Jinka

Short description of Jinka

Jinka is the town at the head of the lower Omo and the airstrip everything in the valley is organised around, with a research museum on the ridge that is the sensible first stop. West of it the Mursi live in and beside Mago park and are known everywhere for the clay plates their women wear in the lower lip. South around Turmi the Hamer hold bull jumping initiations and night dances. The market days set the itinerary rather than the other way round. Photography here is paid for by the frame and the ethics of it are genuinely contested.

AI edited

Recommended length of stay

Travel seasons at a glance

Best time to visit: June – September or December – February

• Jan
• Feb
• Mar
• Apr
• May
• Jun
• Jul
• Aug
• Sep
• Oct
• Nov
• Dec

All highlights and sights

1. A Mursi village in the Mago lowlands
2. The Thursday market at Key Afar
3. The Hamer villages around Turmi
4. The Tuesday and Saturday market at Dimeka
5. A Hamer bull jumping initiation (July - October)
6. The Karo village at Kolcho above the Omo bend
7. A game drive in Mago national park(Day trip)
8. The Dassanech villages across the river at Omorate(Day trip)
9. The South Omo research museum in Jinka
10. The Monday market at Turmi
11. An Ari homestead with its potters and smiths(Day trip)
12. The Hamer evangadi night dance
13. The dugout crossing of the Omo at Omorate(Day trip)
14. The Arbore village in the Weyto valley(Day trip)
15. The Tuesday and Saturday market in Jinka

Ways to get there and away

Airports nearby:

• BCO Jinka Airport (Jinka) · 3.8 km south(recommended)
• AMH Arba Minch Airport (Arba Minch) · 117 km east
• JIM Jimma Airport (Jimma) · 211 km north

Map view

Distances

More travel destinations in Ethiopia

• Addis Ababa
• Aksum
• Lalibela
• Bahir Dar
• Gondar
• Simien Mountains
• Danakil Depression
• Harar
• Bale Mountains
• Arba Minch
• Bishoftu
• Debre Libanos