The most memorable parts of our holiday were the extraordinary landscapes of the Simien Mountains, the churches and monasteries of Lake Tana and the wonderful rock-hewn churches of Lalibela.
Also memorable was the boatrip on Lake Tchamo with its ‘crocodile market’ where we saw more than 50 crocs and some hippos and also there was the outstanding service provided by Eskinder, the tour operator.
We had asked for two night stays in various places and we were very pleased we did so. If doing the trip again we would probably ask for even less road travelling and some built-in times to relax (perhaps visiting fewer places but having more time to take it all in).
Dollars are more useful than pounds sterling. Be prepared for cold nights in the mountains and hot days generally. Assume hotels outside Addis to be sometimes lacking in some basics such as hot water or electricity, even if they are supposed to be 3-4 stars.
People in the north are usually happy to be photographed if asked but in the tribal areas most locals definitely do not want their photos taken and will stop you taking photos if you try, even from a distance. Important to respect their wishes in this matter.
Meat is usually very chewy but fish tasty. Expect to taste the best coffee you have ever had but it is usually very strong – worth asking for extra hot water or have a ‘macciato’ (with milk).
Most people are welcoming to tourists and clearly tourism is bringing financial benefits to the population. Inevitably, however, locals, particularly children, have cottoned on to the fact that it is worth begging from tourists.
Sadly the effects on the local tribes in the Omo Valley are not entirely beneficial. The Mursi, for example, charge for every photo and their whole lifestyle is now related to their daily tourist visits.
We rate this holiday very highly. Eskinder is a wonderful tour operator – he worked very hard for us, doing his best to make the holiday as memorable (for the right reasons!) as possible. He clearly wanted to know how everything had been, the good and the bad points.
He is everything that we were hoping for, and more. He looked after us very well. The whole holiday that he had organised seem to go very smoothly.
