Turmi to Konso

Today we drove around 200 km to Konso, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. A highland people, the Konso are known for the ancient and intricate terraces that encircle their well-planned villages. Each Konso village begins on a hilltop. As the population grows, a new "ring" of homes is built around the hilltop. When the final "ring" reaches near the bottom of the hill, a new village on a different hill must be built.
Villages have a "generation pole," and every 18 years, a new pole is added to the others, making it easy to calculate the age of the village.
We had a walk around the big market where you can buy almost everything from sugar cane and dresses, to salt and drinks.
After lunch at Kanta Lodge, we went for a visit to one of the local villages. This was interesting and quite a contrast to the villages we had visited the last couple of days.Read more