Semera: Top Danakil Depression Tour with Sunrise & Sunset

Discover the Danakil Depression on a 3-day tour from Semera. Explore the Dallol Valley, the Ertale Active Volcano, and the salt flats and lakes of the region. Learn about the local Afar people and their culture.

Day 1: Semera to Hamedela
Start your tour with a morning flight to Semera, the Afar regional capital. Be picked up from the airport and head directly to Hamedela town of Dallol. Visit the sunset at Lake Assale late in the afternoon. Spend the night camping under the stars.

Day 2: Dallol to Ertale Active Volcano
Start the day early and drive to the lunar landscape of Dallol geothermal site. See the chemical reaction happening right in front of you. After this, drive to the salt and mud-formed mountain cave right underneath Dallol crater. Have a picnic breakfast in this cave.

Drive to the vast salt plains and swim in the cold saltwater pool of Lake Karum. Visit the salt miners before heading to Ertale active volcano. Reach the camping ground at the top of the caldera. Walk 30 minutes until the summit crater lake currently at its active cycle. Enjoy the wonder happening right in front of you and walk back to the camping ground.

Day 3: Afdera Salt Lake Town to Semera
Wake up with the sun and after breakfast, drive to Afdera salt lake town. The major hub for salt production and distribution lying at -102m below sea level and the highest temperature feeling in the Danakil depression. Have lunch in town, a glimpse of the salt lake, a walk along the salt farms and after this drive back to Semera. In the afternoon, drive back to Semera and take a late afternoon flight back to Addis.