Traditional weaving village at 2,900 m — 12-metre-tall bamboo beehive homes and the false-banana (enset) culture.
Chencha is the main town of the Dorze people, perched at 2,900 m in the Gamo Highlands above Arba Minch. The Dorze are famous for two things: their astonishing 12-metre-tall woven-bamboo homes shaped like elephants, and their cultivation of enset (false banana), a staple crop that takes 4–7 years to mature and feeds the household. A working village visit covers home interiors, enset processing into 'kocho' bread, and the back-strap weaving of traditional shemma cloth.
Real observations published to GBIF by researchers, lodges, and citizen scientists — refreshed daily.
Best time to visit
Year-round
Choose a curated departure or use any of these as a starting point — we'll tailor the itinerary, dates and pace to you.
Flamingos at Abijatta, Crocodile Market at Chamo, Konso terraces and Dorze bamboo homes.
Bamboo beehive homes, false-banana cooking, and shemma weaving at 2,900 m.