Stone terraces
Hills terraced to the horizon.
JosepMGracia — CC BY-SA 4.0 · JosepMGracia — CC BY-SA 4.0 · JosepMGracia — CC BY-SA 4.0 · JosepMGracia — CC BY-SA 4.0 · JosepMGracia — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Konso Cultural Landscape is an area of terraced hills and walled villages around the town of Karat in southwest Ethiopia. UNESCO added it to the World Heritage List in 2011, the first site in Ethiopia recognised as a cultural landscape. It lies about 79 km in a straight line from Arba Minch. Konso oral tradition says the people settled here about 400 years ago, which fits the 21 generations they count since their first ritual chief. The town sits at 1,650 metres and lives from beekeeping, cotton weaving and farming. The stone farming terraces are the great sight, some up to 8 metres high, built to protect the soil from heavy rains. Walled villages called paletas crown the hilltops, ringed by one to six circles of basalt walls, the oldest up to 4 metres high. Inside are thatched houses and granaries, narrow alleys between wooden and stone fences, and gathering places called moras. The Konso are also known for their waga statues, wooden carvings that commemorate the dead, and for stones raised to mark each new generation. The villages are lived in, so visit with a local guide, ask before photographing people or homes, and do not touch statues or ritual places. The market is held on Mondays and Thursdays, 2 km from town on the Jinka road.
Hills terraced to the horizon.
Basalt rings around the homes.
Lanes between wooden fences.
Karat, Konso Zone, South Ethiopia Region, Ethiopia
A local guide is advised for visiting the lived-in villages respectfully.
Mondays and Thursdays, on the Jinka road.