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South Sudan Adventure

January 28, 2021  By: Beth

Africa Adventure Consultants is excited to announce a new destination and sample itinerary for our clients. Visit the three ecosystems of South Sudan and its most traditional ethnic groups. The trip will be led by an experienced anthropologist and a team of guides that will serve as translators to communicate with the local people. Immerse yourself in this cultural experience by sharing time with the different tribal groups and spending time in local villages.

This itinerary is scheduled for a December 2021 group departure. However, it is also available on a private basis from December to March.

Mudari Cattle Tribe group

Day 1: Arrival in Juba – Mundari Cattle Camp

Welcome to South Sudan! Upon arrival in Juba, you will be met by your guide and will be transferred to have lunch. After some rest, you will drive with your guide to the Mundari territory. Arrive at the Mundari cattle camp, home to several thousand heads of long horned cows and bulls. Enjoy watching the animals make their way to their sleeping grounds just before sunset. At camp, meet the young Mundari and admire the special relationship they have with their cattle. Sleep near the cattle camp.

Mundari cattle camp

Day 2: Mundari Cattle Camp – Juba

Enjoy an early morning (5 am) photographic session in the cattle camp. Experience the magical moment as the camp awakens when animals and humans wake up and prepare for an intense day of activities including: milking, grazing, collecting dung, taking care of the calves and elderly cows, fetching wood, crossing the Nile, covering their bodies with pink ash…You will have the opportunity to observe and move discretely around the Mundari and their sacred beasts to get the best shots. After your photographic session, you will return to the camp for breakfast. After breakfast, you will be transferred to Juba. After some rest at your hotel, enjoy a city tour including a visit to the Konyo Konyo market and enjoy dinner beside the White Nile. Overnight at Pyramid Hotel.

Pyramid Hotel: The Pyramid Continental Hotel is one of the most desired five-star hotels in Juba, capital of South Sudan. Indulge in the intimate luxurious surroundings and unparalleled service that define The Pyramid Continental Hotel.

Day 3: Juba – Kapoeta – Toposa Tribal Territory

After breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport for your domestic flight to Kapoeta, an ideal base to explore the last nomadic tribes of this part of Africa. After a brief visit to Kapoeta’s central market where will spot the first Toposa and Didinga tribal groups, you will continue on to a remote Toposa tribal territory. Reach Kuron Catholic Mission and spend the night there.

Toposa children

Day 4: Toposa Tribal Territory – Jiye Tribal Territory

After breakfast, drive to a Toposa village in the region to meet the people in their boma (fenced village). Reach the tribe and meet the elders and local chief. Enjoy a welcome ceremony and tour around the village. Toposa belong to the Ateker Nation that includes the Turkana in Northern Kenya, the Karamajong in Northern Uganda and the Nyangatom in Ethiopia. Their economy depends entirely on cattle. In remote areas, Toposa women still dress in beaded skirts of great beauty and scarify their faces and bodies.

After a farewell from the Toposa, with your guide, you will drive through ‘no-man’s land’ towards Jiye tribal territory. Jiye are a small tribal group related to the Toposa but differ in dressing code, have more scarifications and piercings (nose and lips) and their villages are some of the biggest in Africa. Enjoy an evening of camping in Jiye territory. Overnight in tents.

Jiye scars

Day 5: Jiye Tribal Territory – Trekking to Kachipo Forest

After breakfast, enjoy last visits and photographic opportunities around the Jiye fenced villages. After a farewell from the local authorities, you will start walking to the Kachipo Forest area in the Boma Plateau – one of the wildest regions in Africa. You will hike up the hill with porters, cook and armed guards. You will reach this unique ecosystem and meet the local tribe, the Kachipo Suri, related to the Surma in Ethiopia. Enjoy an evening of camping. Overnight in tents.

Kachipo Forest

Day 6: Kachipo Forest – Rumit Village

After breakfast, enjoy the opportunity to watch a Donga stick fight. After, you will walk to an isolated mountain community called Rumit, a mix of Kachipo and Jiye tribal people. This is indeed ‘last Africa.’ Enjoy a picnic lunch and return to the village for the Donga ceremony. Overnight in tents.

Day 7: Boma Forest – Maruwa Hills – Murle Tribe

After breakfast, you will descend the mountain with porters and a local guide. Down in Boma Valley your car will be waiting for you to take you to the remote Murle Plains to meet the Murle or Ngalam tribe. Only a small handful of tourists have been there before… only anthropologists and NGOs. Reach the area, meet local authorities and spend the evening with this cattle-rearing tribe.

Murle woman

Day 8: Murle Tribe – Boma

After breakfast, enjoy a full morning with the Murle tribe. After lunch, you will be transferred to Boma Town. Overnight in tents.

Day 9: Boma – Kuron – Kapoeta

After breakfast, you will bid a farewell from Africa’s most remote region, Boma Plains and Hills. You will then be transferred to your camp in Kapoeta city. Overnight at Mango Camp.

Day 10: Kapoeta – Juba

After breakfast, you will be transferred to the local airport for your domestic flight back to Juba. Upon arrival, you will be met by a local representative and transferred to the Pyramid Hotel for the day use of a day room. At the appointed time, you will be transferred back to the airport for your international flights back home.

Interested in learning more about visiting South Sudan?

Photos courtesy of Middle Africa and Steve Evans