Danakil Desert, Ethiopia - 1973

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I was 26 in 1973 when I went to Ethiopia, specifically to hike through the Danakil desert. I had seen aerial pictures of the Danakil depression a few months earlier, and I felt immediately attracted toward this place. I had also read in books by Henry de Montfried that the Danakil people (the Afars) were feared across North-East Africa as fierce fighters. I was young, and this made this place even more attractive to me.

In 1973, King Haile Selassie was still ruling Ethiopia and Erythrea was part of Ethiopia. I flew to Asmara (now the capital of Erythrea) and took a bus to Mekele, the capital of the province of Tigray, which was the natural point of entry into the Danakil desert. After a week in Mekele, I had secured permission from the Ras (Prince) of Mekele to travel in the Danakil desert and I had also met a Danakil chief, who offered his nephew to guide me.

With my guide we first hiked down from the Ethiopan plateau to the village of Berahle on the fringe of the desert, where we recruited two other locals for the expedition. I also bought a camel, a donkey, and two goats. For the next month, I was the proud owner of these animals. We ate the two goats along the way and at the end of the trip I sold back the camel and the donkey.

Overall, I spent a month hiking through the Danakil desert, first to Berahle, then to the Ertale volcano, and finally to the salt lake depression (lake Asele) and the Dalol area further north. My initial plan was to reach the Red Sea. Unfortunately, despite the permit I had obtained in Mekele, an army post in Dalol forbade me to go further (probably due to the civil war in Erytrea) and a small military plane took me back to Mekele (where I was questioned by the secret police for 2 days). Later, I lost all the photos I had taken around Dalol.

The Danakil desert is one of the warmest places on Earth, and I did this hike during the warmest months of July and August. When I reached Berahle, I initially thought I could not survive the heat. I eventually got used to it, but I lost quite a few pounds.

I spent the entire summer of 1973 in Northern Ethopia. After returning from the Danakil desert, I went hiking in the Tigrayan highlands and later to the Semien mountains.

A market between the highlands of Tigray and the Danakil desert. This is a meeting place between Tigrayans and Danakils where I saw the first salt blocks brought back by caravans from the Danakil depression.

Berahle

Women at the village well

A caravan heading toward lake Asele.

Danakil men might be fierce, but women are extraordinarily beautiful.

Food and drink

Bread is made by forming a dough ball with a very hot rock inside and cooking the ball near hot ashes.

Milk and cerals

Local alcohol obtained from palm trees.

Leaving Berahle

In the summer torrential rain in the highlands cause flashfloods in the desert.

The water eventually reaches the foot of the Ertale volcano to create a muddy terrain through which it is very unpleasant to hike.

Ertale crater

Between Ertale and lake Asele we passed by a few small oasis.

Lake Asele lies below sea level and is mostly dry. It is reminiscent of Death Valley in California. The salt is mined and carried away by camel caravans to the high plateau of Tigray.

Housing on lake Asele