Best hotels in Omo Valley

Ethiopia's southwestern corner is one of the last outposts of traditional life. Here, in the Omo Valley, eight ethnic tribes reside, including the Mursi, Hamar and Karo people – 200,000 in all. They face a tough future, one that is threatened by developments such as river damming. Eco-Omo Safari Lodge sits in Omo's heart, on the eastern edge of Mago National Park in the clamorous and colourful town of Jinka. Adventurous, open-minded travellers interested in the plight of indigenous people and keen to understand their way of life should seek out this dusty, barely trickling backwater before it's too late.

The only one of its kind, Lale’s Camp is located in the Omo Valley, on the eastern banks of the Omo River. The camp comes with a mess area and a maximum of seven sleeping tents. It also serves as an excellent base for day and overnight trips. The food is hearty fare, with cooked breakfasts, picnics and three-course dinners, while the service is lovely. A first-class piece of adventure accommodation, Lale's Camp links traditional destinations with areas rarely visited. Lale's Camp opens up corners of the country in comfort and in style.

Arba Minch means "forty springs" in Amharic, and the name gives you the gist — this is a town built on water. It sits on a ridge above two of Ethiopia's great Rift Valley lakes, Abaya and Chamo, with Nechisar National Park stretching between them on a grassy plain locals call God's Bridge. Chamo has one of the densest Nile crocodile populations in Africa; you can see them sunning themselves at the Crocodile Market, a stretch of shoreline where they gather in numbers that take a moment to process. Up in the hills behind town, the Dorze people weave cotton and grow enset in villages built around tall, beehive-shaped bamboo houses. Arba Minch is also the jumping-off point for the Omo Valley and Konso further south, which makes it a natural stopover on any southern Ethiopia itinerary.