1147 Travel Guide

Dallol, in Ethiopia's northern Danakil Depression, has a sulfur-spring viewpoint about 125 meters below sea level, making it one of the lowest and hottest places on Earth. The area is covered in neon yellow, green and orange sulfur mineral formations and salt flats, with ground temperatures that can exceed 100°C, creating an otherworldly landscape and a stunning geological wonder.

Erta Ale, in the Danakil Depression of northeastern Ethiopia, is a shield volcano about 613 meters high whose caldera hosts one of the world's oldest and most long-lived permanent lava lakes, with lava temperatures exceeding 1,000°C. Travelers typically trek to the summit after dusk and camp overnight on the crater rim to watch the churning, glowing lava by night and sunrise over the ash plains the next morning, making it one of Africa's most iconic geological adventure destinations.