Ethiopia & East Africa · office in Gondar · Open daily · 8:00 - 18:00 (East Africa Time)
Experiences
The astonishing Danakil Depression — Erta Ale's restless lava lake, the rainbow pools of Dallol and the vast white salt flats — one of the most alien landscapes on Earth.
Deep in the Afar region, 125 metres below sea level, the Danakil Depression is routinely called the hottest inhabited place on Earth — and the most surreal. Salt pans run to a white horizon, mineral pools explode in acid colour, and at Erta Ale one of the world's few persistent lava lakes glows beneath a black crater rim.
Expeditions travel by 4x4 with an Afar guide and scout team, sleeping on the volcano rim and at simple desert camps between the great sights.
It is raw, dust-hazed and unforgettable — a genuine expedition experience for travellers who want Ethiopia far beyond the classic circuit.
The highlands are a year-round destination — each season changes the light, the trails and the wildlife. Tap a season to see what to expect.
Best for: trekking, history, the Danakil & coast
Clear skies across the highlands and northern circuit, a cooler Danakil, and a good window for East African summits and beaches.
Expect settled, sunny weather across most of Ethiopia — crisp mountain mornings in the Simien and Bale highlands, dependable roads on the historical circuit, and drier conditions in the Omo Valley. The Danakil is at its least punishing in these months. In East Africa this window suits Kilimanjaro climbs and Zanzibar's beach season.
Months shown are general guidance — routes adapt to the season.
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.
Highlands and holy rock churches
The classic combination: trek the Simien escarpment, then Lalibela's rock-hewn churches — history and highlands in one unforgettable journey.
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.
One of the hottest, lowest and most surreal places on Earth — lava lakes, acid pools of screaming colour and vast white salt flats.
The dramatic sandstone mesas of Tigray, sheltering some of the world's most extraordinary rock-hewn churches in remote, climbable cliff faces.
Planning depth straight from the trails — written by the local guides who run this experience every season.
Salt flats below sea level, a bubbling lava lake, and technicolour sulphur springs — the Danakil is like no place else on Earth.
Words from travellers who shaped a journey around Danakil & Desert Expeditions.
“Seamless from start to finish. The mix of highland trekking and the rock churches of Lalibela in one trip was exactly what we hoped for.”
“Seamless from start to finish. The mix of highland trekking and the rock churches of Lalibela in one trip was exactly what we hoped for.”
“Seamless from start to finish. The mix of highland trekking and the rock churches of Lalibela in one trip was exactly what we hoped for.”
1 story from travellers
Danakil & Desert Expeditions can be a standalone add-on or the centerpiece of a custom tour. Tell us your time and interests and we'll weave it in.
Tell us when you'd like to travel and what you're dreaming of. We'll help you build the right itinerary, answer your questions, and organise every detail.
