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Tour code: ETH_EAS
Tour type: Volcano expedition: active volcanoes - photography - adventure
Difficulty: Moderate
Group size: 3-10
Duration: 8 - 11 days

Dates:

Custom and group dates

Price (p.p.): $ 3700  ? 

Included:

• Accommodation in double rooms / tents
• Full board from dinner on the first day until breakfast after last hotel night
• Drinking water, up to 8 liters per person per day
• Professional Ethiopian guide who is an English-speaking geologist
• Private transport in 4WD vehicles
• Experienced 4WD drivers and cook
• Full camping equipment
• Camels, camel drivers and porters to and from Erta Ale´s summit
• Armed Afar guards and guides on Erta Ale
• Tips for local staff (camel drivers, guards, local guides, ...)

Tour guide:

Enku is the main guide on all our Danakil volcano expeditions. After obtaining a Diploma in Travel Organising and completing his BSc in Geology at the University of Addis Ababa, he spend 10 years traveling through Ethiopia whilst working both as free-lance travel guide and a contracted mining geologist for different oil and gold mining companies. Since 2006 he specialised in geological travel guidance for the Danakil depression and hence has lots of experience and competence in organizing expeditions to Erta Ale and Dallol. He likes to share his vast knowledge on the geology of the Danakil but will also gladly answer any questions you might have regarding Ethiopia´s fauna and flora, culture, history, food or traditions!

As the participants arrive in Mekele they are picked from the airport and transfered to their hotel. The group gets together for the first time that evening for a welcome dinner and general briefing on the expedition.

After breakfast we leave Mekele and our 4X4 jeep expedition drives to Erta Ale base camp. The further we descend into the Danakil depression, the less comfortable the roads become. New asphalt gives way to well constructed dirt roads which end in the large main Afar village where we make a stop to arrange with the local chief the camels, guides and policemen we need for the Erta Ale expedition. From there to basecamp is off road across older pahoehoe lavas. After 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) we start our descend in the cooler hours of the early morning, before sunrise. As part of our camel caravan already left during the night, our breakfast awaits us at basecamp (ca. 140 m). After re-arranging our luggage back onto the jeeps we 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. 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 for the next two nights. 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)