Dallol & the Danakil Depression

After visiting Erta Ale, the next highlight of the Danakil Depression is equally surreal, and no less easy to visit - the salt mines and sulphur springs of Dallol.

This time, our base is the "village" of Hamed Ila that consists of more of the rickety "tree-branch" huts that is common in the Afar region. Like the night in Erta Ale, sleeping options were just "safari beds" - outdoor collapsible camping beds, which was laid out outside the hut. It would be much cooler to sleep in the open.

The Afar homestead, and the only accommodation option (though we slept outside)

Again, military escorts were brought in, and the visit to the sulphur springs was first. This time, we were driven barely an hour and then it was "only" a 30-40 minutes walk to the site. But it was a walk through a broken land of sharp rocks, bizarre-shaped formations, and soul-sapping heat. I had brought a 1-litre bottle of water along and it was barely enough.

The yellow-brown-stained landscape is an eye-opening sight. I had thought the Bolivian Altiplano desert to be unearthly but the scene here is downright alien. Bubbling pools of  yellow-white sulphuric acid smear the reddish-brown hardened ground, with pockets of greenish mineral ponds and ghastly weird protrusions scattered throughout. Admiration of the scene though, was somewhat marred by the suffocating sulphuric air (even with a face mask) and the constant heat. So remember to bring a good face mask and plenty of water! I was on the verge of a heat-stroke on return to our vehicle!

Military escort vehicle leading us through broken and used land - this used to be covered with salt!!

Short hike to the sulphur springs

Alien landscape

Alien landscape

Sulphur deposits and acid pool

The visit to the open-plain salt mine is relatively "straitforward", as compared to the other sites. The depression was created as a result of tectonic plate movements, and as a result, seawater flooded the depression many years ago. When the seawater dried up, a layer of salt encrusted the entire ground. When we reached the "mining site", it was in the middle of nowhere, and there was nothing but some waiting camels and a group of Afar men hacking, cracking and prying salt blocks from the ground using primitive tools. There was absolutely no sign of any permanent structure or machine, and when enough salt is harvested, the salt merchant would then transport the salt out using their camel caravans. I could never imagine how they could work under such conditions with barely a shelter in sight!

Breaking the salt ground and prying out the salt

Blocks of salt would be cut into standard size and loaded onto the camels

As mentioned in the previous post, most trips to the Danakil Depression start from Mekele in northern Ethiopia, and include both Dallol and Erta Ale. Trips can be arranged in Addis Ababa and while overland trip is possible, you will need 2 more days to-and-fro from Addis. Flights to Mekele will make sense if your international flight to Ethiopia is on Ethiopian Airlines as you would get very competition prices for their domestic legs. So check out the prices before you decide.

The sights in the Danakil Depression are indeed extraordinary, and for those who are willing to face the hardship, they would be rewarded with a very memorable trip, though probably in more ways than one!

Salt merchants transporting salt in their camel caravans

-120m below sea level and 45 degrees Celsius

Kawah Ijen, East Java Indonesia

Volcano visiting in Indonesia is definitely one of the must-do's given that there are so many volcanoes in the country. One of the more interesting ones to visit is Kawah Ijen in East Java.

Kawah Ijen is an active volcano and it's crater holds the world's largest acid lake. The crater lake is quite a sight to behold with its mesmerizing turquoise colour. But its beauty belies the danger surrounding it. The water in the lake was measured to have a pH value of 0.5!! So it's literally really acid! And at the edge of the crater, a vent throws forth volumes of noxious fumes and volcanic gasses. And it's here that an active sulphur mine operates.

Visiting the crater lake entails close to 2 hours hike up, but half-way through the journey, one would have encountered the sulphur miners already. These miners literally carry blocks of sulphur weighing 75-90kg on their shoulders, and make their journey from the crater edge down to the volcano base. The sulphur fumes that they had to endure further aggravates the situation, and to make matters more miserable, they are paid pittance. It was an eye-opener (and heart-wrenching one) watching these miners working amidst the harsh and surreal environment.

For the adventurous, one could start the journey to the crater and sulphur mine at 1+am, and you would be rewarded with views of the 'blue flame'. Essentially, the molten sulphur in the mine burns with a beautiful blue flame, and it would really been quite a sight. After that, a hike to a viewpoint for sunrise completes the adventure. I did not take up this option as I arrived at 11pm after a 9+hr ride from Surabaya and was pretty tired. Do note that it is actually quite dangerous as the descent into the mine is quite steep, and even with torches, once the sulphur fumes obscure your sight, you are pretty much helpless!

Accommodation options near Kawah Ijen is limited though. The nearest village of Sempol has a Arabica Homestay which was popularly used by many agencies but reviews were pretty bad, and the room we had was indeed not particularly clean. The other options would be in Bondowoso, which is abit further away.

There are many agencies in Surabaya who can arrange the trip (together with Mt Bromo) and I think it's one of the more interesting volcano trip I had! For Singaporeans, it makes a great long weekend trip, especially with so many cheap flights to Surabaya. Check it out!