SOUTH SUDAN

Dates: January 5 – 12, 2024

Duration: 8 days / 7 nights

Number of participants: 6 – 12

Cost per person:
– USD 2 890 subject to 12 participants or
– USD 3 090 subject to 10 – 11 participants or
– USD 3 290 subject to 8 – 9 participants or
– USD 3 490 subject to 6 – 7 participants


Everything is included, except for:
- international flight to Juba roundtrip,
- international medical insurance,
- visa of South Sudan (e-visa to be purchased in advance at USD 120).

Estimated cost of international flight Moscow – Juba – Moscow: USD 1200 – 1500 (to be purchased on your own).
Estimated cost of international flight Cairo – Juba – Cairo: USD 700 (to be purchased on your own).
Estimated cost of international flight Addis Ababa – Juba – Addis Ababa: USD 900 (to be purchased on your own).
Estimated cost of international flight Nairobi – Juba – Nairobi: USD 800 (to be purchased on your own).
Estimated cost of international flight Istanbul – Juba – Istanbul: USD 1100 (to be purchased on your own).
Estimated cost of international flight Dubai – Juba – Dubai: USD 900 – 1100 (to be purchased on your own).

Single supplement: 380 EUR per person (it is provided along the whole itinerary).




TRAVEL PROGRAM: tour to South Sudan

Day 1. January 5, 2024 (Friday). ARRIVAL IN JUBA

Arrive by air in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, the youngest country on Earth. Obtaining visa upon arrival at the airport. The guide will meet you at the airport and transfer to the hotel Royal Palace. Briefing with the guide. Guide will arrange travel permits. The rest of the day is free to relax or explore.
Dinner. Rest and overnight in hotel Royal Palace.

Meals included: dinner
Accommodation: hotel Royal Palace in Juba

* Recommended flights:
– Egypt Air via Cairo, departure from Moscow on January 5 at 2:25, and then departure from Cairo to Juba at 10:40 am on January 5, arrival in Juba at 14:30 on January 5, or
– Ethiopian Airlines via Addis Ababa, departing from Moscow on January 4 at 22:00, and then departure from Addis Ababa to Juba at 8:55 am on January 4 or at 14:35 on January 4, arrival in Juba at 10:10 am on January 5 or at 15:35 on January 5, or
– Turkish Airlines via Istanbul, departure from Moscow on January 4 at 21:05, and then departure from Istanbul to Juba at 2:25 am on January 5, arrival in Juba at 7:25 on January 5 (early check-in at the hotel may be needed), or
– any other flight arriving in Juba at any time on January 5 or on the night from January 5 to January 6.


Day 2. January 6, 2024 (Saturday). JUBA – TORIT – BOYA HILLS (LARIM TRIBE)

After breakfast, we will departure by 4WD jeep cars from Juba to the Eastern part of the country along the main highway to Kenya border (about 2h30min driving).
Arrive in Torit city, capital of Eastern Equatoria. Lunch in Torit hotel, while the guide clears permits with the authorities.
Then after we drive for another 3 hours to the Boya Hills. En route, we will be stopping for view of the beautiful landscapes and mountains of Boya territory.
The "boya" is nick name to Larim people by their neighbours Toposa (meaning "people living in the mountains").
Arrilal in the villages of Larim tribe.
Larim speak Murle and are excellent architects. They also pierce their nose and lips and scarify their bodies and considered to own the most sophisticated scarifications in whole Africa, as a way of beauty. The more scars, the earlier you get married with more cows.
Larim keep cattle and grow seasonal crops, such as sorghum, maize and beans. Widowed women wrap vegetable cords around their legs and head. Larim is considered one of South Sudan's most traditional groups.
Evening experience with the Larim people in their traditional villages on the picturesque mountainous slopes. Overnight in the tents with meals provided by our chef.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: tents


Day 3. January 7, 2024 (Sunday). BOYA HILLS (LARIM TRIBE) – CHUKUDUM (DIDINGA TRIBE)

Early morning at 6 am, we will wake up for coffee and snacks, then after we walk into the village for morning photos accompanied with traditional dancers. Take this time for your last photos with Larim people.
After, we will get back to the camp for breakfast, while the team unfolds the tents and load into the cars. At 10 am, we will drive to Didinga territory (2 hours driving). Arrive at the junction between Chukudum, leave the cars there with the chef and we hike uphill for at least 1 hour to visit Didinga people (relatively good physical form needed. Supposed to be intense uphill hiking). You are requested to put on hiking shoes, walking sticks and your cameras only, and the guide will carry for you water to drink. We will also pick-up our packed lunch with us.
We will spend some 3 hours exploring the Didinga villages, also witnessing traditional dance.
The Didinga share the language with Boya (Larim), Murle and Mursi and Surma in Ethiopia, that distinguishes them from all other groups in the Sudan. Their language, often called the Murle-Didinga language, is also spoken by a group living in southwest Ethiopia. The Didinga claim to have lived in southwest Ethiopia 200 years ago. During their migration to the Didinga Hills, the Didinga, Murle and Boya were one group.
Once being traditional pastoralists, after years spent in Uganda (during the civil war), they also gain the knowledge in farming. Cattle herding remains their main activity, even if their livestock is not as numerous as before. Didinga also consume fresh blood drawn from the necks of cattle with miniature arrows. The Didinga do not fish at all, because the eating of fish is taboo in their culture.
Their traditional beliefs and religious practices include having a tribal rainmaker who is entrusted with performing certain rituals to bring rain. Didinga also worship and sacrifice to spirits and gods and place great importance upon the worship of dead ancestors.
We will slope back to the junction and settle for camping on the riverside or nearby Camp 15 (then we must further drive), depending on the security situation.
Dinned and overnight in tents.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: tents


Day 4. January 8, 2024 (Monday). CHUKUDUM (DIDINGA TRIBE) – IMEHEJEK (LOPIT TRIBE)

Morning, after breakfast, we'll depart to the Lopit ranges, to Imehejek village (6 hours driving) – the headquarters of Lopa county.
Evening walk in the Lopit beautiful villages. Lopit (Donge) people build their tall house with bamboo and coconut leaves. You will experience one of the largest villages with rocky streets build throughout the village. The Lopit are speakers of Nilotic languages, close to Lotuko. It is believed that the Lopit came to Southern Sudan from East Africa, probably late migrants from Lake Turkana. They practice cattle keeping and substance farming growing sorghum as a staple food.
The same as Lotuko, Lopit have so called "ruling age set", which presumes the transfer of the power to another generation every 12 or 22 years. A great ceremony is held when the new generation takes over from the previous ruling age set.
Lopit still sometimes practice a massive traditional hunting for big animals, such as giraffes or elephants. Neighbouring villages team up to hunt in the land of the village that has called for the hunt. In this group hunting up to 2000 men team up to hunt game.
Overnight in the tents with meals provided.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: tents


Day 5. January 9, 2024 (Tuesday). IMEHEJEK (LOPIT TRIBE) – CHALMINI KINGDOM (LOTUKO TRIBE) – JUBA

Morning coffee with snacks, then walk to the village for sunrise, morning photos and enjoy one of the amazing traditional dances of Lopit people. You will witness few men dressed in very peculiar helmets made of shells and ostrich feathers, as well as leopard skins, with women dressed in traditional costumes made of goat skin.
Music and dancing are central to Lopit culture. There are dozens of different dances for different occasions. Each dance has specific costumes, music, at time allocations associated with it.
After the amazing experience, have breakfast, while crew loads luggage in the cars.
Say goodbye to the Lopit people and departure to Lotuko village. Lunch on arrival at Chalmini village.
Visit to Chalmini mountain kingdom ruled by a priest-king. We will spend some 2 hours exploring the Lotuko village with interesting medieval stone walls, and traditional dancers. We will also pay visit to the traditional healer of the village.
Lotuko people are a Nilotic ethnic group that populates the region characterized by ranges and mountain spurs such as the Imotong mountain, the highest mountain in South Sudan.
As agro-pastoralists, they keep large herds of cattle, sheep and goats, and supplement this with hoe-farming, hunting, and fishing. Land is owned by no single person, but in trust by the community. In the mountains, after finding a site, the group decides the boundaries of each person's garden, with certain areas being fallow for a number of years. Lotuko's religion is based on nature and ancestor worship that is deeply rooted in their ethnic identity.
After visiting Lotuko, drive straight to Juba (3 hours). Check-in at the hotel Royal Palace in Juba. Relaxing, have cool shower and relax. Dinner and overnight in Juba.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: hotel Royal Palace in Juba


Day 6. January 10, 2024 (Wednesday). JUBA – MUNDARI NOMADIC AREA IN MAYONG

Breakfast and morning visit Konyo-Konyo market. Then by 4x4 vehicles we drive to the South Sudanese bush (about 1 – 2 hours driving by very good new road). We drive to the area of Mayong where Mundari cattle camp is nomading depending on the season.
After having checked with the local authorities drive to a cattle camp to encounter the Mundari people and their long horned cattle. The cows and bulls return to the camp before sunset.
Mundari are a small ethnic group related to the Nilotic peoples. Mundari, together with neighboring Dinka people, are sometimes noted for their stature. With the Tutsi of Rwanda, they are believed to be the tallest people in Africa.
The traditional Mundari tribal lands are located roughly 20-100 kilometers north of Juba, the capital of South Sudan, and are centered on the town of Terakeka in the state of Central Equatoria. The land, like much of South Sudan, is predominantly flat and marked by occasional isolated large hills. The low-lying land contains many rivers and lakes and provides a very fertile basis in support of cattle grazing.
On arrival, we will experience few activities, like cleaning and drying of the cow dung. In the evening, when cows return back from the grazing land, we will have the most amazing experience in witnessing how the Mundari naturally coexist with their cattle. Evening photography.
Overnight in tents with meals cooked by our chef.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: tents


Day 7. January 11, 2024 (Thursday). MUNDARI CATTLE CAMP

Whole day to see aspects of the Mundari daily lifestyle. The cows return to the camp around 5 pm and they leave the camp around 9 am every day, so this is the most interesting time for photography and observing the lifestyle of Mundari. Also at sunrise and sunset Mundari clean the place and burn the dung. Smog together with dust in the rays of low sun makes a unique picture for photographers.
Visit the camp and small Mundari villages (if available nearby depending on the season) where facial and body scarification are still practiced to this day. In common with other Nilotic tribes in Sudan, the Mundari practice ritual scarification as a rite of passage into adulthood for young men. The typical Mundari scar pattern consists of two sets of three parallel lines, each on either side of the forehead, extending in a downward slope and unconnected in the middle.
Mundari villages are also interesting because of vernacular architecture: huts, black and white totems, and granaries beautifully built.
The Mundari, like other Nilotic tribes, are very cattle-oriented: cattle serves as food, a form of currency and a mark of status. Marriages are arranged by the prospective groom offering cattle to the bride's family and husbands may take as many wives as they can support. The Mundari engage in perennial cattle raiding wars with the neighboring Dinka during the dry season. In order to secure their cattle, Mundari men at night take their weapons and go to the bush.
Mundari have kept alive animistic religion while the neighboring Dinka have lost most this traditional ways due to war and conversion to Christianity.
During the day we can follow the cattle to see the pastures or just interact with people in the cattle camp and enjoy storytelling.
Overnight in tents with meals cooked by our chef.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: tents


Day 8. January 12, 2024 (Friday). MUNDARI CATTLE CAMP – JUBA – RETURN FLIGHT

Last morning photography. Breakfast and farewell from Mundari land. Drive to Juba.
Day use hotel for taking shower (2 rooms for the team) and quick lunch in the hotel on your own.
At the arranged time transfer to the airport, trying to be at the airport 3 hours before the scheduled departure time. Return flight.

Meals included: breakfast
Accommodation: day use hotel

* Recommended flights:
– Egypt Air via Cairo, departure from Juba on January 12 at 15:30, and further from Cairo to Moscow, departure at 10:35 on January 13, arrival in Moscow on January 13 at 16:05 (15 hours layover in Cairo. Airlines provides free transfer and hotel), or
– Ethiopian Airlines via Addis Ababa, departing from Juba on January 12 at 16:30, and further from Addis Ababa to Moscow, departure at 23:30 on January 12, arrival in Moscow on January 13 at 7:25 am, or
– any other flight departing from Juba no earlier than 15:00 on January 12.


* The order of visits and excursions can be modified according to local conditions, i.e. state of roads, market days, location of nomadic tribes, security situation in tribes etc. If some visits and/or tours could not be done due to external conditions, they will be replaced when possible.

** The participant of expedition to South Sudan must be motivated to be respectful to the culture of local tribes, be aware of the objectives of the trip and possible program changes depending on weather conditions, security conditions and any other reasons, be in a good shape, as well as be able to adapt to the new environment and culture.

TOUR TO SOUTH SUDAN
South Sudan

Best season: November - April


Discover virgin territory of Mundari cattle herders, the tallest people on Earth, who still live in the Stone Age on the banks of mighty White Nile river in full unity with their livestock. They are famous for their numerous cow herds, kept with Kalashnikov guns, and elaborative vernacular architecture.

Explore Toposa and Jiye tribal villages – the most authentic tribes of "Karamojong cluster", which also includes the Karamojong people of Uganda, the Nyangatom people in south western Ethiopia and the Turkana people of Kenya.

Larim tribe populated Boya Hills area – one of South Sudan's most traditional groups, who still practice nose and lips piercing.

Mountain kingdom of Ilieu ruled by a priest-king, and Lotuko tribe in the mountainous region with Imotong mountain, the highest mountain in South Sudan.

Living in the cattle herders camp following nomads in the swamps of White Nile river.

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