Dallol Travel Guide | Letsa Atlas

The story

A place below sea level that was once a sea

Dallol sits in the Danakil Depression in the Afar region of Ethiopia, roughly a hundred meters below sea level. Its recorded average temperature of 34.6 °C, from 1960 to 1966, is the highest known for any inhabited place.

The land used to be part of the Red Sea. Water flooded in, evaporated and left thick salt deposits behind. Hot springs now push brine up through the salt, and sulfur, iron and other minerals paint it yellow, orange, green and brown.

The Afar people still cut salt slabs by hand in this region, and camel caravans carry them up toward the highlands.

34.6 °Caverage temperature recorded in 1960–66, the highest for an inhabited place

~100 mbelow sea level, with sources giving figures from 92 to about 130 m

<25 mmof rain in an average year

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Practical guide

Plan your Dallol trip

Check before you go: Many governments warn against travel to northern Ethiopia, including the Danakil, and the security situation can change quickly. Read your own government's travel advice first, and do not go without a licensed operator, a guide and an armed escort. Do not touch the pond water at Dallol, because it is acidic.

Safety first

Wikivoyage says to visit only on an organized tour with a guide and a military guard, never on your own.
Past attacks on tourists have happened in the region, so check current conditions and stay with your group.
There are no warning signs or fences around the pools. The next hospital is in Mekele, several hours away.

Getting there

Tours usually start in Mekele, which has an airport. From Mekele it is about three hours by road to Berhale, the closest village.
From Berhale a dirt track leads to Hamad-Ela, a base camp for Dallol, and then a short walk from the salt crust of Lake Karum to the sulfur springs.
Tours run two, three or four days, and some leave from Addis Ababa with a flight into Mekele.

Best time

November to February is the main season, when the shade is around 30 °C.
The rest of the year it is extremely hot, close to 50 °C at the peak.
Bring a lot of water and sun protection, and expect basic food and sleeping on mattresses or under the stars.

What to see

The Dallol crater and its colorful brine springs, with the summit still below sea level.
The salt canyons southwest of Dallol, up to about 40 meters high, and the Lake Karum salt flats.
Erta Ale, an active volcano with a lava lake, is the other highlight, and it is usually a separate overnight hike.

The Dallol ghost town was a mining settlement built by an Italian company in 1918, and its salt-block buildings can be seen from a distance. We checked on November 5, 2026. Entry rules, fees and prices change, so confirm them with official sources before you reserve.