The Church of Abraha wa-Atsbeha (🎟️1,000 ETB) is a 10th-century rock-hewn church in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, located in the Gheralta Mountains, approximately 15 kilometres west of the town of Wukro. Tradition says it was built in the 4th century by two kings, twin brothers Abreha...
Wukro Chirkos Church (🎟️600 ETB, local guide 1,250 ETB) is a historic rock-hewn church in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, notable for being one of the country’s oldest, dating back to the 4th century. It has been in continuous use for over 1,600 years. It’s a semi-monolithic...
After the overnight in Mekele, where we enjoyed some nightlife after a long time, we continued towards Hawzen. The road from Mekele to Hawzen is paved, offering dramatic scenery of the Tigrayan highlands, including mountain views and, in some parts, deep valleys and cliffs. As we...
After a visit to the Dallol Pools, we start our long drive. The road climbed steeply out of the low-lying depression toward Mekele, which is situated at an elevation of around 2,100 meters. The road shifted from sandy tracks to more mountainous terrain, and the scenery changed from the...
After the second overnight under the stars, we drove very early in the morning to the Dallol pools, a unique and extremely harsh hydrothermal system in Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression. It lies in one of the lowest land points on Earth, over 100 meters below sea level, and holds the...
We made it to the world’s saltiest lake, Lake Asale, also known as Lake Karum. It is a hypersaline lake in Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression, located about 120 meters below sea level, making it one of the lowest points on Earth. Lake Asale was formed over centuries through a...
Then we drove on asphalt until Erepeti, where a 49-kilometre-long dirt track runs through a rough, hot and dry desert landscape with solidified lava, rock, and sand. For this trip, we joined other tourists to share the costly permit. After arriving at base camp, we rushed for 30 minutes...
We drove from Semera to Lake Afdera for about 4 hours on an asphalt road, taking us from the city into the increasingly arid, otherworldly Danakil Depression. The scenery transformed from a more populated area to a vast, volcanic, and desert landscape of solidified lava, rock, and sand...
Luckily, we found a gas station with diesel, so we filled up our tank and jerry cans to make it to Aksum. Then, we drove for a full day, some 380 kilometres from Awash to Semera on good tarmac through a bit unfriendly Afar region. The scenery is characterised by a landscape that...
After the visit to the Khat Market in Aweday, we continued on good tarmac for approximately 325 km, passing through varied terrain including acacia woodland and grassland near the Awash National Park. The road is full of heavy trucks from Djibouti, and it was getting slow, particularly in...