Danakil - Pinnacle of Adventures
Danakil - Pinnacle of Adventure - 10 Days Trip Package
Danakil Depression - Pinnacle of Adventures
10 Days
Arrival at Bole International Airport. Greeted by Sunlust guide and driver, transfer to hotel for check-in. City tour of Addis Ababa including the panoramic view point Entoto Mountain,merkato, said to be Africa’s largest market of its kind, and the National Museum (home of Lucy, hominid skeleton dating back 3.2 million years) and the ethnographic museums. In the evening, traditional Ethiopian dinner with cultural music and dance-show. Overnight at a hotel in Addis Ababa.
Day 2
Morning drive 230 km South of Addis Ababa in the rift valley pass the Town Debre Zeith crater Lake and Nazareth town to visit Awash Park with its volcano landscapes and savannah grassland habitat for a variety of bird species. Arrive and check in Late afternoon we explore the Awash National park which is home to mammals such as Oryx, Lesser Kudu, Hammadryas Baboon and Olive Baboon, Vervet Monkey, Salt?fs Dick-dick and more. Overnight at Hotel in in Awash town or lodge in Awash national park.
Day 3, Day 4
Drive to Afdera. Morning after breakfast, we start driving after passing the town and cross the Awash River bridge outside the town we get to the junction where the road forks, straight ahead for Dire Dawa and Harar, and left for Djibouti and the Red Sea. This day we wonder about the Rift valley scenery and Afar people and their village. Have lunch at Samara, process our entrance permission and also from here we will have two Police men and one road guide accompany us for the Afar depression to continue to Afdera. Overnight camping at the side of Lake Afdera or hotel.
Day 5
Drive to kusrewad here where we arrange the camel to ascend our logistics and for those who wish to ride, Local militia and rock guide apart from those who already with us. Late afternoon start walking to Ertale. Around 5 pm 3 hours trek climb to Erta Ale volcano and overnight on the top of the mountain. Erta Ale is 613 metres tall, with a lava lake, one of only five in the world, at the summit. It is notable for being the longest existing lava lake, present since the early years of the twentieth century. Overnight on the Summit.
Day 6
Drive to Hammed Ela. Around 9 AM we will be at the foot base of the volcanic mountain where our cook and cars camp have our breakfast and drive to Hammed Ela via Kusrewad. This day's drive will be the most challenging drive of all, which may happen to be stuck in the Sand and inhospitable weather, we should keep rehydrating to manage the driving. Arrive Hammed Ela overnight camping at Hammed Ela.
Day 7
Dallol Salphur spring, Lake Assale Salt Bar and camel caravans. Excursion to Dallol (116 meter below sea level, one of the lowest places in the world) , colourful salts mining, visit Lake Assale, follow up camel? fs caravans and walk with the Afar and people from highland. The traditional way of extracting Salt bar, which once used as local currency, packing on the Camel. You?fll see how they prepare their traditional bread, how they travel, communicate & more. It is another unique experience. Back to Hamed Ela. Camping.
Day 8
Hammed Ela - Mekele. Drive to Mekele via the town of Berhale in the River bed Ascend all the way to the Tigrian highland with the camel caravans and stop for a photo over the depression. Overnight in Mekelle.
Day 9
Drive to Kombolcha through beautiful mountain scenery via Alamata-Kobbo on the way to visit the Agaw and Amhara people at their village. Stop at Hayk to Island Monastery and then proceed to Kombolcha overnight.
Day 10
Returning to Addis through Kemise and Senbete the local towns where Amhara, Oromo and Afar people get together on market days. We will also explore the underground tunnels of the Debresina Mountains and stop at Tarmaber view point to locate the endemic Ankober Serin, Brown-rumped Seedeater, Stripe-breasted Seedeater and Yellow-crowned Canary and the Endemic Gelada Baboon. In the evening farewell party with cultural dinner and traditional special buffet and local drinks to experience Ethiopia’s cultural meals and drinks. After farewell party transfer to Bole international airport for international departure.
End of Tour.
Danakil - Pinnacle of Adventures - 6 Days Afar
Danakil Depression - Pinnacle of Adventures
6 Days
Take the flight from Addis Ababa to Mekelle. Overnight in Mekelle.
Day 2
Drive to Hamedela via Berhale. The Danakil Depression can be said to 'begin' here. It is one of the most inhospitable regions of the world, but is nonetheless spectacular, full of eye-catching colours, as in the sulphur springs. The desert has several points lying more than 100 metres (328 ft) below sea level; You pass through a small town of Berhale where the camel caravan stop before they proceed to the northern highlands. En route you see many long camel caravans coming to the salt mine and others going out of the Danakil with their salt loaded camels.(3-4 hrs drive) Camp Hamedela.
Day 3
Hamd Ela - Dodom. Early drive to Dodom (at the base of Erta Ale). Leave after an early breakfast, possible at 06:30. This may be one of the worst roads in the world. The 80 km distance may take about 6 hrs passing through a changing landscape of solidified lava, rock, sand and occasional palm lined oasis. After you pass several small hamlets scattered here and there in this desert land, Dodom is about 17 km from Erta Ale and it takes about 3 hrs trekking.
Early dinner around 17:00 and trek up to Ertale at 20:00 hours. Camels transport all the camping materials and some food (sleeping materials like light mattresses and mat and water) to the rim of the volcano, where we spend the night watching the dramatic action of the boiling lava.
Erta Ale ranks one of the most alluring and physically challenging natural attractions anywhere in Ethiopia. It is a shield volcano with a base diameter of 30 km and 1 km square caldera at its summit. Erta Ale contains the world’s only permanent lava lake.
Overnight camping on the top of the mountain. Erta Ale is 613 metres, with a lava lake, one of only five in the world, at the summit. It is notable for being the longest existing lava lake, present since the early years of the twentieth century.
Day 4
Dodom - Hamd Ela. Drive from Erta Ale around 9 am Dodom - Hamd Ela. Leave back to Dodom after an early breakfast, if possible at 07:00. You will reach the latest at 10:30 am at the camp, time to relax. After driving to reach Hamad Ela, a better village with a total population of about 500 people. Overnight camping at Hamed Ela.
Day 5
Morning tour Drive to Ragad (Asebo), the place where the localities are mining salt. Look at the activity of breaking the salt from the ground, cutting into rectangular pieces and loading on camels. You drive ahead to Dallol and visit the different landscape formed by volcanic activity, Dallol + Lake Assal + camel caravans. Excursion to Dallol (116 metre below sea level, one of the lowest places in the world) colourful salts mining, visit Lake Assal, follow u camel caravans and walk with the Afar people. Drive back to Hamedela and proceed to Mekele. Overnight Hotel.
Day 6
Fly back to Addis Ababa, optional city tour City tour and sightseeing tour of Addis Ababa that includes the National Museum, Entoto, Trinity Cathedral and Merkato.
You will visit the National Museum.
The National Museum of Ethiopia: This is one of the best museums in quality and diversity of the exhibits. Archeological exhibits include the 3.5 million-year-old fossil of Lucy (or Dinknesh – ‘thou art wonderful’- in the native language), a hominoid woman of the species of Australopithecus Afarensis. The discovery of Lucy’s fossil in 1974 forced a complete rethink of human genealogy, providing that our ancestors were walking 2.5 million years earlier than had been supposed. The National Museum also contains many wonderful artefacts dating back to pre-Axumite civilization.
Drive to Entoto to visit Entoto Mariam church and the commanding panoramic view point mount Entoto which offers the stupendous view of the city, afterwards visit Trinity Cathedral known for its interior paintings and handcraft centre that offers the rich legacy of handcrafts tradition that serve as a perfect souvenir. Visit includes Merkato, the largest open-air market in the continent.
END OF TOUR.