Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Logiya is the region's main transport hub and minibuses go at least hourly to Semera
(Birr2, 10 minutes) and Asaita (Birr26, one hour). A contract bajaj to Semera can cost
Birr50. There are usually four buses to Dessie (Birr85, seven hours) via Woldia (Birr60,
5½ hours) where you can continue to Addis Ababa and Lalibela respectively. These buses
pass through Mille, but there's virtually no chance of them having an empty seat when
they do. See Click here f or details on transport to Djibouti.
Asaita
POP 20,900 / ELEV 300M
Asaita is a cul-de-sac at the end of the world and the paved road taking you there is buried
in sand, which appropriately sets the mood. This is the starting point from which to ex-
plore the salt lakes in the area and the surrounding Danakil Desert, but Asaita itself has a
look and feel all its own, so it's worth a visit even if you aren't planning to be a modern
day Wilfred Thesiger. No matter what your reason for coming be prepared: the heat is un-
bearable for most of the year and the swarms of flies are bigger than even those in the
towns you passed earlier on your way here.
Tuesday is market day - a must if you're in town.
THE AFAR
'The Danakil invariably castrated any man or boy whom they killed or wounded, removing both the penis and the
scrotum. An obvious trophy, it afforded irrefutable proof that the victim was male…'
Sir Wilfred Thesiger, The Life of My Choice (1987)
Fuelled by early accounts from European travellers and explorers, the Afar have gained an almost legendary repu-
tation for ferocity. And, as they are one of the few tribes capable of surviving the harsh conditions of northeastern
Ethiopia, perhaps that aura of myth is deserved.
On your journey north, look out for Afar men striding along in simple cotton shirits (sarongs), with their fam-
ous jile (curved knives), water-filled gourds hanging at their side and a rifle slung casually across a shoulder. Even
today many Afars still lead a nomadic existence and when the herds are moved in search of new pasture, the huts
in which the Afars live are simply packed onto the backs of camels and carted away. In the relatively fertile plains
around the Awash River, some Afars have turned to cultivation, growing cotton and maize. Inter-clan rivalry is
still alive and conflicts occasionally break out.
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