Danakil Depression Tour: Explore Ethiopia's Extreme Landscapes

7 Ratings

Addis Ababa

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The Danakil Depression is one of the hottest, lowest, and driest places on the planet. In the northernmost pocket of Ethiopia, it is home to salt lakes, lava lakes, volcanoes and neon acid springs. The remoteness of the Danakil combined with its extreme climate and striking visuals make it among the most remarkable destinations on the planet.

Duration: 8 days

Cancellation: 24 hours

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Highlights

Day 1: Addis Ababa-Semera Drive to Dallol

Dallol - You will board the ET 110 flight from Bole Airport at 7am to Semera. Upon arriving at Semera airport at 8:30am, you will be picked up and driven to Hamed Ela (Dallol) via Afdera Lake (Salt Lake). We will pause at Afdera Lake for a 40-minute lunch break before continuing to Hamed Ela village. We will reach Dallol at 3:30pm and take a one-hour break at the campsite. Then, we can either drive to Lake Assale for the sunset or visit Dallol to see the vibrant sulfur and salt canyons. After the visit, we will return to Hamed Ela at 7:30pm for an overnight stay.

Hamed Ela-Erta Ale

Erta Ale - You will wake up at 4:30am to see Dallol for the second time. After a 30-minute drive, we will have breakfast at 9am near the salt canyon. We will spend some time there until 11:30am, and then drive to Erta Ale, an active volcano. The drive will take approximately 3 hours, and we will reach the Erta Ale campsite at 2:30pm. We will take a one-hour break to capture a good picture of the sunset at the volcano. At 4:15pm, we will walk for an hour to reach the rim. You can choose to stay there and enjoy the sunset for as long as you want. We will return to the campsite around 9pm, where a fresh dinner will be waiting for you.

Erta Ale - Semera - Addis Ababa

Danakil Depression - You will wake up at 4:30am to witness the sunrise at the volcano. The view is strikingly different from the sunset. You will spend time there until 9am, then make your way back to the campsite. After breakfast at 10:30am, you will drive to Semera via Afdera Lake to catch your ET165 flight to Addis. The drive from Erta Ale to Semera airport takes approximately 5 hours, so we will arrive at 4:30pm to catch the 5:40pm flight to Addis. We will reach Addis Ababa around 6:40pm and stay overnight.

Fly Addis – Lalibela (The Eighth Wonder of the World)

Lalibela - You will be transferred to the airport for your flight to Lalibela. Upon arrival, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Known as the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World,’ Lalibela is famous for its underground rock-hewn cathedrals. In the afternoon, you will visit the top attractions of Lalibela that will simply stagger you. These churches include Bete Medhane Alem, Bete Mariam, Bete Meskal, Bete Denaghel, Bete Golgotha, Bete Mikael, and Bete Giorgis.

Fly Lalibela – Addis - Jinka

Lalibela - Addis - Jinka - Hammer - In the afternoon, fly out to Jinka, meet your guide and driver, and then drive directly to Turmi. Turmi is located in the southeastern part of Omo and is home to the Hammer people. The Hammers are a fine-looking people, with both men and women taking great pride in their appearance, shaving and coloring their hair, oiling their bodies, and decorating themselves with beads and bracelets worn around their arms and legs. You will drive to one of the local Hammer villages and spend the rest of the day visiting the Hammer people. Overnight, you will camp at the village with the Hammer people.

Addis - Jinka - Hammer

Turmi - Fly to Jinka in the afternoon. Meet your guide and driver, then head straight to Turmi in the southeastern part of Omo, home to the Hammer people. The Hammers are known for their striking appearance, with both men and women taking pride in their grooming and adornments. Visit a local Hammer village and spend the day immersing yourself in their culture. Stay overnight at Buska Lodge.

Turmi - Kara - Jinka

Jinka - Early in the morning, we will drive to Kara village. The Kara tribe is among the smallest tribes in the area, numbering only 3,000 people. They settled on the west bank of the Omo River and are believed to be masters of body painting, which they use for beautifying purposes. Today, you will meet these authentic people at one of their second biggest villages called Dus (one of the furthest villages, which is not often visited by tourists) and the most important place for the entire Kara people. You will spend some time with the Kara people. Afterward, you will drive back to Jinka. But before reaching Jinka, you will attend one of the biggest and most colorful weekly tribal markets at the village called Alduba, where more than three different tribal groups gather for various reasons.

Jinka - Mursi - Addis

Jinka - Early in the morning, you will drive to Mursi (70km) to visit the Mursi tribe who have settled inside the Mago National Park. They are renowned for the unique custom followed by their women, who, upon reaching maturity, have their lower lips slit and circular clay discs inserted. You will arrive at the village in the late morning, spend some time visiting the Mursi village, and share experiences with the local Mursi people. Afterward, you will drive back to Jinka, where you will catch the flight back to Addis. End of Tour.

What's Included

Scout and Police
Government tax
Vegan options
Camping gear
Lunch
Dinner
In-vehicle air conditioning
Breakfast
4 liters bottled water a day
All fees and taxes
Vegetarian options
Gluten-free options

Location

Edna Mall

Cameroon Street

Edna mall is the opposite side of best western plus hotel it is in front of medhanialem church , bole cameron street and 1km from bole international airport

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

5.0

(7 Ratings)

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1 star

Mary

Aug 25, 2024

The Danakil tour was excellent and the staff very attentive and caring for our needs. I love Ethiopia. 🇪🇹🇪🇹🇪🇹 the way - The Danakil tour was excellent and the staff was very attentive and caring to our needs. All the sites were memorable. I would love to return to Ethiopia 🇪🇹.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

655adriec

Aug 15, 2024

You can trust Danakil Depression Tourd - My wife and I joined this tour of North (many churches and varied landscapes) and South (lush fields, nature, birds, and tribes). The organisation from Danakil Depression was spot-on. We took flights between locations in the North and were met by different local guides. In the South, we had a driver and guide for the whole week. It's very different to many other tours that we've taken, as it was a private tour for two. The roads in the South are such that 4x4 jeeps are required, and it is sort of tricky to run group tours in these regions. All the guides are knowledgeable and always on time and know interesting places to go. You often have a second guide, when you get to a particular location, to help spread the tourist earnings and to allow specialist knowledge (such as local language, which are many in Ethiopia). We covered a lot of ground in the two weeks, and you'll be changing hotel every night to fit in North and South in two weeks. We went off season, which suits some, as it is quiet, and you get the whole of a huge lake to yourself or a whole church to yourself with a crowd of locals. Special moments. If you're going for the first time the highlights are Lalibela and the tribes of the South, though there are many others. The local dish is delicious (teff with sauces), though western dishes are always available too and taste great. St.George's beer is tasty :-). Vegetarian food is always available. You get the occasional brown out in the hotels, but it is not a big problem. No mosquitos in the north (too high and dry). In the South, the hotels have mosquito nets and you need to be wary of the many insects (we got bitten). It's a very diverse country and you'll enjoy your trip. Danakil Depression Tours are a safe bet.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

W5615ftpatriciar

Aug 4, 2024

Very well operated 8 days Danakil,Lalibela & Omo Valley - My family (wife, adult daughter and I) were keen to go to Ethiopia and were clear as to what we wanted to do and see. However, we were apprehensive about trying to do it on our own. I searched the internet and narrowed down our potential choice for a local travel agent to three agencies. I wrote to all three explaining what we wanted to do and asking for their proposal. One responded promptly with a boiler plate offer of the standard tours they ran. That was not helpful because I could see those already on their website. I wrote back repeating our specific requitrements but received another offer for their standar tours. The second did not even bothefr with a response. Mickey took a couple of days to respond but they addressed our specific interests and suggested some alternatives. We concluded, after soime email exchanges on exactly what we wanted to do. Throughout the 8 days we spent in Ethiopia, Danakil Depression Tours representatives at all locations were prompt, punctual and very helpful. The vehicles we were provided were all owned by danakil depression and their drivers were all of a good standard. The tour guides were free lancers but carefully picked so that they spoke reasonable English, anticipated our needs and were informative. Danakil had booked us into the best hotels in every location (except for Addis where we did not want to splurge on a big name hotel and preferred an Ethiopian owned five star hotel). The tour was run at a pace that was comfortable for us and any last minute changes in local plans were invariable accommodated cheerfully. Their recommendations to attend the Lalibela Christmas and the Addis Timkat celebrations, and the arrangements they made to enable those, proved to be the highlights of our trip. I would recommend Danakil Depression to any family or group that want a tailor-made trip.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Q4395ywalessandral

Jun 7, 2024

Honest and wonderful adventure - First of all Mickey was the best tour guide ever. He met us at the airport and waited inspite of the delay. He took us to our hotel and made sure the accommodations were as expected. After a conversation explaining what we would like to see, Mickey gave some suggestions and set up our itinerary and went above and beyond assisting us with airline and hotels in 3 different cities. All In all it was a wonderful experience and touring so many different places in Ethiopia was awesome. One of the most important things was that Mickey made us feel safe at all times because he communicated with us every step of the way and was so caring and attentive. I highly recommend Mickey for his honesty, expertise and caring attitude. We had a wonderful adventure.

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512leaf

Jun 3, 2024

Perfect 8 days tour - The 8 trip through northern Ethiopia was a relaxed and at the same time interesting experience thanks to the perfect organization by Danakil Depression Tours and especially the great help and support on site from the managing director Mickey. I can only advise anyone interested in Ethiopia (including individual travelers) to choose this tour operator. The guides as well as the drivers, hotels, vehicles, food, the entire support from checking into the hotels to shopping, sightseeing and local visits was perfectly planned from start to finish, friendly, punctual and extremely helpful.

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Check Availability

From $1,999

up to 15 guests

1 Adult