5 Days - 4 nights Trip
Eastern Ethiopia has various natural, anthropological, historical and culturalassets, which makes this region full of multi choice tourist sites. The region lays in Great Rift Valley and its volcanic mountains in Kobar, Erta ale , Depression of Dallol, its muty colored salty hills and other amazing geographical scens are among the natural assets which categorized the place among the scenic sites in the world.
The Danakil Depression, with its other-worldly landscapes, offers a rewarding experience for those who venture out. This is the land of the Afar nomads, who trek over barren lands with their camel caravans transporting blocks of salt mined from large salt flats for sale in the larger towns.
DallolDallol is the lowest point on the African continent at 116m below sea level. It’s a beautiful site to see with its sulfurous springs providing colorful crystalline formations.
The area is also home to 40% of Africa’s volcanoes, the most famous being Erta Ale. To avoid the daytime heat, hikes are done at night or early morning, reaching the peak in time to see the permanent lava lake inside the volcano while the sun peeks over the horizon - definitely a highlight of any trip!
Because of the remoteness of this area, tours are done full-expedition style, with no detail overlooked to provide a memorable visit to this fascinating yet remote corner of the world.
Day itinerary as follows:
DAY 1- Addis Abeba – Mekele (domestic flight) – Afdera Early flight from Addis Abeba (7am) to Mekele. We will be picked up at the airport around 8:45am and will drive to Afdera via Abala enjoying the scenery of the road. It is going to be a full day of driving and we will arrive late in the afternoon to camp in Afdera. We will enjoy the hot springs (bring your bathing suit!) and the scenery. We will observe the workers extracting salt from the mines.
DAY 2- Afdera – Kurwased – Dodem – Erta Ale In the morning we depart shortly after breakfast to pick up escort police from the police station. We will continue then to Kurwased to get permission from the local authority and escort additional local military. We will also arrange camels for carrying the camping gear, luggage and water for the volcano. Afterwards we will start hiking up the Erta Ale Volcano Hills (613 meters above sea level) which is 15 km one way. We are going to see the volcanic eruption which is very colorful and spectacular. At night we will camp nearby the eruption on the crater rim above the active lava lake.
DAY 3- Erta Ale – Dodom – Hamad Ela We will wake up with the sunrise and spend some time walking around pits and craters. We will head back to Dodom before the sun gets too strong and have breakfast there. After spending some time in Dodom to pack our equipment, we will continue our tour to Hamad Ela – a village with a total population of 500 people. We will walk around the village and admire the camel caravan as they arrive to spend the night at the village where we are going to spend the night camping.
DAY 4- Hamad Ela – Daloll – Lake Assal – Gheralta After breakfast we will drive to Ragad (Asebao) where the salt is mined. We are going to learn how the salt is broken from the ground, cut into rectangular pieces and loaded on camels. Afterwards we will continue driving to Dallol and visit the different landscapes formed by volcanic activity. It is located 116 meters below sea level and one of the lowest places on earth with colorful salt mining. We will also visit Lake Assal, follow up camel caravans and walk with the Afar people who live there. In the afternoon we will drive to Gheralta lodge, relax and enjoy the scenery. Gheralta is one of the most striking places in Ethiopia. If time and energy allow it, we will also visit some sites. Overnight at Gheralta Lodge.
DAY 5- Gheralta – Mekele –> Addis Abeba (domestic flight) We will start the day early visiting the rock churches Abreha we Atsbeha depending on time. In Gheralta we will visit the rock churches Abune Yemata and Mariam Korkor. It requires a relatively fare fitness to walk up the hills and sometimes even climbing skills. We will have a picnic for lunch to save time and see as much as possible. We will drive back to Mekele and take a late flight back to Addis (7:50pm -> 9:10pm or 9:55pm -> 11:20pm). End of tour.