Omorate
A Dassanach girl taking care of her little sister
Omorate is situated by the Omo river – about 2 hours drive from Turmi and almost as deep as one can get into the Omo valley if not crossing the river and travelling further down south to Lake Turkana and the Kenyan border.

Boy swimming across Omo river at Omorate to get to the Dassanach village on the other side of the river, together with the tourists in order to act as guides and earn a few Birr. Photo © Mikkel Grabowski
In Omorate one can also cross over the river to the Dassanach village where the semi-nomadic Dassanach people stay part of the year with their cattle and goats.
As can be seen on the photograph above, the banks of Omo river are quite steep but in the rainy season even the banks will become flooded. The water flowing through the Omo river is one of the only sources for Lake Turkana, 50 km south from Omorate.