Itinerary

1. Day 1: Mekele to Dodom Via Abaala

   • Start early to drive to Dodom (at the base of Erta Ale), after an early breakfast at 06:30. This is possibly the worst road in the world. The 80 km distance may take about 6 hrs passing through, changing the landscape of solidified lava, rock, sand and occasional palm-lined oasis.

   • After passing several small hamlets scattered here and there in this desert land, Dodom is about 17km from Erta Ale, and it takes about 3 hrs trekking. 

   • Early dinner around 17:00 and trek up to Ertale at 20:00 hours. Camels transport all the camping materials and some food (sleeping materials like light mattresses and mat and water) to the rim of the volcano.

   • Spend the night watching the dramatic action of the boiling lava. Erta Ale ranks 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.

   Overnight at the rim of the volcano. Erta Ale is 613 meters, with a lava lake, one of only five in the world, at the summit. It is notable for being the longest existing lava lake, present since the early years of the twentieth century.

2. Day 2: Early Morning Sun Rise

   • Early morning sunrise at the northern one corresponds to the main pit crater, and walk 5 minutes for the southern and central pits could either corresponds to an ancient pit or a simple collapse structure. The main pit-crater, 200 m deep and 350 m across, is sub-circular and three-storied. The smaller southern pit is 65 m wide and about 100 m deep. 

   • Descend from Erta Ale around 9 am Dodom.

   • Leave back to Dodom after an early breakfast, if possible, at 07:00.

   • You will reach latest at 10:30 am at the camp, time to relax. 

   • After a drive to reach Eript, spend some time in the village with a total population of about 500 people.

   • Drive to Erbiti and proceed to Mekele.