The volcano takes one unforgettable night. The Danakil around it takes three days — and almost every Erta Ale tour is built around the same handful of places. Here they are, each with its own guide to what to do, how to get there and which tours include it.
Things to See at Erta Ale & in the Danakil
Eight places that turn a volcano trip into a journey across the Danakil Depression.
Erta Ale volcano
Erta Ale volcano Erta Ale Caldera & Lava Lake
The “smoking mountain” of the Afar
A low basalt shield volcano rising out of the Danakil plain, whose summit caldera has held one of the world’s very few long-lived lava lakes. Its activity rises, overflows and drains over the years — but a night on the rim remains one of the great experiences in Africa.
Erta Ale volcano The Night Trek to the Crater Rim
Three hours by head torch across the lava
Every Erta Ale visit ends with the same walk: roughly 10 km and three hours across old lava flows from the base camp to the caldera rim, starting after dark when the air has cooled. Camels carry the mattresses; you carry water and a torch.
Erta Ale volcano Dodom Base Camp
Dinner, rest and the start of the climb
The cluster of stone-and-thatch shelters at the foot of the volcano where every expedition stops. Vehicles park, the cooks prepare dinner, Afar guides and scouts join the group, and the night trek begins once the heat breaks.
Dallol & the salt plain
Dallol & the salt plain 
Dallol & the salt plain Lake Asale Salt Flats
Where the salt caravans are loaded
A brilliant white plain of salt crust more than 100 m below sea level, where Afar and highland workers still cut salt blocks by hand and load them onto camel caravans. Sunset on the flats — often with standing water — is a highlight of most tours.
Dallol & the salt plain Lake Afrera & the gateways
Lake Afrera & the gateways Lake Afrera
The saltwater lake on the southern route
A hypersaline lake about 100 m below sea level, fringed by salt pans and warm springs, on the southern road towards Erta Ale. Many tours stop here for a float in the dense water and to see how salt is still harvested by evaporation.
Lake Afrera & the gateways A typical 3-day route from Mekele: Day one, down the escarpment to the salt plain — caravans and sunset on Lake Asale, night in Hamed Ela. Day two, Dallol at dawn, then across the lowlands to the Dodom base camp and the night trek to the crater rim. Day three, sunrise at the caldera, descent, and the long drive back to Mekele (some routes via Lake Afrera). Tours from Semera often do the same in reverse.
Plan your expedition
Stand on the rim of Erta Ale
A night walk across the lava field, the glow of the crater at midnight and sunrise over the Danakil. Compare licensed tours with Afar escorts, camping and meals included, and book in a couple of taps.