Wild Expeditions | Lale’s Camp & Expeditions
Omo Valley , Bale Mountains, Danakil Depression - ETHIOPIA
A pioneering collective of owner-run safari camps and expeditions operating in remote parts of Africa
These experiences are best suited to travellers who truly understand and value the concept of wild and immersive journeys. The luxury offered is access to extraordinary places and experiences that are only available to a few discerning travellers each year.
LALE'S CAMP - the ultimate cultural immersion
Wild Expeditions experiences are united by passionate founders who share 3 fundamental beliefs:
Firstly, that ecotourism, as a central pivot of the wildlife economy, is a critically important driver of African conservation.
Secondly, rural people (often neighbours or owners of conservation areas) are a vital part of modern conservation.
Thirdly, the planet, its ecosystem services and its biodiversity are a shared natural heritage and an understanding of, and connection with, nature is necessary for the future of the human race.
The future of Africa’s wildest places and traditional tribes increasingly requires conscious and intrepid travellers seeking these bucket list journeys, together with brave stakeholders who are committed to providing meaningful and immersive travel experiences.
We invite you to take a Wild Expedition.
FAST FACTS
RATES
Lale’s Camp:
Exclusive use rate from US$ 760 per person per night.
CHILDREN
Lale’s Camp:
10+ years
ACCESS
Lale’s Camp Fly:
Daily scheduled flight from Addis Ababa to Jinka & road/boat to camp
What we love
CULTURAL IMMERSION
The most authentic low impact way to experience the cultural tribes of the lower Omo Valley (Kara, Hamer, Mursi)
RIVER EXPLORING
Stay longer and explore the Omo River by boat, fly-camping along the way and encountering different tribes.
TRULY UNIQUE
Encounter unusual wildlife species and rare cultures in a truly remote area where traditional values are honoured in the face of modern life.
ADD ON EXPEDITIONS
Discover far flung Ethiopia with fixed wing or heli flights to the Bale Mountains to view Ethiopian wolves. WATCH THIS SPACE: Gambella, Aledeghi, Simiens
Wild Expeditions | Lale’s Camp & Expeditions
The impact of your stay
In the case of Ethiopia and Madagascar, Wild Expeditions Africa operates in some of the more remote and least-established destinations on the African continent. The positive impact of a viable ecotourism operation existing in areas like these on both biodiversity conservation and community engagement cannot be under-estimated. This is precisely why Wild Expeditions do operate where they do. Every guest who stays with Wild Expeditions contributes to the cause and these positive impacts simply by choosing to travel with them.
Every stay contributes through:
Some of the more tangible outputs of this contribution are outlined as follows:
- The existence of Lale’s Camp enables the protection of approximately 400ha of land along 9,5km of Omo riverbank. This prevents overgrazing and deforestation and allows the continued existence of habitat for 5 different primate species.
Cultural tourism conducted ethically and responsibly has the power to celebrate and entrench traditional culture on the terms of the owners of that culture themselves. Lale’s Camp do this in partnership with the local Kara, Hamar and Mursi communities.
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Wild Expeditions | Lale’s Camp & Expeditions
Camps & Lodge
Discover the Omo Valley
Lower Omo Valley
Lale's Camp
Located on a sinuous bend of the lower Omo River in southern Ethiopia, Lale’s Camp.
A comfortable dining and lounge tent, or mess, is the central point of Lale’s Camp. Meals are taken here or outdoors around the fire.
Carefully spaced along the high banks of the Omo River on either side of the main area are seven large, spacious Meru tents. En-suite, with flush toilets and traditional safari showers, each tent is carefully positioned in the deepest shade of this special patch of riverine forest. Gauze panels serve as ‘windows’, maximising the through draft and ensuring our guests are immersed in nature and can hear all the sounds of the night.
The nearby Kara village of Dus (one of just three villages belonging to the Kara people) is only a few minutes’ walk away, with some isolated Hamar settlements further afield.
WHY HERE?
- This is the most authentic low impact way to experience the tribal cultures of the lower Omo Valley (Kara, Hamer, Mursi).
- The whole joureny is integrated into, and benefitting, the local Kara community.
- On each trip guests also have the opportunity to encounter unusual wildlife species as well as traditional cultures in a truly remote and disconnected region.
SEASONALITY: Closed annually in April.
CHILDREN: 10+ years and older welcome.
Lale's Camp
7 Tents
exclusive use only
min 2 guests, max 12 guests
Minimum stay 3 nights
Expeditions
Expedition Ethiopian Wolf
exclusive use only
min 2, max 8 guests
Minimum stay 3 nights
Bale Mountains, Ethiopia
Ethiopian Wolf
WHY HERE?
- Privileged private viewing of Ethiopian wolves in their highest density areas;
- Exceptional Afro-alpine ecosystem and solitude;
- High quality viewing of large mammal endemics like Mountain Nyala and Menelik’s Bushbuck, as well as Giant Mole-Rat, myriad endemic birds and otherworldly plants like Giant Lobelia.
START & END: Private charter access to Robe airstrip followed by a 50km drive to camp.
SEASONALITY: Due to rainfall this expedition is not operated over the months of May, June, July and August.
CHILDREN: 10+ are welcome as long as they have an adventurous spirit, can keep an open mind and will be happy to stay off a mobile device.
Expedition Danakil Depression
exclusive use only
min 2, max 8 guests
Minimum stay 3 nights
Danakil Desert, Ethiopia
Danakil Depression
Together with Africa’s highest peaks, Ethiopia is also home to one of the lowest altitude areas on the planet, the Danakil Depression … an area lying at the junction of three tectonic plates and the northernmost point of Africa’s Great Rift. Scorching hot, achingly barren and climatically inhospitable, this harsh terrain is not for everyone. It is however utterly spectacular, both in terms of landscape as well as culture, and the effort to reach it is well worthwhile. The garish multicoloured thermal springs at Dallol, the molten lava lake of the active Erta Ale volcano and the hypersaline lake at Afrera are all unique.
At more than 100m below sea level at its lowest points, the Danakil is surreal not just in terms of its otherworldly appearance but also in terms of the existence of a centuries old salt trade and camel caravans that carry salt tablets for trading in small towns to the west. Wild Expeditions cannot promise comfort here but they do promise adventure and reflection.
WHY HERE?
- Spectacular geological and geothermal formations and processes including an active lava lake;
- The forced reflection imposed on you by one of the most inhospitable parts of the planet;
- Because there is nowhere else on earth quite like this!
START & END: Arrive with scheduled flight access from Addis to Mek’ele. Depart from Semera on a scheduled flight to Addis.
SEASONALITY: Due to high ambient temperatures Danakil is not operated over the months of May, June, July and August.
CHILDREN: 10+ are welcome as long as they have an adventurous spirit, can keep an open mind and will be happy to stay off a mobile device.
Wild Expeditions | Lale’s Camp & Expeditions
FEATURED OFFER
Free Flight Combo
Stay 3 nights or more at each Camp Hwange and Fothergill and receive a free one-way Mack Air flight from Hwange to Fothergill.
Min 2 guests.
Valid: until Nov 2023 & 1 Apr – 30 Nov 2024
Wild Expeditions | Lale’s Camp & Expeditions
featured journey
Explore Ethiopia
Seek Africa's rarest, and most threatened carnivore species.
Wild Expeditions | Lale’s Camp & Expeditions
featured journey
Magnificent Madagascar
Explore untouched beaches and forests that feel as if time has stood still for a few hundred years.
WILD EXPEDITIONS
LOCATION
Getting there
ETHIOPIA
As one of Africa’s most well serviced airports, access to Addis Ababa is easy and affordable from most places in the world.
Serviced by Ethiopian Airways, Qatar, EgyptAir, Kenyan Airways, RwandAir and Turkish Airlines.
Domestic connections are good.
location
Getting to Lale's Camp
FLY, drive & boat
Daily seat rate on scheduled flight between Addis Ababa and Jinka (2hrs). Meet the team from Lale’s Camp and embark on a a guided road transfer (4-5 hours) followed by a boat transfer (30-40 mins) up on Omo River into camp.
OR
Private charter between Addis Ababa and Murule Airstrip (1hr30mins) followed by a boat transfer (30-40 mins) up the Omo River into camp.
location
Getting to Ethiopian Wolves
FLY & drive
ARRIVE: Private charter flight from Addis Ababa (50 minutes) or Lale’s Camp to the small town of Robe on the edge of the Bale Mountains massif. Meet the Wild Expeditions guide and vehicle and drive 50kms through the rural countryside to the valley where the camp has been set up.
DEPART: Back to Robe to connect with an onward charter flight.
location
Getting to Danakil Expedition
FLY & drive
ARRIVE: Connect with a scheduled flight between Addis Ababa and the small town of Mek’ele in northern Ethiopia (1hr). Mek’ele is 2,200m above sea level and here you meet the team from Wild Expeditions. Begin the fascinating guided road transfer (4-5 hours) as you head 200km eastwards down the escarpment and into the desert of the Danakil Depression to where the camp is set up.
DEPART: Either back to Mek’ele or if the full expedition is being done, then the trip ends on the southern section of the Depression in the small town on Semera. Here you connect with scheduled flights to Addis Ababa.
Availability
Contact
Email:
wea.res@wild-expeditions.africa
Tel:
+27 71 359 8322
WhatsApp:
Office Hours:
Monday to Friday, 8:00am – 5:00pm.
