Are you an adventurer at heart searching for unique and unusual landscapes for your next trip? Why wait any longer to discover the Danakil during a journey through Ethiopia? Despite extreme weather conditions, this desert holds breathtaking landscapes: volcanic peaks, salt lakes and multicolored geological formations… Discover all our tips for visiting the Danakil desert!

A few words about the Danakil desert…

Located in the Horn of Africa, in the northeast of Éthiopie and south of Eritrea, the Danakil desert is one of the hottest (temperatures can exceed 50°C) and most arid places on the planet. This is precisely why the Danakil desert is considered one of the most inhospitable places on Earth.

Despite extreme living conditions, you can find several animals there (such as Grevy's zebra, Soemmering's gazelle or African wild ass…) and you will encounter an extraordinary people who have managed to adapt to the climate for centuries. These are the Afars, nomadic herders who survive mainly through the exploitation and trade of salt.

While the Danakil desert may frighten many travellers, it is nonetheless a place full of mysteries scattered with incredible sites found nowhere else. The surreal landscapes you'll find there are primarily composed of geological formations. Due to the minerals, the colors vary between fluorescent yellow and green, blue, white and ochre. One thing is certain: the Danakil desert leaves no one indifferent and delights lovers of unusual landscapes.

What to see in the Danakil desert?

The salt lakes

The Danakil region has many salt lakes that can be visited. An opportunity to cross these landscapes of vast white expanses while also discovering the traditional methods of salt extraction, called "white gold" by the Afars, and learning more about their traditions. The various stages of exploitation range from cutting salt bricks to loading camels that then form long caravans heading to towns where salt is finally sold. Among the salt lakes to discover in the Danakil, don't miss Lake Karoum and Lake Assalé (also called Lake Afrera).

The Erta Alé volcano

Known locally as "the smoking mountain,