ErtaAle.com exists because a trip to Erta Ale deserves better information than a few blurry photos and outdated forum posts. It is an independent travel guide to the volcano, the Danakil Depression around it and the licensed tours that take you there — written to be honest and genuinely useful.
What we cover
- How to reach the volcano from Addis Ababa, Mekele and Semera.
- Which tours are worth booking, ranked honestly and updated as ratings change.
- What to see around it — Dallol, the salt flats, Lake Afrera and the Afar villages.
- Safety, heat, health and what to pack.
- Where to sleep before and after your expedition.
How we research
Tour details, ratings and prices are checked against GetYourGuide’s listings; hotels against Trip.com. Volcanic activity and security conditions change, so we describe them cautiously and point you to your operator and your government’s travel advice for the latest picture. Where a figure varies — prices, distances, temperatures — we give a range and say so.
How the site is funded
We are a GetYourGuide affiliate partner and link to Trip.com for accommodation. If you book through a link on this site, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. That is the only way this guide is funded — no advertising, no sponsored placements, no paid rankings. Read the full affiliate disclosure.
Corrections
If something here is out of date or wrong — especially about the volcano’s activity, access or safety — please tell us on the contact page. We would rather fix it than defend it.
Images
All photography on this site is freely licensed (public domain, CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA or the Free Art License) and comes from Wikimedia Commons. Every photographer is credited on our image credits page.
