Itinerary

1. Addis Ababa

   • On arrival, our representative will welcome you at Addis Ababa International Airport, from where you will be transferred to the hotel.

   • After a short break at your hotel, start your tour by exploring Addis Ababa with a visit to Holy Trinity Cathedral (one of the highly privileged Orthodox Churches in Ethiopia).

   • Visit the National Museum, which is home to the fossilized humanoid ‘Lucy’ dating back to 3.2 million years, as well as a collection of artefacts, royal items, and arts.

   • Have lunch at a local restaurant.

   • Move on to the Ethnographic Museum, the former palace of Emperor Haile Selassie.

   • Visit Mount Entoto, the highest point in the city (over 3,000 meters above sea level) and enjoy the spectacular view of Addis Ababa.

   • Visit the famous Entoto museum.

   • Conclude the city tour with a visit to Merkato, the largest open-air market in Africa.

   • Transfer back to the hotel.

2. Addis Ababa to Mekelle (Flight)

   • Early in the morning, fly to Mekelle, the capital city of Tigray Region. The city is pleasant to walk through. 

   • Visit the castle of Emperor Yohannes the 4th, the predecessor of Emporer Minilik the 2nd, a late 19th-century ruler of Ethiopia. 

   • Visit the recent TPLF martyrs monument and museum.

   • Mekelle city is the base to prepare for the great ‘Danakl Depression journey’. Get introduced to the ground transportation and Danakil guides and attend logistic detail briefing.

   • Stay overnight at the hotel.

3. Drive from Mekelle to Afdera (220 km)

   • The Danakil Depression can be said to ‘begin’ here. It is one of the most inhospitable regions of the world but is nonetheless spectacular. 

   • Drive to Afdera via small village of Eribt. Afdera is one of the cities in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the saline Lake Afdera, located in the southern part of the Afar Depression. Swim in the salt lake and enjoy the hot spring nearby.

   • Overnight, camping near Lake Afdera.

4. Drive from Afdera to Dodom (70 km)

   • Visit the salt miners (locals who pump and evaporate the salt water) near the lake and proceed to Dodom at the base of Erta Ale. Dodom is about 8.5 km from Erta Ale and it takes about 3 hours trekking to get there.

   • Have an early dinner at around 17:00 and start the trek up to Erta Ale at 20:00 hours. Camels transport the camping materials and food to the rim of the volcano, where we will spend the night watching the dramatic lava action. 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 1 km square caldera at its summit. Erta Ale contains the world’s only permanent lava lake. It has two craters; northern and southern. The northern crater is notable for being the longest existing sleepy lava lake. The southern one is the most active crater with lava lake summit.

   • Stay overnight on the top of Erta Ale mountain (613 meters high)

   •  Camping.

5. Erta Ale to Dodom Hamad Ela

   • Wake up early for the sunrise and visit the North Crater. 

   • Descend from Erta Ale around 7:00 am and you will reach Dodom by 9:30 am. 

   • Have breakfast and relax.

   • At 10:30 am, drive to Hamad Ela (100 km), stopping for picnic lunch on the way, in the shade of a palm tree. 

   • Reach Hamad Ela by 4:30 pm. It is a village with about 500 people.

   • Overnight camping at Hamad Ela.

6. Hamad Ela to Dalol to Mekelle

   • After breakfast, drive to Ragad (Acebo), where the locals mine salt. About 1200 sq. km of the Afar Depression is covered in salt. Try breaking salt from the ground with local people who cut them into rectangular pieces and load them on camels.

   • Drive ahead to Dallol and see the different landscape formed by volcanic activity.

   • Also visit Lake Assal, salt canon, camel caravans.

   • Drive back to Hamad Ela and proceed to Mekelle.

   • Stay overnight at the hotel in Mekelle.

7. Mekelle to Addis Ababa (Flight)

   • Early morning, transfer to Mekele Airport for the flight to Addis Ababa.

   • In the afternoon, you will have some time to freshen up and shop around before transferring to Bole International Airport for your onward journey.