Danakil Depression Tour: Explore Dallol and Erta Ale

Embark on a 3-day adventure through the Danakil Depression. Explore Dallol, hike Erta Ale, and experience Afar culture. Unforgettable journey awaits!

Duration: 3 days
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights

Semera - Erta Ale

Semera - At 8:00 AM, the guide and driver will meet you at Semera Airport and take you for a brief coffee and juice break in town. Semera is the capital of the Afar Regional State. After the break, you will enjoy a pleasant drive to Afdera.
Afdera - Afdera is a key center for salt production and distribution, located at an…

What's Included
  • All necessary permits and entrance fees
  • Experienced local guides
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
  • Excellent camping gears, mattress and, bedsheets
  • Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
What's Not Included
  • Domestic Flights
Additional Information

The 3-day tour of the Danakil Depression stands out as it provides an extraordinary journey through one of the planet’s most extreme landscapes. Participants will have the opportunity to discover the colorful Dallol hydrothermal fields, trek up the active Erta Ale volcano, and marvel at the captivating salt flats of Lake Asale. All of this is accompanied by knowledgeable and engaging tour guides.

Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.9
(17 Ratings)
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Mariasolp817
Oct 26, 2025
Amazing place and wonderful experience - My trip to Danakil Depression was fantastic. I visited the Danakil Depression depression, witness the falling rock into the crater, visited Salt Flats and the colorful salt formations of Dallol. The tour I booked was amazing. I'm a solo traveler, but I really enjoyed it, as you meet many solo travelers at the airport. We have a guide who helps us set up our tents and pack our gear. We also have a chef cook who prepares delicious meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Our guide is very friendly and makes sure we see beautiful places and that we have water and a mask with us. I arrive at Semera Airport and ended at Mekele Airport. On the way to the Danakil Depression, we saw beautiful places and met local nomads afar people. We slept outdoors in an open area under the dazzling sky. During the day, it's extremely hot, 42°C (108°F). But during the day, we only stay in the jeep most of the time, only getting out when we see beautiful spots to take quick photos. We also hike up the hills or to the volcano at sunset or before sunrise. In the evenings, the weather is so calm and not too warm that you can sleep well. Plus, there are no flies or mosquitoes, since there's no freshwater in the area, at the end of my trip Ayzak the owner of the tour company took me to the Local restaurant for dinner, thanks for the wonderful experience Ayzak
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bruno
Jun 4, 2025
Unique experience - Wonderful experience. Thanks to Isaac everything was perfect and the location is fantastic. Night camping on the volcano and night under the stars. The volcano with its active chimneys puffing smoke and letting the lava see inside. The night walk. Spectacle of nature
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Teamira
May 26, 2025
I say-You Leave as Someone Else - I love the colors, they are otherworldly. The salt flats, acid pools, and fiery lava seem like they belong to another planet. thanks to the tour provider, Great Ethiopian tours & travel, very professionals in deed and what i love most is the way they give attention to details, preparation, knowledge about the place and friendly vibe with the locals. i felt There are places that impress you, and then there are places that change you. Danakil meets u with both! I absolutely love it, and so do my friends! Definitely a place worth trying out.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jdomansky
Mar 12, 2025
Unforgettable experience - Forget your phone, forget a bed and move to prehistoric eras around craters of Erta Ale. Well organized, great guides, food and unforgettable experience. Thank you for that!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jrostek
Feb 12, 2025
Danakil tour - Highly recommend this tour, super guided, all perfect organised, great food, transport and unforgettable memories 👍🏻
Review provided by Tripadvisor
323wataruh
Dec 25, 2024
Highly recommended - Great tour. This tour contains every thing you have to see in Danakil. We were super lucky to see massive flow of lava and our tour guide was helpful enough to show those as close as possible, of course considering our safety as the highest priority.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Huberflock
Dec 22, 2024
Once in a lifetime experience! - We had had great time at the tour, Ert Ale, Dalol and all of Afar. You should definitely check it out. The tour organization and guides were awesome, we had aircon jeeps.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Clarkc993
Dec 20, 2024
Otherworldly scenery - An amazing experience! An absolutely must do tour during a trip to Ethiopia, I have not seen natural phenomena like this anywhere else in the world. The amount of lava flowing in the caldera was impressive, and our guide Aki was careful in ensuring our safety while at the same time finding a path that would let us get as close as possible to the lava for both the experience as well as photos. Camping under the stars by the volcano was a novel experience, allowing us to experience one of the most dramatic sunrises I have ever seen. The alien landscape and colorful pools at Dallol are also incredible, and have to be seen! The tour was very well organized, the drivers were safe, the food was delicious, and the guides were knowledgeable. I also appreciate Isaac's communication regarding the tour, as well as his kindness in meeting us the day before in Addis to both introduce himself and the local food and drinks (honey wine was certainly a new taste!) Not related to this specific tour, but Isaac was able to customize a one day extension to visit the mountain churches of Tigray (fun climbing and trekking for panoramic views)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Apartha
Dec 17, 2024
A GREAT TRIP TO DANAKIL DEPRESSION - Danakil Depression trip was a memorable experience for us. Great view of the volcano, Lake Asale is a unique natural salt lake and Dallol is a great experience. The trip was memorable due to impeccable arrangement made by Isaac of Great Ethiopian Tours. He always communicated well so the expectation was aligned during the planning stage. The guide Bahiran, driver Kibatu and the cook Seloman made a great team to support us. They were very eager to cater all needs. The guide is knowledgeable and remained engaged. Seloman cooks extremely tasty food. Kibatu picked us up from Semera airport and brought us to Lake Afdera, where we met our guide. He conducted himself like an independent guide during this trip. He is extremely good and careful driver. Given the limited infrastructure support available in Afar region, timely information from the guide is always helpful to manage expectation. We were always at the spot at right time, be at Erta Ale, Lake Asale or Dallol. We highly recommend Isaac and Great Ethiopian Tours for Danakil Depression Tour as he has a very dedicated and knowledgeable team on the ground.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Antonio_c
Oct 13, 2025
Unbelievably beautiful landscapes - This was my highlight in Ethiopia. The variety of natural landscapes in the Danakil depression and surroundings is just out of this world. Really must experience. The guides and drives were experience. Some language barrier but I was very well taken care of. Food was tasty and locally prepared. Sleeping is on the ground under the starts, as there is nothing else in the area. No showers to be expected, but I loved the dip and swim in the salt lakes. Cool experience. And the guides will offer fresh water afterwards. Currently it is not possible to see the lava at Erta Ale due to the collapse of a crater wall… maybe within some months or years… not a cheap tour, but overall, absolutely recommended !
Review provided by Viator
From $450
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).