Danakil Depression (Dallol and Erta’Ale)

<p>Arrival in Addis. Welcome at the airport. Transfer to the hotel. </p><p>Visit the National Museum & the Ethnographic Museum at the Addis Ababa University. Drive to YekaTerara for Addis Ababa City view and short trekking (1/2 hour). Lunch break. Coffee tasting at Tomocca. Drive to Entoto Mountain to visit Emperor Menelik II palace & Museum. Visit the largest open-air market, Merkato. Beer tasting at St. George Brewery. Overnight in hotel in Addis Ababa</p>

<p>Morning flight to Mekele. Upon arrival, welcomed by our guide and driver. Drive to Hamedela (200 Km from Mekele) over the escarpment of the Great Rift Valley system to the western highland. Lunch break at Beraile town. Arrival at Hamedela, see camel caravans passing against a backdrop of dramatic sunsets. Overnight camping.</p>

<p>Breakfast at the camp site. Drive to Lake Asele and visit the thousands of camel caravan and the rock salt mining. Then drive further to Dallol Cobber Sink (116 meter below sea level, the lowest spot on earth’s surface not covered by water). Visit the spectacular view, the dramatic and colorful geological formations caused by the hot springs rich in sulfur, potash, and salt. Then, drive back to the campsite for lunch. In the afternoon, drive to a small town Ab’Alla. Overnight in a guest house.</p>

<p>Breakfast at the guest house. Drive to Dodom to visit the living Volcano Erta’Alle (means ‘smoking mountain’ in the local Afar language). Lunch at Beraile. Arrival at Dodom & rest for the afternoon. In the early evening, trek to the top volcanic mountain (3 hours trekking) to see the dramatic magma eruption at the crater of Erta’Alle Volcano at night. Dinner. Overnight camping near the area.</p>

<p>Trek back to Kursuad. Breakfast. Drive back to Mekele. Lunch. Time at leisure. Overnight in a hotel in Mekele.</p><p></p><p></p>

<p>Breakfast in the hotel. Vist the palace of Empreror Yohannes and Tigrai people memorial monument. Lunch. Afternoon, transfer to the airport to fly back to Addis (1245-1450 or 1200-1300). Welcome at the airport. </p><p></p><p>In the evening, a farewell cultural night at the renowned cultural restaurant for authentic Ethiopian cultural food buffet along with live music and dances of the diverse nations and nationalities of Ethiopia. </p><p></p><p>Full day Addis Ababa city tour with lunch & overnight 165 USD per person in room sharing.</p>