Ethiopia & East Africa · office in Gondar · Open daily · 8:00 - 18:00 (East Africa Time)
Southern & Eastern Ethiopia
One of the hottest, lowest and most surreal places on Earth — lava lakes, acid pools of screaming colour and vast white salt flats.
The Danakil Depression in the Afar region drops to around 125 metres below sea level, a stark desert of salt plains, sulphurous springs and the restless Erta Ale volcano.
Its Danakil formations — the technicolour hot springs of Dallol, the immense salt flats, and the bubbling lava lake of Erta Ale — make it one of the most otherworldly landscapes on the planet.
Visiting is an expedition-style experience organised by specialist local operators who know the harsh conditions intimately.
A shield volcano holding one of the world's few permanent lava lakes.
Brilliant, mineral-stained hot springs at the lowest point of the region.
Vast white plains where Afar caravans cut and load salt.
A shallow, glinting body of water amid the salt desert.
Most travellers arrive through Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport, then fly or drive north. We arrange every flight, transfer and road leg as part of your itinerary.
Read the transport guideDomestic flights link the capital with Gondar, Lalibela, Axum and Bahir Dar across the northern circuit.
We arrange airport and hotel transfers as part of every itinerary.
The northern circuit can be driven between sites by private 4x4, which we arrange for you.
Stand beside the lava lake of Erta Ale, one of the few persistent lava lakes on Earth.
Walk the kaleidoscopic acid pools of Dallol in shades of yellow, green and orange.
See camel caravans loading salt from the endless white flats.
Trek the lowest point in Africa — a landscape like no other.
Lava, salt and churches in the sky
Two of Ethiopia's most remarkable landscapes in one expedition-style journey — the volcanic Danakil Depression and the cliff churches of the Gheralta mountains.
The complete Ethiopia
The definitive overland journey — northern castles and churches, the Simien trek, Danakil's volcanoes, Tigray's cliffs and Harar's alleys in one grand loop.
A night at Ethiopia's lava lake
The essential Danakil expedition in three days — Erta Ale's glowing lava lake, the rainbow pools of Dallol and the white salt flats.
Every wonder of the north in one journey
The complete northern odyssey — Simien trekking, Gondar, Tana, Axum, the Tigray cliff churches, Lalibela and the Danakil in one grand loop.
Photographing and absorbing some of Africa's most dramatic scenery — vast escarpments, deep valleys, deserts, great lakes and endless savanna horizons.
Learn more
Purpose-built itineraries for capturing Ethiopia at its best light — gold-hour starts, dramatic escarpment and savanna compositions, and a local team that knows the locations.
Learn moreTours operate under the official tourism framework with armed escort and local Afar guides, which is how the area is organised for visitors. It is an expedition-style trip and must be planned carefully.
Moderately fit. There is walking on uneven ground and overnight camping near the volcano, but much of the driving is by 4x4.
Most travellers combine this destination with another — the northern circuit, the Danakil, the Omo Valley or beyond. See which places fit your route.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site and the crown of the Ethiopian highlands — the 'Roof of Africa' — where sheer escarpments fall thousands of metres.
The 'Camelot of Africa' — an imperial city of castles, churches and a rich royal history in Ethiopia's northwest highlands.
Home to the extraordinary rock-hewn churches of Lalibela — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Africa's great pilgrimage destinations.
Send us an inquiry and we'll help you build the perfect itinerary — tours, timing and logistics included.
