BEST OF THE OMO 2026

Itinerary

Day 1, Oct 18, 2026

Upon your arrival at the Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, you are met by a member of our ground team and transferred to the Radisson Blu by private vehicle. After your long flight/s, you will enjoy a relaxing evening in a modern, upper-market hotel, which is the perfect way to rest up for the amazing journey that lies ahead.

Accommodation: Radisson Blu

Day 2& 3, October 19 & 20, 2026

You will rise early in the morning to the smell of Ethiopia’s famous Coffee. Meet the group for breakfast and a briefing about your upcoming adventure. During the meeting, Ben will share his philosophy and ideas on creating stunning, intimate images of the tribes. You will then depart for your scheduled flight to Jinka. Upon arrival, you will be greeted by your incredible team and driven to our private mobile tent camp, situated right on the banks of the Omo River in the heart of the Kara territory.

The Kara excel in face and body painting; this is practiced daily in preparation for their dances and ceremonies. They pulverize locally found white chalk, yellow mineral rock, red iron ore, and black charcoal to decorate their bodies, often mimicking the spotted plumage of a guinea fowl. The men create highly decorated clay hair buns, which can take up to three days to complete. Their ornate body scarring, where a cut is made with a knife, and ash is rubbed into the wound to produce a raised welt, is also a known characteristic of the Kara.

Over the next two days, you will spend quality time in the Kara villages, documenting their daily lives, creating beautiful portraits, joining them in song and dance, watching them herd the livestock across the dusty plains, joining them for morning coffee, learning about their ancient traditions, and learn about how their world is changing with the pressures of the modern world.

Accommodation: Private Mobile Safari Camp BLD

Day 4 & 5, October 21 & 22, 2026

After one last sunrise village visit and breakfast along the Omo River, you will continue your journey south to the land of the Hamar tribe. The Hamar women are striking, wearing beautiful, colorful beaded skins, ornate necklaces, and metal bangles around their wrists and ankles. Famous for their hairstyle — a crown of long dreadlock braids covered in ochre — the Hamer women are the most decorated of the Omo people. Over the next two days, hopefully, there will be word of a bull jumping ceremony, a rite-of-passage tradition in which a young Hamer man passes from boyhood to adulthood. This is an actual ceremony, so there is no guarantee you will be able to see one, but your trip is timed during the season for these ceremonies and parties.

Should the road access be good and time allows, you will visit the Abore tribe.

Accommodation: Buska Lodge BLD

Day 6, 7, 8 October 23 & 24, 2026

You will have one last beautiful sunrise visit with the Hammer before heading into the territory of the Daasanachtribe. Cousins to the Turkana tribe in Northern Kenya, the Daasanach, are a semi-nomadic tribe numbering approximately 50,000. Their clans stretch across southern Ethiopia, Sudan, and down into Northern Kenya. They are very tall and slender, wearing red and yellow jewelry and leather headpieces adorned with bottle caps; they are also known for their distinctive and elaborate hair buns. In the late afternoon, you will enjoy your first village visit of the Daasanach. However, people from this beautiful tribe will most likely be in your camp as you are in the heart of their territory.

 The next two days will be spent exploring the Daasanach region by vehicle, on foot, and by boat. We have special permission to boat down into the deltas of Lake Turkana, where life remains unchanged, and few people ever have the opportunity to visit.

Accommodation: Private mobile tent camp BLD

 Day 9 – 12, October 25-29, 2026
This morning, you will have one last shoot with the Daasanach,  have breakfast, and a short drive to the airstrip to catch your charter flight to the Suri. Upon arrival, your new team of drivers will meet you. The group will stop in route to have a simple packed lunch, and should arrive in the private mobile-tented camp along the Kibish river in the late afternoon. As word gets out about your arrival, the Suri will come down to the river and near camp for a beautiful first introduction and afternoon shoot along the river. You will have four incredible days at this location.

The Suri tribe is known to be one of the most beautiful and ornate tribes in the world, and is thus one of the most desired to photograph. The elaborate body painting and unique, flamboyant headpieces, made from natural materials, truly make them a walking body of art. The women still practice one of the most extreme forms of body adornment in the world- wearing large lip plates. The tribe still practices the art of body scarification, created via acacia thorns and razor blades.

The Suri are pastoralists. The men still go off to live in the cattle camps, which are under constant threat as cattle raids are a relentless part of Suri’s life. The men live their traditional lifestyles, drinking the blood and milk of the cow, covering their naked bodies with ash, and giving thanks for their good fortune in song and dance. You will have an opportunity to visit these traditional cattle camps, which is always the trip’s highlight for participants.

Accommodations: Private mobile tent camp BLD

Day 13 October 30, 2026

If time allows, you will have one last early morning visit with the Suri before driving to Mizan to catch our private chartered flight back to Addis. This flight is from deep in the southern region where there are no commercial flights available. This will save us from two very long days of driving over some rough roads, and a one-night stay in very local accommodations. Once in Addis, you will be met by our ground team and transported to the Radisson Blu, where you will have a dayroom to rest up and clean up before being transferred to the international airport for your late flights home. Should you prefer to stay overnight in Addis to rest up from your incredible expedition, we will be happy to make these arrangements. Flights should be booked after 10:00 PM. Most international flights depart after 10:00 PM.

Accommodations: Day rooms at the Radisson Blu BL

Is this adventurous trip for you?

This adventurous photographic experience was created for passionate photographers who want to visit and experience some of the most beautiful tribes on the African continent.   The itinerary was designed to provide the best opportunities for producing high-quality images from your perspective. Therefore, we will rise early in the morning for the best light; a few mornings we will be up well before sunrise. We will push hard to maximize every photographic opportunity, which means some long days, but you should go at your own pace. These tribes live in remote areas, where you will drive on dirt roads, but in comfortable, air-conditioned 4X4 utility vehicles. If we get lucky, we will be invited to a special event that may require walking; however, a guide can be hired to assist you with your gear.  However, to best enjoy this adventure, you must be in good physical condition and be able to carry your gear.

This photographic expedition is tailored for experienced photographers who possess a solid understanding of their equipment and are proficient in fundamental photography concepts such as shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and exposure, and their interrelationships. Previous experience in photographing indigenous cultures is advantageous, as it presents unique challenges. Please note, this is NOT A WORKSHOP focused on teaching techniques. However, there will be discussions on photography, and informal guidance will be provided throughout the journey. The expedition is crafted to provide photographers with close access to tribes, encouraging creative freedom to capture personal and unique perspectives. Your leader will be readily available to support your vision and address any inquiries you may have along the way.

While our trip is designed to produce high-quality images, our visit should also be sensitive, respectful, and beneficial to the communities we visit. We build time into our itinerary to interact with local people, which leads to a richer experience, rather than just racing from location to location and charging in with a camera in hand. It is a privilege to visit these unique tribal areas, and we want to make sure it is a positive experience for them. We also believe in empowering local communities to look after themselves, and we believe the best way to do this is through economic means. We collaborate with a small, successful, and fully licensed local operator, and we employ local guides in every area we visit. Our local partners are key to what we do, and these relationships have been established over many years, with many becoming personal friends. Our visit will generate income in the local areas we visit.