Ethiopian Extreme Experience - Danakil Depression

My journey and the whole Dream Year ends in a place where everything had begun – in East Africa, the birthplace of human race. Here you can find one of the first hominids ever found or rather couple of bones which are kept in the National Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa. It’s nice to end in the place where everything starts, isn’t it? In Ethiopia the place that will stay in my heart forever!

What comes to your mind when you hear about country such as Ethiopia? What are your first associations? Desert, eroded fields, drought, famine and poor people? Well if you were living in 80’s that’s definitely an image that was presented to you by media. But Ethiopia is far different. It’s an amazing country full of high mountains, never-ending green fields, dry deserts, shrinking forests, active volcanoes, fast growing cities and unique flora and fauna – Land of Extremes. 

Together with my friend we got finally to Mek’ele (Makale) after one of the most stressful bus drives I ever had. Having an image presenting by media in our minds we were expecting a lot of dry land on the way but in contradiction we passed through green covered country with wooden huts randomly set thorough the hilly landscape, slowly moving camel caravans, donkeys, cows, goats and sheep blocking roads or monkeys sitting on roadsides.

In Mek’ele we did some hike in surrounding hills and enjoyed nightlife in local pubs and restaurants with extremely positive vibe, friendly local guys and beautiful girls, trying amazing avocado-mango juice. After 2 days we finally started an organized tour to Danakil Depression. Normally I don’t do organized trips and don’t recommend them but visiting Danakil Depression is too risky, difficult, challenging and costly to do by yourself. To get there you need a lot of time, experience, preparations, cars and water! You need at least 3 cars to do the trip and you need to drive in convoy. Place is near to the Eritrean border and filled with soldiers and local chieftains. It’s the hottest place in the Earth with the highest average temperature of 34 degrees Celsius (day and night), without road signs or actually without roads at all, sparsely populated and absolutely in the middle of nowhere where people live in the same conditions as they did 5000 years ago. 

It is also one of the lowest places on the planet, with chain of salt lakes and almost no rain for most of the year. The Afari people living in the region are pastoralists, predominantly Muslim and engaged in salt mining. Till now I have absolutely no idea how and WHY those people are still living there? If you think about some place on the Earth which somehow represents our image of hell this is absolutely the one. Afari people are very traditional, conservative and they follow nomadic way of life. Men are characteristic for wearing long skirts and very often walking with guns on their shoulders. Hundreds years ago they were one of the most aggressive tribes in the World famous from cutting testicles of every intruder on their land. Maybe that’s the reason why those lands were still not well known until the 20th century. 

When we got to our first stop, town Berhale, we felt like being on a different planet. Berhale is a small town where the camel caravans stop before they proceed to the northern highlands. After short break we continued our tour reaching Hamedela in late afternoon. This was our base for the whole trip and a place where you get some food and bunk beds made from some local plants which are constantly eaten by loitering goats. In Hamedela you are sleeping without any cover (During the night temperature doesn’t drop below 30 degrees) having only stars above your head and from time to time a passing goat trying to eat your bed! 

Next day early morning you leave Hamedela in order to get to Erta Ale – the most active volcano in the World. The 80 km distance may take about 6 hrs passing through changing landscape of solidified lava, rock, sand and the occasional palm lined oasis. You pass several small hamlets scattered here and there in this desert land, before reaching Dodom, where you start 3 hours trek up to the top of the volcano. On the top you spent the night watching the dramatic action of the boiling lava and the world’s only permanent lava lake. There are absolutely no words to describe this experience. Sleeping on the edge of volcano watching boiling lava and stars above – priceless!

But this is not all what Danakil has to offer. Mirror salt lakes, open salt mine places, Dallol - 116 meter below sea level, one of the lowest places in the world with breathtaking colors landscape, sulfur springs and caravans passing by. 

But I think this is not the most incredible thing you can see there. I think people living there, this is something absolutely impossible to understand and believe. When we were passing by the desert, local kids were running after 4x4 jeeps asking us for empty plastic bottles or some paper and pencils to write! Those images will absolutely stay in my heart forever. After visiting Haiti I never thought I will see someone poorer in my life than people living there after earthquake but this place is just mind blowing. No shoes, no houses, sometimes even no clothes, walking everyday kilometers to get some water…. I don’t know the words to describe how I felt being there. So extreme and opposed thoughts, sitting in the 4x4 car with wealthy foreigners, having air condition always turned on and water in my hand while outside children with ripped clothes were running after cars asking for plastic bottles and piece of paper. All that in temperature of 52 degrees outside! For me this was the real extreme life experience and an ordinary and normal day for them...