A peace treaty in Ethiopia last year means that travel to this cultural gem is back on the cards with Gondar, Lalibela and Bahir Dar – now all classified as ‘fine to travel’ to in the UK Government FCDO travel advice.

In this newsletter, we focus on two of Ethiopia’s lesser-known areas… Harar and the Omo Valley region in the south. Far & Wild’s Founder Ben visited them both in May last year – and travelling with his Mother, Aunt and Uncle – he was blown away by this new (to him) side of Ethiopia.  Read on to find out more.

The ancient walled city of Harar is the Muslim capital of Ethiopia, and after Axum in the north, it is the next oldest settlement in Ethiopia. These are just the headlines, there is so much more to Harar. It’s a captivating example of what makes the wider ‘Ethiopia experience’ so engaging – a colour and energy in daily life but without the sense of intimidation that sometimes comes with it in other African countries – a stupendously fascinating culture layered with multiple subcultures – curious and often surprising historical interludes – and all wrapped up in the embrace of a relaxed and welcoming people.

If you are planning a trip to Harar – the best advice I can give is to try and experience it as immersively as you possibly can. Take my word on this… if you use the mantra; eat like a local, travel like a local, sleep like a local – you will emerge for a two or three day visit to Harar completely and utterly delighted. Not to mention enriched, excited and relaxed.

“Come and experience the amazing Hyena feeding ritual,” said Abdul our guide.

Despite having agreed beforehand with Mum that we’d give ‘experiencing the hyena ritual’ a miss in favour of another delightful plate of Injera, Shiro and Tibs, we relented in the face of our guide’s enthusiasm.  After all, why have a guide if not to be guided?

Thank goodness we did, as it was as remarkable as it was exhilarating. Having agreed to go, we drove to the edge of the walled city, got out of our van, and within 5 minutes I found myself sitting next to a young Harari man who was whistling a strangely melodic hyena language chortle towards the shadows.

Sure enough, the hunchbacked figure of a giant female hyena appeared out of the dark and sidestepped her way confidently straight at the two of us.  By now I had migrated onto Hyena man’s lap – at eye level, and less than a foot away, an open-mouthed Hyena will do that to you – and calling her by name, he hand-fed her a morsel of rotting meat.  She moved off and I made a move to do the same, but he beckoned me back down – pulled out a wooden kebab skewer, bade me open my mouth and bite it… the next thing I knew there was a lump of meat dangling inches from my nose, and a teenage hyena inbound at pace. I survived. Hyena man and the surrounding watchers seemed to enjoy my fear greatly… and in the way that you sometimes do only after an experience has happened, so eventually did I.

Short journeys around Harar can be done by Bajaj – the local name for the hundreds of tuk-tuks that buzz around town.

Of course, this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea – and if that’s you… the minibus is on hand.  However for us, on these short, slow, and simple journeys, these rides with warm air in our faces, the sounds and smells of the town in our senses, and the buzz of an animated driver excited by the novelty of a foreigner in the cab – were really quite enjoyable.

This is where Harar gets seriously cool.

One of the most interesting things you learn about on a walking tour through Harar’s walled city of Jogol (what the locals call it) – is the design of the traditional homes.

They all follow a near identical design – comprising of a set of 4 to 6 rooms that lead off a central courtyard – the most important of which is the unique lounge area. These lounges (there must be a better word as they have nothing in common with my lounge that’s for sure!) comprise of a raised multi-level seating area that takes up about two-thirds of the floor space. Carpeted and cushioned, and surrounded by lavishly decorated walls – they are quite a spectacular, and instantly inviting.

The custom is for the eldest in the household to occupy the highest level of the lounge, with the youngest at the lowest.  Additionally, there is a particular corner where traditionally the host reclines.  Among the many other common features found in all these ‘lounges’ are a spear holder, red paint applied to the base of the raised seating area, a carpet rack and a shelf with four preserving pots!

Apart from the lounge, these traditional homes have three or four bedrooms, two separate bathrooms, and often a separate food preparation area.

Anyway – getting to my point – one of the accommodation options, when you visit Harar, is staying in one of these houses – something I highly recommend.

We ask Ben’s Mum: did you feel safe?

Ben and his mum travelled in the summer of 2022 when there was fighting in the northern Tigray region and where there has since been a peace deal, so we wanted to see how safe she felt given the tensions at the time of her visit.

“Did I feel safe?  The answer was overwhelming yes. Of course, it helped to have the whole trip organised by Ben – but that I suppose is what all Far and Wild customers would get anyway. 

I found Addis to be much the same as it was the last time I visited in 2018.  I expected to find a noticeably heightened state of security – but apart from odd conversations with taxi drivers – there was no evidence of the civil unrest in the north of the country.

The trip reminded me what a big country Ethiopia is… the last time I visited the historical sites of Axum, Lalibela, Gondar and Lake Tana – all to the north of Addis. On this trip, we headed east to Harar and then down to the Omo Valley in southern Ethiopia – they were worlds apart from the historical circuit in the north. It felt like we were in a different country, perhaps not surprising given the distance from Axum to Harar is similar to that of London to Prague!”

This 14 day southern explorer takes you through spectacular rift valley scenery, the little-explored Nech’Sar National Park, the Konso region with its terraced hillsides which is one of Ethiopia’s UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Sites and the calm waters of Lake Langano.

A highlight of this trip is the chance to meet a few of the tribes of the Omo Valley. Firstly, in Jinka, you will visit the Mursi tribe, who have among the most distinctive identities of the Ethiopian tribes. Their ‘signature’ practice is the wearing of large lip plates by women. Next, you then travel to remote Turmi, near the banks of the Omo River where you will get to know the Hamar and Karo tribes. You can find out more about the tribes of the Omo Valley here.

If you are visiting from late May to September, you might just be lucky enough to be able to attend one of the most spectacular Traditional Tribal Events to be seen anywhere in Africa: a Hamar bull-jumping ceremony.