Addis Ababa, October 27, 2023 (Addis Walta) The Danakil Desert, dubbed as one of the most alien places on earth, is a geological enthrallment formed by the divergent of three tectonic plates of continents in the horn of Africa. The phenomenon land feature is jointly owned by Eretria and Djibouti, although the predominant part of the Afar Triangle resides in Ethiopia. The unceasingly drifting apart process, which enforced the constant engulfing of a low-lying land by the Red Sea, eventually gave birth to the present-day spellbinding Danakil Desert which is part of the Great Rift Valley of East Africa.
The Danakil Depression is situated in the north-eastern part of the country, within the Afar region. Its daily maximum temperature rises up to 50° C which is extremely unbearable for newcomers. Its northern extremes which reaches -116 meter below sea level makes it one of the lowest places on planet Earth.
Danakil Desert is tectonically active and mysteriously enchanting, dubbed by many as an otherworldly place. The enchanting Danakil is home to plenty of dormant and active volcanoes, thrilling semi-permanent and oldest lava lake, expansive salt flats, snowy saline lake, colorful sulfur springs, various hot springs, and many more.
This harsh environment is inhabited by the resilient and proud pastoralist people of Afar. The Afar region is a traditional seat of Sultans and its people are traditionally nomadic, and merchants and exotically beautified with their own unique language and culture.
Erta Ale literally means “Smoking Mountain” in the Afar language and is also referred to as “the Gateway to Hell” is an active shield volcano with a large oval-shaped summit caldera containing two smaller pit craters. Located within the Danakil Depression, Erta Ale is one of the most enchanting places to witness the boiling lava.
Stanley Stewart, a travel writer visiting Erta Ale in 2019 shared his impression of the place in his article for Conde Nast Traveler: “Climbing its rim, we looked down into a seething lake of lava. Its fiery surface was in continual motion, churning like an agitated sea, the red and black veins sliding restlessly across one another.”
“Standing under the indifferent stars, I felt humbled, perhaps even a bit afraid, that our planet should show herself to be so disturbed, so terrifying. It seemed impossible to reconcile this hellfire with the earth I knew, a naive world of gentle breezes, spring rain, dappled sunlight,” was his first reaction to the furious and churning lava lake.
Danakil Desert is a hallowed ground where the oldest direct human ancestor fossilized relic was unearthed in a place called Hadar in 1974. Lucy or Dinknesh (you are the marvel one) merits Ethiopia to be deservedly called the cradle of humanity.
It is a region that tickles the fantasy of anthropologists, archeologists, and astro-biologists. In spite of being a challenging travel destination, the Danakil Desert remains one of the most popular destinations in Ethiopia.
In 2019, the British Backpacker Society ranked the Danakil Depression as the world’s number one adventure travel experience.
By Tewodros Sahile