3-Day Danakil Depression Expedition

I had planned to stay in lalibela for only 2 days and in the end it was 10 days with a subsequent trip to mekele and the danakil depression. for lalibela i actually have only a few words: true love, wonderful churches and incredible mountains with breathtaking views. the people and the organization of all activities were perfect all round. a feeling of security, having arrived and being on eye level has been with me all the time. whatever I wanted or asked was made possible. the guide for the churches made a lot of sense to grasp the far-reaching history. he was very friendly, could answer all questions and knew a lot more! the trip to mekele was fantastic. the landscape is changing rapidly as are people and their clothing. the driver could tell me a lot about the different backgrounds. we had a ride with lots of music and a lot of fun! one night in mekele and we continued with 5 jeeps and a fun international tour group. I usually travel alone, but the cost of the trip to the desert is only possible in groups, unless you pay a lot of money. i enjoyed it and had an unforgettable time. the guides and drivers also took care of that. there was everything (the most important thing is water in this area) from food to cold !!! beer, but of course everything in the desert is very simple. no sanitary facilities, no hotel rooms and no warm shower! But anyone who expects and needs that misses a unique experience that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. every cent was worth the trip. this landscape, this lake, these people! thanks to the guides, we got up very early to be in front of other groups and take photos of the landscape without people. They made small changes spontaneously to create an unforgettable experience for us. I was overcome by tears! the night on a lounger under a breathtaking starry sky! I will never forget this trip in everything and thank you for everything !!!

There isn't much information on these tours online yet, so I hope to inform travelers of the reality of this tour before they spend too much money on a tour that was very disappointing. Day 1: Lalibela churches - The guide was knowledgeable and friendly. He helped my 3 person group avoid larger groups, took photos of us and was considerate of how much time we wanted to spend at each church. The churches were an incredible sight to see and there are several good restaurants in Lalibela with incredible views. This was the highlight of the tour. Food/drinks were not included this day (this was clear from the tour package). Day 2: Drive from Lalibela to Mekele - The 3 of us were told the drive would be 7 hours from Lalibela to Mekele. It was actually 8.5 hours (0730-1600). The driver took his wife in the front seat for the majority of the drive and the 3 of us had to sit crowded in the back seat. When she left the driver did not offer the front seat to any of us. He did not want to turn on the air conditioning and also did not want to let dust into his car by opening the windows. The driver was unpleasant and rude. Needless to say, it was an uncomfortable drive. The drive is not inherently scenic; if you have the option, it would be better to fly. Food/drinks were not included this day (this was not clear from the tour package) and we only stopped once at 1030 for food. Day 3: Danakil Depression / Salt flats / Camel caravan - We started the day at 1000. The previous night I had been told the "small group" would be 12 people. The tour was a caravan of 7 cars and approximately 23 tourists, which is not a small group. There was generally a lot of driving on this tour with little communication from the driver or the guide with us on how long between locations we would be driving, and how long we would stay at each location. There was sometimes 1 guide, sometimes 2, and they changed each day. They were not knowledgeable about the area. The guides and drivers were extremely rude, especially to female tourists (there were 2 drivers who were lovely). We drove through the Danakil Depression stopping at a couple viewpoints. At the salt flats we were told there were no camel caravans that day (in the end we saw a small one and everyone ran out to take a photo - the large group making it difficult to take a nice photo). We then stopped at a "salt pool" for swimming. The pool was actually the size of small hot tub, and about half the group could get in. Then we watched the sunset on the salt flats (this was also beautiful) as the drivers blasted music from the cars and tried to dance with female tourists while drinking Ethiopian wine. At night we slept on raised platforms with a foam mattress outside with no tents. There was a lot of wind and sand and we all had to sleep with scarves around our faces - it was a very uncomfortable night, but not cold. The stars would probably be amazing if it isn't during a full moon. Food was included this day. The food was extremely substandard. Lunch was a plate of plain rice. Dinner was a bit better with plain pasta, pieces of chicken, potatoes and vegetable soup. Only water is included on this tour, any other drinks (pop, beer) are not. Day 4: Dallol / Volcano hike - We woke up at 0430 (6 hours of sleep) to drive to Dallol to see the mineral deposits. This was a highlight as it was very beautiful scenery, and wasn't too hot due to the timing. We spent a good amount of time here. This day had a total of 8 hours of mostly off-road driving to get to the volcano. When we arrived at the volcano we were told that we wouldn't see lava, only smoke. Many of the tourists had come to see the lava lake and were very disappointed. Apparently there hasn't been visible lava for over 2 months. At 2130, after dinner, we started the hike 1.5 hour night hike to the volcano (bring a headlamp). It wasn't a terribly difficult hike, but the darkness and terrain makes it challenging and it is all uphill for the 1.5 hours. At the top we went to see the crater and there were a few tiny spots of lava visible. I didn't bother taking photos because it wouldn't have looked like anything. There was a large amount of toxic smoke coming from the crater and everyone was coughing and feeling sick. Some people vomited. We slept in the open air again that night on mattresses carried up by camels. The camp site was horrendous. There was garbage everywhere, including human waste and used toilet paper. We slept surrounded by and on top of this garbage. It was very cold. The Food was included this day. We had pasta with tomato sauce for lunch and rice with beets and potatoes and vegetable soup for dinner. Day 5 - Volcano sunrise / Saltwater lake / Drive to Mekele - We woke up at 0530 (5 hours of sleep) to walk to the crater to see the sunrise. You could also see the lava specks this morning. The sunrise was beautiful, although the toxic smoke was still causing people to cough and feel ill. After the sunrise we drove to a very large saltwater lake. This was another stunning location, but we only had 15 minutes to swim. After this we had lunch and drove 4.5 hours back to Mekele. I would not book this tour for this price again. I would absolutely recommend the church tours in Lalibela. I would only recommend the 3-day Danakil tour to someone with very low expectations, and to purchase the tour in Mekele for a much lower price. Most of us agreed on the tour that we were treated extremely poorly (terrible food, lack of communication, lack of respect from the drivers and guides) and misled as to the conditions of the tour. Some people had been promised tents to sleep in, most of us hadn't been informed to bring headlamps or swimsuits, or as to the conditions we would be facing. Overall we spent most of the time driving with repetitious views. I hope this review helps others make an informed decision about this tour.