world's edge
Dallol
11–20 of 31 posts
Re: Dallol
#12One of the hottest places on Earth, 120m under sea level, with lakes of sulphur and iron and apparent absence of life. Could this place had been the inspiration for our idea of Hell?
Re: Dallol
#13Sadly, visiting many parts of Ethiopia (including Dallol) is now not recommended unless essential, with large areas of the country having blanket 'Do not visit' advice due to violence and kidnapping. So think twice before booking, or recommending that others should go.
Ten years ago things were very different, with huge growth in tourism. The famine of the early 80s finally receding into history. In the 2020s, war and starvation have returned.
Re: Dallol
#14One of the hottest places on Earth, 120m under sea level, with lakes of sulphur and iron and apparent absence of life. Could this place had been the inspiration for our idea of Hell?
It sort of looks like Caelid in Elden Ring.
Re: Dallol
#15One of the hottest places on Earth, 120m under sea level, with lakes of sulphur and iron and apparent absence of life. Could this place had been the inspiration for our idea of Hell?
It’s plausible, considering Ethiopia is precisely where early->modern humans evolved. Australopithecus Afarensis (“Lucy”) was discovered in the same region/province, not very far south of Dallol.
Re: Dallol
#16Oh wow! I visited the Afar region in 2018. It's an incredible place. Pictures don't do it justice. Go if you can. Feels like being on Mars (not that we know). There are plenty of tour and travel groups that still go there. You will also get to sleep next to an active volcano (Ertale) on night 2. Be ready to hike. AMA if you're curious.
I'm genuinely intrigued! Any recommendations for tour companies? Do you have to bring your own tent? Any need for special masks/filters for volcanic gases?
Definitely do bring a mask and glasses. The volcanic acid is no joke. Everything else would be provided by the company. They usually have camels to carry your stuff as well. Check out a group called Ethio Hiking Community on Telegram. They go roughly once a month.
Re: Dallol
#17One of the hottest places on Earth, 120m under sea level, with lakes of sulphur and iron and apparent absence of life. Could this place had been the inspiration for our idea of Hell?
I'm not sure the lake of fire concept of hell existed before the book of Revelation, a couple decades AD. I don't think the Hebrew hell/afterlife is like that, for instance. And I don't know if any other religions that have it either.
Re: Dallol
#18Oh wow! I visited the Afar region in 2018. It's an incredible place. Pictures don't do it justice. Go if you can. Feels like being on Mars (not that we know). There are plenty of tour and travel groups that still go there. You will also get to sleep next to an active volcano (Ertale) on night 2. Be ready to hike. AMA if you're curious.
"Go if you can"
But maybe check, if you have to pass through a war zone to get there:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_civil_conflict_(20...
Things seem to have calmed down a bit again, but there was very brutal violence going on since 2018.
Re: Dallol
#19Sadly, visiting many parts of Ethiopia (including Dallol) is now not recommended unless essential, with large areas of the country having blanket 'Do not visit' advice due to violence and kidnapping. So think twice before booking, or recommending that others should go. Ten years ago things were very different, with huge growth in tourism. The famine of the early 80s finally receding into history. In the 2020s, war an…
I visited a little before the pandemic locked things down. At that time, we were required to have an armed guard on our visit to Dallol. There had been some shootings and abductions in the area, but it wasn't common (I believe these violent incidents had been attributed to Eritrean cross-border excursions). The Afar region (where Dallol is) was the only area of Ethiopia we encountered such issues at that time. Violence was still extremely rare. We never felt threatened.
I especially loved the Tigray region. The people were amazing. There was an innocence similar to that I encountered in Türkiye, decades ago. It is hard to reconcile the recent violence, and the universally kind and generous people we met there. We regularly saw young women and girls walking down dark alleyways alone after dark--the place felt safer than any place I've ever been.
Re: Dallol
#20Sadly, visiting many parts of Ethiopia (including Dallol) is now not recommended unless essential, with large areas of the country having blanket 'Do not visit' advice due to violence and kidnapping. So think twice before booking, or recommending that others should go. Ten years ago things were very different, with huge growth in tourism. The famine of the early 80s finally receding into history. In the 2020s, war an…
I second this. Things seem dire now for my country. I wouldn't recommend tourists to visit now. I am currently an expat and even I fear returning home to visit family in case something bad happens while I am there