Danakil Depression

The Danakil Depression is often described as the most inhospitable place on Earth. It is also home to the nomadic Afar tribe, which have a reputation for being fierce. This is where we went for four days in search of adventure, volcanic activity, desert landscape and cultural encounter.

Since it's impossible to travel independently in the Danakil, due to the volatile security situation in the region (a few tourists have been killed last year), we had to arrange a tour. The party included a guide, three drivers and their Land Cruisers, a cook and various Afar police and army soldiers picked up along the way. We also traveled with Robert and Liz, our good friends from the Simiens Mountains, and four other travelers rounded up in Mekele.

What we were imagining to be a dangerous expedition, turned out to be just a normal tour without any incidents. It took two days to get to the first site of interest: Irta'ale volcano. Although most of the journey was off road on desert track, we didn't suffer too much in our air conditioned vehicles. Even the temperature, was relatively mild this time of year; around 35C compared to the 55C it can reach.

We arrived at the base of the volcano early in the evening, after what was a rather long and boring ride through the desert. Maybe because we have seen arid regions before, we were not particularly impressed with the surroundings.

The climb to the summit was a two and a half hour trek to the permanent lava lake, where we arrived long after sunset. Fortunately, it was incredibly rewarding. We were standing right on the edges of the crater, about five meters above the constantly bubbling and exploding melted rock. At one point, the lava was erupting so violently that we were slightly concerned of being too close and risking to be splashed.

The volcano really did put a great show for us, but it was the last morning of the excursion to the Dallol area that was really worth the trip. We think that budget or time conscious travelers could skip the volcano to concentrate on this part. During that half day before our return to Mekele, we saw a large plain of colourful salt formations, bubbling oil in Martian landscapes and crystallised salt caves. We also paid a brief visit to the Afar salt mine where the men are still working traditionally to carve the dried-up sea and load the mineral on camels.

The cultural encounter with the Afar was very brief and a bit of a let down. Apart from the men we saw breaking the salt crust into blocks, we only spent a few nights in a half village/half tourist camp,  where only a few Afar women and their children where living in miserable conditions. We didn't get much chance to experience their tenacious nomadic culture and we were simply left with an impression of struggling peoples.

Perhaps this trip was not entirely what we were expecting, but the last day sites were incredible, and the experience was well worth it.

Irta'Ale volcano

Dallol area

Afar men working at the salt mine.