Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The main base is the half-village, half-tourist camp of Hamedela where you'll sleep
outdoors or inside simple shelters against the wind, if necessary. Tours starting in Addis
usually enter or exit from the south via Serdo, with formalities handled in Semera,
Click
travel is no longer allowed.
This is a largely lawless area and there have been killings and kidnappings in recent
years, so do check the situation carefully before going. But the climate is a more serious
concern: people with heart conditions shouldn't visit and everyone should heed signs of
heat exhaustion (
Click here
)
.
SALT FOR GOLD
Since earliest times and right up to the present day, salt, a precious commodity for people and their animals, has
been used as a kind of currency in Ethiopia. According to Kosmos, a 6th-century Egyptian writing in Greek, the
kings of Aksum sent expeditions west to barter salt, among other things, for hunks of gold.
Mined in the Danakil Depression, the mineral was transported hundreds of kilometres west across the country
to the Ethiopian court in Shoa. Later, the salt was cut into small, rectangular blocks, which came to be known as
amole;
their value grew with every kilometre that they travelled further from the mine.
To this day, Afar nomads and their camels continue to follow this ancient salt route. Cutting the bars by hand
from the salt lakes in eastern Ethiopia, they spend weeks travelling by caravan to market, where the bars will be
bartered.
Though nowadays the people of the Danakil Depression mine salt in order to earn gold in the highland markets,
once upon a time it was the other way around. Long ago, so long that nobody really remembers, the salt of the
Danakil was all gold - endless thousands of tonnes of pure gold. People say that Danakil had more gold than any-
where else on earth and its people lived like royalty. Wealth made them greedy, lazy and forgetful of God. In order
to punish them, God turned all the gold to salt. But one day, so the locals say, when the people are no longer
greedy, God will turn it all back into gold again and then the people of Danakil will once more be able to swap
gold for salt.
IRTA'ALE VOLCANO
The Danakil's most amazing site is Irta'ale Volcano (613m), which has been in a state of
continuous eruption since 1967. Its small southerly crater is one of the only permanent
lava lakes on the planet. The climb is long (15km; three to four hours) but not steep; the
heat and darkness (you climb after dinner) create the difficulty. Camels will transport the
gear for the night and riding one is an option. You'll need a torch and it can get cool
enough at the summit that you may want a light jacket or sleeping bag.
