Four years ago I traveled to Ethiopia for the first time. A trip to the Omo Valley had been my dream for a long while already. I wanted to visit the tribes of the Omo Valley and learn about their habits and their lives. We booked the trip via an ethiopean travel agency and had Muluken as a guide. Frankly, I was quite sceptical in the beginning whether this young dude would be able to meet all my demands regarding photography and information... but things turned out way different! To my opinion Muluken is the most competent and best guide that I could ever have wished for. He arranged the trip exactly as per my wishes, staying longer in places where I wanted to spent more time for my photography. Muluken made sure the tour turned out "custom made" - even though it was a originally a standard initerary from a travel agency. His knowledge about the different tribes was really impressive and I returned home with lots of information - and even more pictures.
Based on this good experience, another 2 tours were booked privately with Muluken in the following years and the organisation of the trips and the accomodation were again perfectly matched by Muluken to my individual wishes. The visit to the Surma tribe in Kibish will always remain one of the absolute highlights of Ethiopia for me. A complete different world, far away from Addis and even further from our european cultures.
Thanks to Muluken his contacts in the Surma area I experienced the thrill of attending a Donga stickfight and the visit to the several remote villages will be an unforgettable memory for a lifetime.
3 tours with Muluken resulted in uncountable tales to tell the folks at home, who - a pity for them - have not been bitten by the adventure bug as I have been, but who love to hear the stories and see the accompanying stunning pictures.
Dear Muluken.... we will soon meet again for a 4th trip in your exciting country!