Expedition to Danakil Depression: The Hell on Earth — 5days
Explore Tours
Trip Code: ZET 026
Mode of Transportation: Air & Surface 4WD
Tour Type: Cultural tour —Historic route
Length: 5 days / 4 night
Group Size: 1- 20 Participants
Dates: Any date departure
Grade: Adventure touring
Adventure Holiday to Danakil Depression/Dallol/Erta Ale volcano/Afdera/Mekel /Addis Ababa —5 days tour
The Danakil Desert is located between the Ethiopian plateau and the Red Sea. The salt plain near Dallol is the lowest part at 116 metres below sea level.
In prehistoric times, the territory was in the form of a gulf. According to geologists, this is a sea bed that emerged for a brief moment in the history of the planet; the Afar depression will in fact form a future ocean with the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
This geological anomaly means that the entire area is very unstable. There are numerous active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes, /together with secondary manifestations such as the stupendous colours of the salt surfaces, caused by the geysers with their various different chlorides.
This tribe has a strong sense of its own identity and enjoys a notable degree of autonomy in its land. The Afar live from their animals, agriculture and the sale of salt that they extract from the salt lakes of the Danakil depression. The salt is loaded onto camels and sold in the markets of the highlands.
Erta Ale is a very remote and rarely visited shield volcano in the Afar region of East Africa. It is Ethiopia’s most active volcano and it has been in a state of continuous eruption since 1967. Daytime temperatures will likely be above 40 degrees Celcius and the base of the volcano actually lies below sea level and it’s summit rises up to 613 Meters. Erta Ale is known for it’s 2 pit craters which have had active lava lakes in the past.
Erta Ale has undergone seven eruption events in the past 125 years. Three of the early eruption dates, 1873, 1903, and 1904 are uncertain. However, 1906, 1940, 1960, and 1967 are well established events. Erta Ale has been erupting continuously since 1967.
- Climb Erta Ale, an active volcano
- Explore the otherworldly landscape of Dallol
- Camp on the shores of Lake Afrera
Included/Exclude
Tour Amenities
Tour Plan
Early morning fly to Mekel and After breakfast drive into the Afdera (Danakil - Afrera salt lake). We leave the main road and continue on an unpaved 4x4 road northwards into the Danakil. The trip leads through rugged moon-landscapes, characterized by volcanic rifts and faults, young black lava flows and gravel desert. After about four hours driving, we reach the flat, salt-covered Danakil depression at the salty lake Afrera by afternoon. There will be time to visit the interesting salines, where pure salt is being produced.
Meal: full board: breakfast /lunch /Dinner
Overnight stay camping.
Afdera Drive to Dodom village (base of Erta Ale). If you are interested, you could join a group of salt workers in the early morning and watch the interesting technique to gain salt from the lake. We then pick up Afar policemen and an Afar guide, then drive though the flat salt and lava desert to the Afar village of Dodom and set camp at the base of Erta Ale volcano. We will start the relatively easy ascend (ca. 10 km, 500 m climbing, ca. 3 hrs) along–the flat flank of Erta Ale's–shield volcano, while the–camel caravan carries our–luggage and the equipment.–The gently climbing hike–itself follows interesting–lava formations (pahoehoe–lava fields, lava tubes,–hornitos, sand deposits and–rare vegetation) until we–stand on the rim of the–caldera. An easy descend–brings us to the floor of the–caldera and after 10–minutes, we stand on the–active pit crater containing the boiling Lava lake.
Meal: full board: breakfast /lunch /Dinner
Overnight stay camping.
Ertale - Ahmed Ela (Transfer to–Lake Assale - salt caravans). The–sometimes difficult 4x4 drive–through the desert northwards to–the large, mostly dry salt lake–near Ahmed Ela is our goal of the–day . In the afternoon and–evening we can watch the–endless camel caravans coming–and going: arriving empty they–are met by the ones leaving packed full with precious salt blocks. After nightfall, we can assist the procedure of assigning Walt cutters (the focolo) to the camel owners (the Arho).
Ahmed Ela - DALLOL volcano-–Ahmed Ela. Aexplore the–fascinating volcano of DALLOL- a–volcano hidden under kilometer-–thick deposit of salt. The volcano–marks its presence by the up–doming of the salt and hundreds–of fumaroles and hot springs in–all colors. We can visit the–remains of a ghost town, almost–entirely built in salt, at DALLOL, where miners lived in the 1930s to extract potash from the DALLOL area. The town is the hottest inhabited place on earth.
Meal: full board: breakfast /lunch /Dinner
Overnight stay camping.
Ahmed Ela - Mekele. (Salt–caravans - salt cutting and–loading - transfer to the–highlands). In the morning, we watch thousands of camels leaving for the salt cutting area. We then drive to the lake and watch the salt cutters and salt shapers at work, following a century-old established order. By the time we leave in the late morning, the first camels are being loaded and the cycle is repeated. For us, it's time to leave the desert. Our way out follows along a spectacular canyon into the highlands. At a small, clear waterfall, we stop forlunch, to bath and clean the cars from the salt. In the late afternoon, we should already be back on the highland plateau where we stay the night in a small lively town, and enjoy the first cold beer after more than a week!
Meal: full board: breakfast /lunch /Dinner
Overnight stay camping.
Fly back to Addis Ababa ,On arrival in Addis Ababa you will be met at the airport and transferred to the hotel for overnight. we have a full-day city tour, which departs at 9:00am from the hotel. Addis Ababa is the third highest capital city in the world. Located at 2,400 metres above sea level in one of the highest parts of the Entoto mountain chain. We take time to explore the city. We will visit the National Museum (home of the remains of the famous hominid fossil, “Lucy”) and the Ethnological Museum at the Addis Ababa University (housed in the former palace of Emperor Haile Selassie). We will also witness the bustle of the one of the colourful local markets, which has an array of fascinating goods and curios, providing a great place for exploration and people watching.
Those on the group flights will be have access to day use rooms in the hotel in Addis Ababa before being taken to the airport for the overnight flight back to your home. The trip ends in Addis Ababa.
Meal: full board: breakfast /lunch /Dinner
- Please note: This tour may precede or follow any other Ethiopian tours offered by See Ethiopia Tour.
- This trip can be tailor made throughout the year to suit your requirement.
Date and Availability = All the year This trip can be tailor made throughout the year to suit your requirement and itinerary can be adjusted according to your time, budget and interest. Price: , if you want quotation or any other tour information about this trip we are very happy to help. Request a quote
suit your requirement and itinerary can be adjusted
Trip Notes
Equipped with the best vehicles and driver Guide / upon request you will be escorted by expert guides /you are immersed in the ancient history, cultures, natural habitats and spiritually of this captivating country and its people. This itinerary can easily be modified as a custom trip and if your travel dates are flexible.
Date and Availability = All the year This trip can be tailor made throughout the year to suit your requirement and itinerary can be adjusted according to your time, budget and interest. Price: , if you want quotation or any other tour information about this trip we are very happy to help. Request a quote
suit your requirement and itinerary can be adjusted
Trip Notes
Equipped with the best vehicles and driver Guide / upon request you will be escorted by expert guides /you are immersed in the ancient history, cultures, natural habitats and spiritually of this captivating country and its people. This itinerary can easily be modified as a custom trip and if your travel dates are flexible.
