal culture, history and traditions and is fluent in English and 6 tribal dialects.
Ethiopia is undoubtedly one of the most unique places on earth because of the wide variety of people and cultures that inhabit it. The roads into the Omo are long and at best tackled one obstacle at a time. Many of the tribal villages are a cluster of huts washed in dust. Tribes range from the many thousand strong Borena to the smaller Kara tribe. To anthropologists, the Omo is a living museum; to photographers the Omo is a visually breathtaking experience. Tribes range from the Mursi, known for the clay lip plates to the Hamar tribe, where the women are known for their thick copper necklaces and braided hairstyles colored with red clay.

Lalibela is one of Ethiopia’s most sacred sites, with a network of 11 churches hewn into the bed rock. It was constructed in the late 12th century by the Saint-king Lalibela. See article in National Geographic.

We will trek through the basalt mountains around Lalibela. Communities farm in the age old way with ox-drawn ploughs, and hand tools. Life for the farmers is hard, but they have a ready smile and love to receive guests.

Each lodge is owned and operated by a committee of villagers, who act as hosts, manage the lodge, and prepare locally sourced meals for guests. Accommodations are clean but sparce. Every evening is an opportunity to immerse yourself in a new community.

We are partnering with Tesfa Tours, a community tourism enterprise that, working with villagers and development agencies, has built a handful of rustic stone-walled lodges, or hedamos, in Tigray’s highlands. (Tesfa stands for Tourism in Ethiopia for Sustainable Future Alternatives.)

With no motorized vehicles in sight, getting around means astride a donkey or on foot.This is a window into the ancient world of the Ethiopian highlands with their churches and their way of life. You will cross meadows where local shepherd boys keep an eye on their flocks, while their fathers plough the fields, and their sisters collect water in clay pots.

It will be an experience you will never forget!

Visit Dus, the friendliest villages of the Kara tribe. Settled on the banks of the Omo River, this tribe is known for their creative and decorative body chalk painting.

Experience the Turmi market. The Hamer people will be selling honey, snuff, foodstuffs and local wares. The Hamer women have high cheek bones, wear thick copper necklaces which indicate first wife status and elaborate custom beads. The Hamer are very outgoing and easily engaged.

Pricing Information

Dates TBD.

Cost $2500 - 3500

What's included:

2 internal Flights
All Photography fees
All meals while trekking, with the exception of a few towns, and in the Omo (cold drinks/coffee/water)
Gratuities to Drivers
Hotel Porters
Airport transfers

Not included:

International airfare
Meals in Lalibela and any wine/beer
Laundry service
Trip insurance (required)
Gratuities to guides

“The trek was stunningly beautiful and the Tukul villages that we stayed in were always carefully positioned so that we had breath-taking views of the Lalibela highlands. I was very pleased to get the chance to talk to the locals and to get an understanding of their way of life.”

This is a unique trekking experience blending Northern Ethiopia with photographing the Omo Valley. Photographic opportunities range from documenting the daily life of the tribes, portraiture, and landscapes with immersing yourself in the Ethiopian culture.