This was a 27-day epic whirlwind tour of Ethiopia. Needless to say, there is a LOT to unpack here.
After revisiting my itinerary, I decided the only way to do this fantastic country justice would be in a series of posts. Hopefully, presenting my daily experiences in this manner will make you feel like you were there with me.
Ethiopia is huge!
First things first, let’s be clear: Ethiopia is a large country. Unfortunately, our world maps are very misleading as they are not drawn to scale. We can thank European cartographer Geert de Kremer for that. de Kremer, better known as Mercator, and his 16th-century map projection continue to serve as the template for maps today.
The Mercator projection distorts the size of land masses, with the greatest exaggeration occurring near the poles. However, Canada, Russia, the United States, and Europe are also greatly enlarged. This selective enlargement underpins the ongoing Anglo-Eurocentric-American presumption that the world revolves around their geographical and cultural axes. For context, below is a diagram I culled from CNN that shows how many nations can comfortably fit into the continent of Africa.
Over the course of 27 days, we covered a lot of ground. Fourteen cities, more than twelve towns, and eight domestic flights! In some regions, flying between cities was deemed safer than being on the road for hours each day with a mountain of luggage strapped to the top of our Land Cruiser.
On the flip side, the days we didn’t fly, we had overland transfers. We spent anywhere from 5 to 7 hours on the road between destinations. However, those 5-7 hours could have easily been cut in half had the roads been smoothly paved, but that’s a whole other topic.
Cities / Towns: Addis, Semera, Ahmed Ela, Axum, Bahirdar, Gondar, Debre Birhan, Mekelle, Adigrat, Lalibela, Dire Dawa, Harar, Awash, Arba Minch, Bale, Hawassa, and Wukro.
Day 1: November 11th – Addis Ababa
My great adventure started in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Addis is the largest city in the country and the eleventh-largest city on the continent. Home to approximately 2.7 million people, Addis serves as the country’s cultural, artistic, financial, and administrative center.
Addis Ababa History
Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia is credited with founding Addis Ababa in 1887. His wife, Empress Taytu Betul, played a key role in the city’s development by suggesting its location near hot springs at the foot of a tableland. She was also responsible for naming the new city.
Addis Ababa means “new flower” in Amharic. The name was inspired by the region’s natural beauty and the profusion of vibrant yellow flowers found there.
The city began as a resort town. Its abundance of large mineral springs attracted the nobility who permanently settled there. Members of the working classes – artisans, merchants, and foreign visitors were also attracted to the region. Menelik II built his imperial palace there in 1887, and Addis Ababa officially became the empire’s capital in 1889.
My day started with a visit to the Ethnographic Museum. Established in 1950 on the main campus of Addis Ababa University, the Museum houses anthropological, musicological, and cultural objects. Emperor Haile Selassie’s personal effects were of particular interest to me.
After learning a bit about Ethiopia’s history, we visited the Entoto Hills viewpoint. According to historical records, Entoto is believed to have been the capital of Ethiopia under Emperor Dawit during the 15th century. Mount Entoto also served as a temporary capital under Menelik II prior to the founding of Addis Ababa. The area is considered sacred and houses numerous monasteries and celebrated churches.
Day 2: November 12th – Erte Ale Volcano
An early morning flight to Semera, followed by a four-hour drive, brought us to the gateway of an extraordinary region. The Afar Region (or “Triangle”) straddles Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. This barren territory houses the Danakil Depression, one of the hottest places on Earth.
The Danakil Depression
The Danakil Depression is a geological depression created by the divergence of three tectonic plates: the African, Arabian, and Somali in the Horn of Africa. Measuring roughly 124 by 31 miles (200 x 50 km), this region is known for its surreal landscapes, including hot springs, sulfur pools, salt flats, and parched earth.
The Horn of Africa is located on the easternmost part of the African mainland. It extends into the Gulf of Aden in the shape of a horn and includes 4 countries: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia.
This is also the hottest place on Earth based on average annual temperatures. The average temperature is 95º F (35º C) but can reach 122º F (50º C) in the summertime. Additionally, the Depression receives no more than 4-8 inches (100-200 millimeters) of rainfall each year. Unfortunately, all precipitation evaporates immediately due to the extreme heat. As if being called the hottest place on earth wasn’t noteworthy enough, it is also dubbed the cradle of humanity.
Why the Cradle of Humanity?
In 1974, paleoanthropologists Donald Johanson and Tom Gray found the Australopithecus afarensis fossil in Hadar, Ethiopia. The scientists discovered a forearm bone in the sand while they were mapping the area. A two-week excavation recovered 46 other bone remnants, representing 40% of a skeleton. The skeleton, commonly known as Lucy, was determined to be 3.2 million years old. This finding, plus subsequent additional hominin discoveries, prompted paleontologists to surmise that this area is where the first humans evolved. Hadar was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1980.
The skeleton was nicknamed “Lucy” after the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”.
Lake Afrera
Prior to arriving at our base for the evening, we had one stop, Lake Afrera to view the salt fields.
Lake Afrera is one of two hypersaline lakes in the Danakil Depression. The lake was formed after a period of high seismic activity created a natural depression. As the earthquakes and eruptions subsided, the indentation slowly filled with water, creating the lake.
The lake has a surface area of approximately 100 km2 (39 sq mi), a depth of 160 m (525 ft), and sits over 100m below sea level. It also contains the world’s lowest-lying island, known as Deset. Lake Afrera is fed by a system of hot springs and streams. This system allows the lake to remain liquid despite its hypersalinity and the relentless heat of the Danakil.
This is a principal salt extraction point for the Afar people, with makeshift rectangular basins constructed on the shores of the lake. Rock salt has been mined here and in the surrounding Afar region for centuries. It is estimated that the lake has a production capacity of 290 million tons. The production method is quite simple. Water is captured in the basins, where it quickly evaporates, leaving behind what I call “white gold” – the ever-valuable salt crystals.
The waters of Lake Afrera are also suitable for swimming with its hypersalinity leaving you floating weightlessly. In sharp contrast to the saltwater of Afrera, freshwater hot springs bubble up nearby creating natural jacuzzis. Unfortunately, there were no salt workers around when we visited but it was good to see the basins up close. We piled back into the Cruisers and sped to our next and final stop for the day…Erte Ale.
The Volcano – Erte Ale
I was both excited and apprehensive about exploring this unforgiving landscape. Three other guests joined me on this tour, and we had one main guide, a chef, and two drivers. Our guide, Philemon, was eager to show us his country with all its hidden treasures. First on our itinerary was a short trek up the side of a volcano, followed by a sunset stroll on a lava field.
Erte Ale is an active basaltic shield volcano that sits below sea level in the Afar Triangle. In the local language, Erte Ale means “smoking mountain”, and its southernmost pit is known as the “gateway to hell”. I discovered later that this was, indeed, a fitting name.
Erte Ale is the most active volcano in Ethiopia and contains the oldest lava lake, which dates back to 1906.
First Impressions of the terrain
As soon as we arrived at the base camp, I was struck by the stark beauty of the place. There were no facilities and no running water, just sand, stones, and makeshift structures made from stones, wood, and cardboard. We later learned that these “huts” would serve as a kitchen and dining hall. We quickly settled in and prepared for the trek to view the sunset from the lava field atop Erte Ale.
It took us approximately 20 minutes to navigate the rocky, subtle slope. As soon as we reached the rim, we found a series of makeshift structures like the ones at the base. These used to be used for overnight stays but had largely been abandoned for the base camps. Just beyond these huts, we encountered an otherworldly sight.
The Lava Field
A few meters below us sat an absolutely surreal landscape. It could easily have been the backdrop of a sci-fi movie. What used to be a lava lake was now a field of volcanic tubes and rock rimmed with spouts or hoodoos expelling gases, heat, and pressure from the earth’s core.
As the lava spewed from the spouts, it rolled forward, folding and curving like ribbons. As the expanse cooled, the patterns and swirls were preserved and were beyond beautiful. These spirals of cooled lava reminded me of my first encounter with volcanoes in the Galapagos islands.
As we carefully navigated the lava field, we began to hear the hissing and bubbling of the geothermal activity below the surface. We could feel the heat rising from cracks in the crust of dried lava. Several times, the ground crumbled under our weight as we stepped on newer, less solidified tubes. Trusting our guides explicitly to get us to the opposite end of the field and back, we slowly moved forward. Once, my foot crashed through a section of a tube, but, thankfully, I was able to pull it out unscathed.
After the sun set, the glow of the fire inside these vents was eerily beautiful. The reds and oranges of the spewing flames against the darkening skies appeared ominous yet strangely beautiful. The closer we got to the vents, the more the smell of sulfur assailed our noses and assaulted our lungs. After approximately an hour of exploring this hellish wonderland, we began our descent.
The Base Camp
At the base camp, our chef Sukho had prepared dinner – soup, vegetables, and pasta. The food was exceptional. I marveled at his ability to create such a meal inside a stone and wood hut. No electricity, no generators, and no running water; just burners, bottled water, and sheer ingenuity.
The rest of the crew had set up our “beds” for the evening. We would be sleeping under the stars in this desert diorama. Each of us had a pallet or thin mattress and a thin blanket. Turns out this was all we needed. Gazing at the moon overhead, I drifted off to some of the best sleep of my life.
Day 3: November 13th – Lake Asale
We had an early morning start as we wanted to be atop Erte Ale for sunrise. Awaking shortly before my 5:00 AM alarm, I was delighted to find the sky above filled with stars. I had never seen a shooting star before that morning, and there were so many that I didn’t even know where to look first. I found myself staring at the sky with childlike wonder, reciting one of my favorite bible verses to myself – Psalm 8:3-4.
Needless to say, the sunrise did not disappoint. The landscape that appeared ghoulish and menacing last evening seemed warm and serene this morning. We had totally different views of the same landscape, but they were equally beautiful. We descended Erte Ale to find that the Chef had made us breakfast of omelets, pancakes, fresh fruit, coffee, and tea. After inhaling the food, it was time to “pack up and pack in” for our 5-hour drive to Ahmed Ela.
Heatwave
En route to Ahmed Ela, you could feel the temperature rising. We drove along vast stretches of parched, cracked earth and could see waves of heat emanating from the ground. The sun was relentless in this area. When we stopped for a “bush break,” it was hard to find enough brush to use as cover. As we drove along a particularly barren stretch, I thought my eyes were deceiving me as I noticed something moving along the horizon. As we drew closer, I realized the “dust-colored” images were dromedaries.
The video above has not been enhanced, those are actual heatwaves detected by my camera as I shot this video through the open window of our Land Cruiser. When I checked the temperature at 3:26 PM, it read 104 degrees. The sun was relentless, but, thankfully, there was a constant breeze. After a short lunch break, we arrived at our next stop – Lake Asale.
Lake Asale has multiple names. It is also called Lake Karum and Lake Assal.
Lake Asale
Lake Asale looks more like an Arctic desert than a saline lake. Situated on the northwestern end of the Danakil, the lake bed is a jet-white salt crust extending as far as the eye can see. Asale is one of the lowest salt flats in the world at 155 meters (509 feet) below sea level. It is the lowest point on continental Africa and the third lowest on Earth, after the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea.
Like Lake Afrera, Asale is fed by subsurface geothermal springs with aquifers linked to seawater. Extreme heat in the region yields a high evaporation rate leaving behind massive salt deposits. These salt deposits remain concentrated because there is no outflow from the lake.
For the Science Geeks among us:
Seawater aquifers + extreme heat = high evaporation, which yields massive salt deposits.
Salt, Salt, More Salt
The average salt concentration in Lake Asale is 35-40% at a depth of 20 meters, making it ten times saltier than the ocean and the fifth most saline body of water in the world.
Salt is still mined in the area, as it has been for centuries, cultivated and cut by hand using traditional techniques. While no official data exists on how thick the crust is, it has been estimated at 800 meters deep at the densest point and extends for 30-40 kilometers.
The minerals formed irregular contours of both flakes and grains on the surface. Mountains of pure mineral formations jutted through the crust not far from the shore. A single swimming hole a few meters wide was the only proof we had that we were not actually walking on solid ground. The water beneath the crust was a brilliant blue. A blue that instantly reminded me of the waters of Antarctica.
The “mountains” are formed from iron, potassium and salt deposits. The largest deposit is called “Mother of the Salt”.
As we approached the lake bed, I was quite confused, I couldn’t figure out where the land ended and the lake began. A thin layer of water was on the salt crust at the water’s edge. As we drove further out on the lake, the salt crust became desiccated and crystallized. It took on the appearance of parched earth, except instead of being brown, it was the brightest white.
As if the lake wasn’t stunning enough during daylight, imagine sunset and the moon rising. After some “sundowners” of raisin wine, we headed off to our base camp.
Day 4: November 14th – Dallol
Dallol is a unique, terrestrial hydrothermal system surrounding a cinder cone volcano in the Danakil Depression in the northeastern region of Ethiopia. Dallol is a canvas of neon yellows, bright greens, and earthy reds distributed across hundreds of hot acidic springs and salt deposits. Its unearthly colors, mineral patterns, and the highly acidic fluids that bubble up from its hydrothermal springs make this one of the eeriest AND beautiful places on the planet.
The Kaleidoscopic Beauty of Hydrothermal Activity
As mentioned earlier, the hydrothermal activity below the surface is created by the convergence of three tectonic plates. Groundwater traveling from the Highlands is heated by the magma below Dallol and pushed through the crater. As the water travels, it dissolves salts and other minerals, which oxidize, creating colorful supersaturated hot springs. The intense heat of the Danakil then evaporates the water, leaving behind kaleidoscopic salt formations.
The term Dallol was coined by the Afar people and means “dissolution” or “disintegration”, as the landscape is everchanging.
Dallol is an extremely dynamic landscape. New springs and salt formations arise and disappear continuously in a matter of days. This is evident from the colors displayed, which reflect the age of pools and deposits. The newest springs morph from white to lime, chartreuse, yellow, gold, orange, red, rust, purple, and then ochre.
Grand Prismatic Springs versus Dallol
In contrast to other hydrothermal systems known for their colorful pools, such as the Grand Prismatic Springs of Yellowstone National Park, Dallol’s colors are far from the same. The color palette here is produced by inorganic geological processes rather than biological ones. The bright yellow hues are the result of chemical reactions between salt and sulfur.
Another fascinating feature of Dallol is the vast array of unusual mineral patterns such as green acid ponds, salt pillars, miniature geysers, sulfur, and salt desert plains. The main minerals encountered at Dallol are halite, jarosite, hematite, gypsum, anhydrite, sylvite, and carnallite.
Thanks to its positioning above a hydrothermal system, Dallol also wins the prize for the hottest place on the planet. The average year-round temperature sits around 94 degrees daily.
An Early Start
The Danakil Depression was one of the locations I was looking forward to the most on this 27-day itinerary. To stand in the hottest place on earth, witnessing the unparalleled beauty of geothermal pools and geysers, was the stuff dreams are made of.
Temperatures here rise very quickly and can be very dangerous. In this region, even locals avoid being outside during midday. It is imperative that visitors arrive before the sun has a chance to rise, as it is relentless. To that end, we rose at 4:00 AM and departed camp a half hour later. Our drivers navigated the pitch black roads slowly and adeptly. We arrived just as the sun rose and began to ascend the cinder cone leading to the pools.
A cinder cone is a small, steep-sided volcano featuring a bowl-shaped crater at the top. Cinder cones are also known as scoria cones or pyroclastic cones.
The Terrain
While Dallol is a cinder cone volcano, its appearance is dominated by hydrothermal deposits rather than typical volcanic materials like lava or ash. As we ascended, we noticed the landscape beginning to change. Sand quickly changed to gravel, and gravel morphed into mineral deposits in shale-like shards and chips. As we neared the top, we began to encounter salt pillars and mineral formations that looked as if they belonged on another planet.
The Colors
Not only did the texture of the terrain change, but the colors also became more vibrant. The beiges and grays warmed into burnt reds and earthy browns, followed by chartreuse and sea greens. However, nothing could have prepared us for the immense beauty we would encounter when we reached the top.
We explored the pools accompanied by an armed ranger for approximately an hour. By 7:30 AM, the temperature had already topped 86 degrees. The air was becoming heavy with the heat, so we knew our time here was limited. This place was so magical that it was hard to leave but it was time to visit our next stop, Salt Canyon.
Salt Canyon
In the heart of the Danakil, less than one mile from Dallol, is another geological jewel, Salt Canyon.
Sitting along the border of Ethiopia and Eritrea is a canyon is characterized by bizarre towers and pinnacles of, you guessed it, SALT. At first glance, it reminded me of the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon in Utah.
Salt Canyon striations in full view.
The landscape
Wind and seasonal flooding have shaped this eerie yet brittle landscape. During the northern summer, the whole area floods with water from the Ethiopian plateau. The water dissolves the salt in the soil, setting the stage for the ever-changing landscape. During the dry season, the waters evaporate again, leaving behind curious striated geometric hoodoos.
When you look closely at the formations, the layers of potassium sulfate and magnesium are clearly delineated, along with the red clay deposited during the flooding. After enjoying a hearty breakfast at this location, we were off to our next stop, where we would begin our journey into Ethiopia’s culture.
Up Next: Tigray
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