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As you arrive in Mekele you are picked from the airport and transfered to the hotel. If you have time you can have a city tour. The group gets together for the first time in the evening for a welcome dinner and general briefing on the expedition.

After breakfast we meet your guide at your Hotel about 09:00 am and leave Mekele with our 4X4 jeep expedition. We drive to Erta Ale Volcanic Field through the western escarpment of the Danakil Depression (Great Rift Valley).
Today we have the chance to see the recent lava flow and tectonically affected mountain ranges. Both recent basalt of spreading Axes, recent sediments and Highland rock sequences dominate the road Geology of the area where you are driving through. After all the arrangements with Erta Ale area chief and administrators to get a permission for the visit are done, we continue to Erta Ale volcano along the off road across older pahoehoe lavas. As soon as we arrive at the base camp, we settle down for the night in huts, have a short walk walk around. After tasty dinner we have a short night of sleep.

Before sunrise we set off on the ca. 3 h ascend of Erta Ela. It is a relatively easy hike - about 10 km across the old lava flows that cover the flanks of the shield volcano, with a total elevation difference of ca. 500 m. The closer we get, the brighter becomes the lava lake´s red glow! As part of our camel caravan already went ahead of us, breakfast will be ready by the time we arrive on the caldera rim. After setting up camp in the different Afar huts, the group reassembles for a guided walk down into the caldera which will take you along Erta Ale´s main volcanic features and viewpoints. Lunch upon our return, the rest of this day and night everyone is free to plan his/her relaxing, sleeping and summit caldera exploring.

We camp on Erta Ale´s caldera rim for 3 more days and nights so we have ample of time to explore the summit area, make photographs at different light conditions during the day and night and observe the changeing activity of the active vents.

After another short night we start our descend from Erta Ale´s caldera rim at the coolest moment which is early in the morning before sunrise. Breakfast awaits us upon arrival in Erta Ale´s base camp. We then retake the jeep drive back to Mekele where a warm shower awaits us at the hotel. Alternatively, some participants might continue on from Erta Ale base camp to do the 3 days Dallol extension.

Our service ends with transfer to the airport or another nearby destination.
You could also start an additional tour from Mekele (e.g. Highland tour, Lalibela, Axum, Simien National Park, etc.).

Days 1 to 6 are the same as those described in the Erta Ale volcano special itinerary.

After a last short night camping on Erta Ale´s caldera rim (ca. 565 m) and breakfast, we start our descend. At basecamp (ca. 140 m) we re-arrange our luggage back onto the jeeps and start our travel to the area of Dallol and Lake Assale taking a route along a quickly changing scenery from lava dessert via steppe to mountainous highlands. First we retrace our off road steps to the foot of the volcano where we take a road and head west, climbing out of the Danakil onto the western highlands (ca. 2000 m). There we shortly take the main road north before turning east and heading back down into the Danakil.
On the way we make a stop at Afdera Salt Lake where modern salt extraction are taking place. We have a chance to swim in the Salt Lake and take a bath in the small ponds with the hot spring water. After the picnic lunch we proceed to Ahmed Ela.
Depending on road and weather conditions we arrive at the Afar village of Hamed Ela (ca. -85 m) in the course of the afternoon and set up camp. The rest of the afternoon / evening can be used to rest, have a semi-shower, explore Hamed Ela, observe the camel caravans passing through...

As Hamed Ela is the hottest continuously inhabited location on the planet, we will focus on the cooler mornings and afternoons for our short expeditions, allowing for lunch and siesta during the midday heat. On the program are relatively short 4X4 jeep drives to Dallol hydrothermal system and surroundings, to the saline Assale Lake through the dried up salt dessert, to the area where local people are cutting out the salt in the same traditional way their ancestors did befor this ´white gold´ is then loaded for transport onto camels and a myriad of other alien ladnscapes of intricate salt deposits and hydrothermal ponds.

A last breakfast in Hamed Ela is followed by break up of our camp there before we take the 4x4 jeeps to drive out of the Danakil depression and ascent back onto the highlands where a warm shower awaits us in our hotel in Mekele.

Our service ends with transfer to the airport or another nearby destination.
You could also start an additional tour from Mekele (e.g. Highland tour, Lalibela, Axum, Simien National Park, etc.).

Additional info:

Physical requirements:

The walks on this tour are not particularly difficult, but you should have experience with hiking on uneven and rugged terrain. Although we organise our Danakil during the cooler months of the year, temperatures in the Danakil depression usually range between 35-40 deg C (95-105 deg F), but can easily soar up to 45-50 deg C (120-130 deg F) in the hottest hours near Dallol.
The hike to / from Erta Ale´s summit area and caldera rim from base camp and back requires about 10 km trekking over uneven, but relatively easy and gently climbing terrain (about 500 m altitude gain / descend) and is done in the early morning hours prior to sunrise in order to minimize the impact of heat. To approach the edge of the lava lake and other parts of the caldera one needs to walk across the uneven, easy to moderately difficult to walk on platy, ropy or hollow pahoehoe lava flows. Good boots, long pants and gloves are a must. Extra care must be taken when walking over the lava tubes as the thin, glassy crusts of the hardened lava sometimes break so that you suddenly sink up to max halve meter into the hollow cavity below. Walking sticks to "test" the terrain and keep balance are recommended.

Sanitary conditions during most part of this expedition will be very to extremely basic and you should therefore be in excellent overall health. No proper washing facilities are available while in the desert (approx. 7 days). Unfortunately, the local toilet habits in the Afar region and in particular around the salt lakes and atop the volcano is to do your business more or less anywhere; the area around Ahmed Ela (the salt-cutters'town near Dallol) is littered with garbage and human and animal excrement, resulting in a high rate of stomach bugs / traveler´s disease among visitors to the region.
We therefore ask you to consult a medical doctor about going to the Danakil prior to joining the expedition. One should particularly take precautions / medicine against dehydration, diarrhea and stomach infections.

Arrival info:

To allow for maximum flexibility for individual participants travel plans, this volcano special expedition starts and ends in Mekele, which is the capital city of the Tigray region of Ethiopia. The airline company that service this airport (MQX, Alula Aba Nega Airport) is Ethiopian Airlines. One can easily book this domestic flight from and to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia´s capital, as there are 5-6 daily connections. Your international flights to and from Ethiopia are not included as default since we have participants from all over the world. However, please do feel free to contact us if you would like any assistance with finding the best flight connections for you!

"the trip was, simply said, excellent and super"

Dear Ingrid,
the trip was, simply said, excellent and super including logistics, staff, food, geology, etc. Enclosed you'll find a short excursion debriefing :-). The staff was excellent and I've never met better one. Enku is really great and sensitive person, willing to do whatever for others, and loving geology. He showed us everything he could or we wanted. Demis (our driver) is an even-tempered man all time smiling and was my personal guide on fragile lava. Meski (our cook) is so good in cooking. First day I was a little bit startled of eating unknown meals but next days I was eating so much (big portions of very tasty meals) that my weight increased by 1.5 kg.

Thank you very much for the beautiful trip and I'm looking forward to the next volcano expedition.
Many greetings from freezing Prague.

- Richard (from the Czech Republic) about his participation on our first Erta Ale volcano special in from 14 to 21 January 2017. Fellow traveler Paul shared his photographs of this unique high activity at Erta Ale.

"Hallo Tom!
Ich möchte Dir an dieser Stelle noch einmal ganz herzlich danken für die sehr gut organisierte Expedition zum Erta Ale und Dallol. Ich habe selten zuvor in zwei Wochen so viele positive und eindrückliche Momente erlebt wie auf dieser Reise. Neben dem Besuch der Vulkane wird mir die Danakil-Wüste mit all ihren facettenreichen Landschaften, die Freundlichkeit der Aethiopier, der sehr gute Teamgeist unserer Gruppe und natürlich die Kamelkarawane zum Salzsee in bester Erinnerung bleiben.
Auch erwähnenswert ist natürlich der Besuch der Felsenkirchen, welche eingebettet in einer fantastischen Landschaft liegen. Ich bin sehr dankbar für all diese eindrücklichen Momente! Sollte ich zukünftig wieder einmal auf Vulkanexpedition gehen, werde ich ohne zu zögern "VolcanoDiscovery" deswegen kontaktieren. Zudem erlaube ich mir, Dich in meinem Bekanntenkreis weiter zu empfehlen.
Herzlichst, André B.
Schweiz" (Expedition to the Danakil)