Overland region

The Danakil Depression by 4x4: local guides and trips

Yellow, green and ochre pools and salt formations at Dallol
Photo: A.Savin, FAL

The Danakil Depression is a rift valley in the north of Ethiopia's Afar Region, about 125 m below sea level, with salt plains, hot springs and volcanoes: the coloured acid pools of Dallol, the salt flats of Lake Karum, the lava lake of Erta Ale and the hypersaline Lake Afdera. For anyone travelling with their own vehicle it means dirt tracks across the salt crust, a base camp at Hamed Ela and walks to the craters. Government travel advisories warn against travel to the Afar Region, and foreigners may need prior authorisation: check the current situation before planning. Here are the local guides who work in the area and the trips that cross it.

2 local guides and 3 trips in the Danakil Depression on GuideMeet.

On the map

  1. Abala Abala — Town. Market town at 1,465 m, the administrative centre of Kilbet Rasu, with a goat market on Thursdays. The road to Erta Ale starts here. 13.3555, 39.7549 · Google Maps
  2. Berhale Berhale — Town. Town at 639 m in a valley below two rocky peaks, where the highlands give way to the Afar desert. It is the closest town to Dallol. 13.8619, 40.0214 · Google Maps
  3. Hamed Ela Hamed Ela — Village. Afar settlement that works as a base camp for Dallol and Lake Karum. Salt cut on the lake is carried here by camel, then trucked on to Mekele. 14.0856, 40.2776 · Google Maps
  4. Lake Karum Lake Karum — Lake. Salt lake 120 m below sea level, ringed by a salt pan that is still mined. The salt leaves by camel caravan. Also known as Lake Assale. 14.0316, 40.3981 · Google Maps
  5. Dallol Dallol — Crater. Hydrothermal field around a small volcano: acid springs, fumaroles and salts in yellow, green and ochre. The mountain is about 3 km by 1.5 km and rises 60 m above the salt plain. 14.2425, 40.2997 · Google Maps
  6. Dallol ghost town Dallol ghost town — Archaeological site. Mining settlement turned ghost town, with the highest annual average temperature recorded for an inhabited place: 35 °C, between 1960 and 1966. Some buildings of salt blocks still stand. 14.2386, 40.2936 · Google Maps
  7. Gaet'ale Pond Gaet'ale Pond — Lake. Crescent-shaped pond about 60 m across, 4 km south-east of Dallol, with a salinity of 43% and water at 50–55 °C. Locals say it appeared after an earthquake in January 2005. 14.2133, 40.3214 · Google Maps
  8. Erta Ale Erta Ale — Crater. Shield volcano, 613 m, with a lava lake present since at least 1906; "smoking mountain" in Afar. The crater is reached on foot from a base camp. 13.6064, 40.6614 · Google Maps
  9. Lake Afdera Lake Afdera — Lake. Hypersaline lake of 117 km², fed by hot springs. Franchetti Island, in the south, is considered the lowest-lying island in the world. Salt has been mined here for centuries. 13.2833, 40.9167 · Google Maps
  10. Afdera Afdera — Town. Largest town of the Afdera district, in a salt-mining area by the lake of the same name. An all-weather road built in the 1990s links the district to the Awash–Assab highway. 13.2073, 40.8604 · Google Maps
  11. Semera Semera — Town. Capital of the Afar Region: a town planned and built on the Awash–Assab highway, served by Sultan Ali Mirah Airport. 11.7922, 41.0086 · Google Maps

Local guides in the Danakil Depression

Ethiopia: guides by vehicle

Overland trips in the Danakil Depression

Trips already run here

When to go

The cooler months are roughly November to February; the rest of the year the heat is extreme, and Dallol has recorded 49 °C. Rain is rare.

Before you go

Photo credits

Photos from Wikimedia Commons, under the licences shown.

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