Overview
Enjoy up to 11 days of a cultural tour visiting the different tribes of South Sudan, such as Toposa, Jie, Buya, Lotuko, Lopit, and Mundari. Tradition and culture have never been this ancient and respected as those of the tribes in South Sudan. The traditions of cattle rearing of some of these tribes have traveled through generations from the time of their forefathers. Witness all this in just 11 days of an unspoiled cultural tour as shown by the following itinerary.
Day 1. Arrival at Juba International Airport – transfer to Hotel Pyramid/Royal Palace.
You will arrive at Juba International Airport, where you will meet our city tour guide to receive and happy welcome to the world’s youngest nation, South Sudan. Your first impression is meeting the tallest people on earth. The rest of the day is spent exploring, relaxing, and briefing to prepare for the next programs.
Day 2. Breakfast – drive 4 hours to Lotuko Village of Illeu.
Have your nice breakfast and then pack and drive to the Lotuko kingdom of Illeu village, through the Kenya-South Sudan highway. You will arrive at Torit town, the capital of Eastern Equatoria, and have your lunch at Torit hotel. Thereafter, you will continue with your journey to Illeu village of the Lotuko people.
Arrive and hike the village for 20 minutes, explore the kingdom parliament, visit the village rain maker, and meet and interact with village elders. The Lotuko, also called otuho, are a Nilotic group believed to be the original inhabitants of the Lotuko Mountains.
The power is transferred to the next generation after 22 years, while the other steps down to join the elders. The group called Monjomiji is considered the army and the most powerful warriors protecting the people with their animals and property. You will also enjoy the amazing scenery of the sunset views of the Lotuko Mountains.
Day 3. Morning experience with Lotuko traditional dancers – drive 3 hours to discover Lopit territory – people dressed in monkey & leopard skin.
Morning experience with Lotuko traditional, have breakfast, then drive to Lopit hills for evening experience with Lopit people. Arrive and visit the village traditional healer and Rain maker, explore the beautiful scenery of Lopit hills with their tall house set right at the mountain slopes.
Lopit people, also called Donge, keep cows and practice subsistence farming, growing mainly sorghum as a staple food crop. They also speak a similar language to the Lotuko brothers.
Day 4. Morning experience with Lopit traditional dancers – drive 4 hours to Buya hills – evening experience with people with big body scars.
After a morning experience with Lopit sunrise activities accompanied by traditional dances, you will continue with your journey to the Kimotong villages of Larim. On the way, you will enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Eastern Equatoria Mountains.
Arrive and take a nature walk to explore the most beautiful villages of the Larim people built right at the mountain slopes, meet and interact with the local people, take amazing photos with amazing people at the best hour of sunset. Larim is the ethnic name, while Buya is a nickname given by the Toposa people, meaning people living in the mountains. The Larim people are one of the tribes in Africa with big scarifications on their bodies.
Day 5. Morning experience with the Larim people – drive 3 hours to the Toposa villages.
After your amazing morning experience with the Larim traditional dances and photography, have breakfast, and then drive for 4 hours to visit the Toposa people. The Toposa are a Nilotic group related to the Karamojong of Uganda, Turkana of Kenya, and Nyangatom of Ethiopia. They keep cows, goats, and sheep. Donkeys and camels as their primary source of income and wealth. The Toposa people practice subsistence farming, growing mainly sorghum and maize as staple food crops.
Marriage in Toposa is customary, where two families agree on a certain number of cows to be paid to the girl’s parents. The girl will only choose a man she loves if he is found rich or if her parents accept, and if not, she is given by force to the man the parents have negotiated with. You will arrive at the Toposa village of the Mogos clan for your evening experience with Toposa evening activities of cow milking, singing /praising of lovely bulls, dances, and enjoying traditional weddings, if lucky to find one.
Day 6. Morning experience with Toposa traditional dances – traditional wedding of one. Drive 3 hours to explore the Jie people.
You will experience sunrise activities of the Toposa people, accompanied by a traditional wedding, traditional dances, and have your breakfast, then drive 3 hours to Loppet/Kasengor village of the Jie people. The Jie are a Nilotic group of people related to Toposa, Karamojong, Turkana, and Nyangatom. They live in the eastern region of Kapoeta, bordering the Morule and Kachipo people on the plateaus near the Ethiopian border.
They keep cows, goats, sheep, and camels, and practice subsistence farming, growing mainly sorghum and maize as staple food crops. You will arrive and explore the biggest villages of the Jie people. The Jie build their houses in double stairs, where upstairs is for girls to protect them from getting raped by young men at night.
It’s a tradition in these communities that boys sneak out at night to have sex with their loved ones. The rest of the day is to explore, meet, and build an acquaintance with the local people for tomorrow morning’s mingling.
Day 7. Morning experience with Jie traditional dances – drive to Kapoeta- Hotel Kuleo.
After your experience with Jie traditional dances, have breakfast, and drive 4 hours to Kapoeta. Arrive and check into the hotel Kuleo for your overnight. The rest of the day is to explore Kapoeta’s busy town, relax, and have a farewell party with the team to interact and reflect on the highlights of the tour. This is your last moment with the team.
Day 8. Have breakfast, transfer to Kapoeta Airstrip for your flight to Juba. Stay at the Hotel Pyramid Continental/Royal Palace.
You will have your breakfast, and transfer to Kapoeta airstrip for your flight to Juba. The flight to Juba takes about 50-55 minutes to arrive in Juba. You will arrive, and our city guide will meet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel for your overnight.
The rest of the day is to explore Juba city, take a walk to the River Nile restaurants for your dinner, and enjoy the majestic flow of the mighty Nile while enjoying its cool breeze.
Day 9. Have breakfast and drive 1 hour to Mundari Cattle Camp.
After your nice breakfast, morning visit to Konyokonyo, the city’s largest market, visit the catholic cathedral, visit Garang Museum, have lunch, and then drive for 1 hour to the Mundari cattle camp. The cows and bulls return to the camp before sunset. You will arrive at the camp to experience a few activities, of cleaning, burning of dried cow dung, etc. Mundari are a small ethnic group related to the Nilotic people.
The Mundari, with their Dinka neighbours, are known for keeping long-horned Tusti cows related to those of Rwanda and Uganda. They are also believed to be one of the tallest giant people in Africa. Mundari practice subsistence farming, growing mainly sorghum and groundnuts as staple food crops.
Day 10. Spend the whole day with Mundari – visit their villages and later transfer to Juba for an overnight stay.
Morning experience with Mundari sunrise activities of urine washing, cleaning and drying of cow dung, massaging of bulls, milking, blow of cow’s virgina to stimulate milk production, coffee preparation and serving to men by ladies. Have your breakfast and then drive 2 hours to explore the Mundari’s largest villages of Nyinkabour, right by the River Nile side. Arrive, meet and interact with the local people, join them for traditional dances, learn their village lifestyle compared to the cattle camp. This will give you full coverage to know about the Mundari lifestyle.
You will after drive back to the cattle camp for your lunch, relax, and wait for the return of the cows from the grazing fields, where you will immerse yourselves in an amazing evening experience. Thereafter, drive to Juba for your overnight. This evening, you will have your farewell party with the team at the Riverside hotel, reflecting on the tour highlights while enjoying the cool breeze of the mighty Nile.
Day 11. Fly back to your next destination.
Have breakfast, and our city tour guide will meet and transfer you to Juba Airport for your flights back to your next destinations.