4-Day Danakil Depression Tour from Addis Ababa with Erta Ale

• Take an early flight from Addis Ababa to Mekele with your Ethiopian tour guide.
• Meet your driver and begin the journey from Mekele to Dodom, the starting point for discovering the Danakil Depression.
• Start an early drive to Dodom, at the base of Erta Ale.
• Leave after an early breakfast, possibly at 07:30. This is considered one of the worst roads in the world. The 70 km distance may take about 5 hours, passing through changing landscapes of solidified lava, rock, sand, and occasional palm-lined oases. After passing several small hamlets scattered across this desert land, reach Dodom, which is about 9.5 km from Erta Ale and requires about 3 hours of trekking. Have an early dinner around 17:00.
• Trek up to Erta Ale at 20:00. Camels transport all the camping materials and some food, including light mattresses, mats, and water, to the volcano's rim, where you spend the night watching the dramatic action of the boiling lava. Danakil Depression (Dallol and Erta Ale) ranks as one of the most alluring and physically challenging natural attractions anywhere in Ethiopia. It is a shield volcano with a base diameter of 30 km and a 1 km square caldera at its summit. Erta Ale stands at 613 meters and contains the world's only permanent lava lake, one of only five globally at the summit. It is notable for having the longest existing lava lake, present since the early years of the twentieth century.

Overnight camping on the mountain.

• Wake up early at Erta Ale.
• Leave for Dodom and reach the camp by 8:00 am at the latest.
• After breakfast, drive 100 km to Hamed Ela, with a picnic lunch on the way under the shade of a palm tree.
• Reach Hamed Ela at 04:30, a better village with a total population of about 500 people. You will see lots of camel caravans, and you will enjoy the sunset view from the very shallow salt Lake Assale.

Overnight camping at Hamed Ela.

• Drive to Ragad (Asebo), where local people mine salt across the Afar Depression, which covers 1,200 km2 (460 sq mi). You will observe the activity of breaking salt from the ground, as local people cut it into rectangular pieces and load them onto camels.
• Head to Dallol and visit the different landscapes formed by volcanic activity, including Dallol, Lake Assale, salt canyons, and camel caravans. You will also follow the camel caravans.
• Return to Hamed Ela for lunch and then proceed to Mekele.

• Fly back to Addis Ababa or explore the city of Mekele. Take a late flight out depending on the traveller's interests.