Jinka Travel Guide

  Market close to Jinka
by boltonian
 
  • Market close to Jinka
      Market close to Jinka
    by boltonian
  • Hamer Tribe
      Hamer Tribe
    by boltonian
  • Man eating camel
      Man eating camel
    by boltonian
  • Back breaking work
      Back breaking work
    by boltonian
  • Mursi
      Mursi
    by boltonian
 

Explore Jinka

Things to Do  

Wildlife

Wildlife, Jinka

 boltonian Says:  On the road to Jinka, you pass various animals. We saw baboons, donkeys, goats and many colourful birds.The best was a wild camel that chased a man (who was scared to death). We were later told that the camels grab people by the neck and throw them in the air. 

The road to Jinka

The road to Jinka, Jinka

 boltonian Says:  The road to Jinka is long and hot, but on the way there are many great sights.Some of the highlights are the tribes (seperate tip), the youngsters trying to impress to earn your 2 Birr, people selling hand made goods, wildlife, termites (seperate tip), dust devils (seperate... 

Other Tribes

Other Tribes, Jinka

 boltonian Says:  In and around Jinka, you will see some other tribes people doing business or visiting friends.We were lucky enough to see some Tsemay and Hamer people. 

The Mursi

The Mursi, Jinka

 boltonian Says:  To visit any of the tribes of the Omo Valley, you must have your own 4x4. The road is terrible and even a 4x4 struggles in wet times.There are many tribes to visit, but each are located a long way apart, so allow half a day (or even a full day) for each tribe.The most famous... 

Mago National Park

Mago National Park, Jinka

 sachara Says:  In Jinka we stayed at the Rocky Recreation Campsite. From Jinka a track leads to the Mago National Park. You need your own (rented) vehicle to reach the park.To reach the park we first crossed two rather deep rivers. The sky was very cloudy. So at this viewpoint we stopped... 

Key Afar, the people

Key Afar, the people, Jinka

 sachara Says:  The people of Ethiopia wear many different types of clothing. The traditional dress in the northern Christian highland peasantry has traditionally been of white cotton cloth and wrap-around blankets. Here in the Oromo Region the people are wearing bead-decorated leather... 

Key Afar, cattle and grain

Key Afar, cattle and grain, Jinka

 sachara Says:  The Banna people, living around Key Afar, are pasturalists. Travelling in the countryside, you will meet often boys with their herds. Most of the time they spend the night between their cattle.There is also some agriculture in the area, but the hot and dry climate and the... 

Key Afar, thursday market

Key Afar, thursday market, Jinka

 sachara Says:  Thursday is the marketday in Key Afar. Arriving at the marketplace, we saw a lively market with a lot of people sitting all around at the ground with their trade, animatedly chatting about the lates news in the area.At first sight the crowdy place was very overwhelming with... 

Key Afar, one of the main marketplaces

Key Afar, one of the main marketplaces, Jinka

 sachara Says:  After descending in the Lower Omo Valley, the first town we visited was Key Afar.Comparing to the highlands, it is extremely hot in the valley and Key Afar. On our walk from the road to the marketplace for the thursday market, we saw some little shops and a lot of local... 

Hotels  

Goh Hotel: Best Value

Goh Hotel: Best Value, Jinka

 boltonian Says:  Opposite the airstrip is the Goh Hotel. Small courtyard/car park is surrounded by rooms. Singles with no water 40 Birr, Twins with hot showers 150 Birr.As with all of Jinka, there is no running water or electricity after 11pm at night.The rooms are clean, the showers... 

Restaurants  

Weyto: Pit Stop

Weyto: Pit Stop, Jinka

 boltonian Says:  Half way between Konso and Jinka is a small truck stop. They serve spagetti and injera. Cheap, but watch the waitors for over charging farangi prices.In the heat of the rift valley, a welcome break and place to get a cold coke or beer. 

Jinka Resort: Good food

Jinka Resort: Good food, Jinka

 boltonian Says:  Bottom end of town. Nice range of food. Little more costly than most, but still cheap by Western standards.They try to push you towards the set menu (40 Birr plus tax), but just ask for the regular menu to see pastas and burgers alongside the usual injera. 

Shopping  

Mursi lipplates
sachara profile photo

4.5 out of 5 starsHelpfulness

sachara 3875 reviews
Mursi lipplates

In the Mursi village the women and girls like to sell us their traditional clay lipplates.
The most plates have a round shape in different sizes of about 10 CM.
This woman has also a plate with another shape. Most of the clay plates are decorated with small designs.

I liked the lipplates a lot. It's reallly an original item to bring home. They are very cheap, so I decided not to negotiate to lower the prize.

Updated Jun 23, 2004

Was this review helpful?

Warnings and Dangers  

Malaria
boltonian profile photo

3.5 out of 5 starsHelpfulness

boltonian 384 reviews

The Lower Omo is well known to have both Maleria and Dengue Fever.

When we were there, it was cold and wet, so very few insects were about.

Make sure you bring a treated net (most hotels have them but full of holes). Use Deet and cover up in the evenings. Take your anti-malarial religiously.

We spoke to a few people there who had been bitten and a couple who had contracted Maleria.

Written Aug 3, 2008

Was this review helpful?

Off The Beaten Path  

Mursi warrior

Mursi warrior, Jinka

 sachara Says:  The Mursi are one of the most remote peoples in Ethiopia and live rather autonomous of the government. They lived isolated from the rest of the world and had never heard of Ethiopia till a British antropologist visited them in 1970.They alternate in hostile and peaceful... 

Mursi woman, showing her scars

Mursi woman, showing her scars, Jinka

 sachara Says:  This Mursi woman was very eager and persuasive to show the skars at her shoulder. She followed me, grabbed at my arm and even blocked my way. At the end I admitted, took my camera out of my pocket and paid her the asked one birr. Many of the tribes in the Omo Region have... 

Mursi boys

Mursi boys, Jinka

 sachara Says:  Not only the girls, but also the Mursi boys like to decorate and ornament themselves abundantly by unique face and body paintings They were wearing sticks and peculiar jewelry, made of metal and horns.Some boys were wearing plugs in their ears to elongate their lobes.The... 

Mursi, women wearing lipplates

Mursi, women wearing lipplates, Jinka

 sachara Says:  The Mursi girls start to pierce their lower lip at the age of 15 or 16, so she can wear a plate. The larger the plate, the higher the bride price will be, up to 20 or 40 cows by very large plates. That's why some girls marry very young to lower the price for the family of... 

Visit to a Mursi village

Visit to a Mursi village, Jinka

 sachara Says:  After a drive of more than 3 hours from Jinka along a bumpy track through the mountains and the hot plains, we reached the Mursi village. To enter a Mursi village, it usual to pay an admission fee for each car. The money is used for the community. The most known traditions... 

Comments

Map of Jinka