September 14, 2014
Addis Ababa
The direct flight from Toronto to Addis Ababa by Ethiopian Airlines takes about 13 hours. A major reason for me to use Ethiopian Airlines is because the domestic air tickets are much cheaper if you use their long-haul flight to get into Ethiopian. The flight arrived even ahead of schedule at about 7 a.m. However, the process to get though immigration and have my luggage checked at the nearby domestic terminal took more than 3 hours (no hassles, just long wait) and I only got about 3 hours to check out the city.
The minibus stand is somewhat outside the airport. A driver in the parking lot of the airport offered me a free ride to the minibus stand (nice guy). It's kind of chaotic at the stand but by asking around numerous times, I finally got on a bus heading for Piazza (5 birr). At Piazza, I checked out the nearby St George Cathedral and walked about 30 minutes to the National Museum (10 birr). Though I had a map on hand, it's not very straightforward to navigate to the National Museum from Piazza and I had to ark around many times. Luckily, people I met were very friendly and willing to give directions.
After admiring “Lucy” and other stuff at the National Museum, I took a minibus to the Piazza area again and had a quick look at the historical Taitu Hotel. I didn't have time to enjoy the buffet lunch there and had to take a taxi back to the airport (180 birr). Even at the domestic terminal, passengers need to go through security two times so it's better to give a little bit extra time for all the processes.
At 3 pm a flight departed Addis Ababa and took me to the northern town of Mekele where I arranged a 4-day tour to the amazing Danakil Depress region (Tom Tours, US$500 per person, 4 tourists in the group).
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| St George Cathedral, Addis Ababa |
September 15, 2014
Mekele to Hamed Ela
The first day of the Danakil Depression tour is relatively easier – a 6 hour drive from Mekele to the campsite at Hamed Ela. I made a mistake by not sleeping outside the hut – the heat basically kept stopping you from falling asleep. Also at this campsite, I took a shower in the field just behind my hut for the first time in my life – in the dark of cause, and the water is naturally warm.
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| Hamed Ela |
September 16, 2014
Dallol
There are two highlights in Danakill Depression. Dallol and Erta Ale Volcano. Due to the tragedy in 2012, both places now require army escort to visit (arranged by the tour operator and included in the price). Dallol is not far from Hamed Ela and is said to be the hottest place on earth. The landscapes are amazing, though not as spectacular as the photos I saw before, maybe it depends on the season. There are also hot springs (oily water) in the region. The eye-catching Lake Asale is a must-see, and local people make salt not far from the lake.
The tour has different itineraries in dry and raining season. Since it's raining season, we stayed at a hotel in the village Aba'ala which is cooler and with proper shower and electricity - much better than the campsite!
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| Dallol |
September 17, 2014
Erta Ale Volcano
Erta Ale volcano is the real “meat” of the whole Danakil Depression tour. To get there is not easy. It took a whole day from Aba'ala to a campsite at Dodom where we had dinner. At about 8 pm, a total of 6 tourists, together with a bunch of soldiers and tour guides, started the journey to Erta Ale volcano. Though not steep, it’s not an easy hike due to the darkness and bumpy road conditions. After about 3 hours we reached the campsite near the volcano. There is another 30 minute hike to the volcano. I have to admit that the view of the volcano makes you speechless. We enjoyed the volcano for about 30 minutes before returning to our campsite reluctantly. After about 2 hour nap (no sleeping for me), we had to get up again at 4 am to start the hike back (in order to avoid the heat).
September 18, 2014
Erta Ale Volcano to Mekele
After seeing the “meat”, life was back to normal and we had to return to Mekele. We stopped at the hotel in Aba'ala briefly to get our luggage, where the locals invited us to drink some local beer Suixia (made from maize) while watching them dancing – a lot of fun.
In Mekele, I stayed at Abrha Castle Hotel (US$26) and had a chance to try some typical Ethiopia cuisine (honey wine, shiro watt & fillet tips) at a restaurant just besides the hotel.
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| On the Way Back from Erta Ale Volcano to Dodom |
September 19, 2014
Mekele to Harar
Due to limited time, I used domestic flights to travel inside Ethiopia mostly. This day is a transit day. A morning flight from Mekele to Addis Ababa and an afternoon flight from Addis Ababa to Dire Dawa, leaving a couple of hours in the capital that enabled me to check out another excellent museum, the Ethnological Museum inside Addis Ababa University. After tough negotiation, this time I only paid 150 birr from the airport to the museum.
Dire Dawa is the second largest city in Ethiopia and it's only one hour drive from Harar, my last destination before leaving the country.
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| Ethnological Museum, Addis Ababa University |
September 20, 2014
Harar
Self-claimed the 4th holiest Muslim city, the walled city of Harar is worth a visit. The white houses near Buda Gate are especially beautiful. Some big houses (charging entrance fees to get inside) include Ras Tafari's House, Arthur Rimbaud Center and Harar Cultural Centre which I visited (16 birr). Harar Cultural Centre is designed as a traditional Adare house and staff there will tell you some details about the house. There are also mosques and churches to see inside the city. It's almost impossible not to get lost in the allies which can be fun. However, if you really want to get to a place quickly, it's worth getting a kid as a guide (they expect 5-10 birr for the service).
Back to Dire Dawa late afternoon and taking a flight to Djibouti. Bye-bye, Ethiopia!
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| White Houses in Harar |
September 21, 2014
Lake Abbe
I arranged a two-day tour to Lake Abbe and Lake Assal in advance through email (no payment made). In the last minute, the travel agency (Phoenix Travel Services) informed me that there were other tourists joining the tour so the cost came down to US$158 per person (total 4 tourists). The road from Djibouti City to Lake Abbe is bumpy, but not as bad as the ones in Danakil Depression. Lake Abbe is famous for numerous limestone chimneys in the area and for the beautiful sunset views of the lake and the chimneys. The lake also attracts flamingos that can be seen in the early morning. There is a campsite near the lake. The area is very hot day and night. I took the lesson at Danakil Depression and slept outside the huts this time and amazingly got a few hours real sleep!
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| Sunset over Lake Abbe |
September 22, 2014
Lake Assal
The 2nd day of the tour is to visit Lake Assal, the lowest point in Africa at -155 meters. Just before reaching Lake Assal, we stopped at Lake Ghoubet which turns out to be more beautiful than Lake Assal. However, the significance of Lake Assal cannot be replaced, not only because of its altitude, but also because of the huge salt field surrounding the lake that makes the view unique from other lakes.
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| Lake Assal |
September 23, 2014
Ras Eiro & Djibouti City
Another highlight of a trip to Djibouti is doing some snorkeling or scuba diving. I joined a day tour to go to the less-known Ras Riro/Turtle Point (Dolphin Excursions, US$87 per person, total 4 tourists). The snorkeling is nice, if not dramatic. And the supposed lunch at a remote little beach turned to be short, due to the unbearable heat.
Back to the travel agency around 3 pm, I decided to use the remaining couple of hours to explore Djibouti City. Because of the heat, most government organizations and shops are closed between 1 and 4 pm in Djibouti and reopen at 4 pm for another 2 hours or so. The central square “Place Menelik” is a little bit messy but there are facilities all around the square, such as banks, money changers (offering better rates than banks), supermarkets and internet cafes. There are also trendy restaurants and cafes in the area.
The hotel I stayed, Auberge Sable Blanc (7,700 Djibouti franc), is of good value (free wifi) and within walking distance to the center. There are two good restaurants near the hotel. One offers good western dishes for 1,000 Djibouti franc and the other on the shore has great views of the bay and dynamic Lebanese music to listen/watch – a real relaxing place in the evening. I ordered a kebab for 2,000 Djibouti franc and it’s more than enough for one person.
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| Ras Eiro |
September 24, 2014
Djibouti City to Loyaada
A transit day again. Since the direct flight from Djibouti to Somaliland is very infrequent (only two times a week), I had to take the 20 hour overland journey from Djibouti City to Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland. The shared taxi (4 wheel jeep) is supposed to leave Djibouti City at 4 pm everyday but I was not surprised to see it actually left around 5 pm.
Immigration clearance at Loyaada on the Djibouti side was no hassle. However, on the Somaliland part of the town, I was told that the visa/entry permit I got from the Somaliland representative in Canada (which I paid $50 plus shipping) was not recognized and I had to pay another US31 to get a visa on arrival. This indicates the irregulation of this “country” and that phenomenon carried on throughout my brief two day stay in Somaliland.
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| On the Way from Loyaada to Hargeisa |
September 25, 2014
Las Geel
The overland journey to Hargeisa is a tough one - there are barely “roads” in the desert and the entire journey is very bumpy, that makes sleeping impossible. Broken cars are expected and I saw it twice during my trip (it got fixed eventually). At 12 noon, the jeep finally arrived in Hargeisa.
The driver terminated in the suburb of the city and I had to take a taxi (US$5) to the shared taxi stand for Berbera. The plan was to go to Las Geel then continue to Berbera. After talking to a few drivers, I picked a guy for US$60. Perhaps because there are few tourists in Somaliland, this driver didn't seem to know the procedures for foreigners to visit Las Geel. I instructed him to go to the police station to get the permit first. Theoretically tourists need to get the entry permit to Las Geel first then the police escort. Because of the weekend (Somaliland observes the Muslim calendar so Thursday is like Saturday in other parts of the world). I knew everything is flexible in Somaliland and after talking to the police they agreed to provide the escort without the entry permit (of cause I paid slightly more to the police).
Las Geel is an open gallery of rock art dated around 6,000 years ago (exact date unknown). Most paintings contain cows, dogs and people dancing, etc. It's said to be the largest such site in Africa and well preserved.
Continuing to Berbera, it's already dark. I checked in Man-soor Hotel (US$63), leaving the beach to the next day.
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| Rock Art in Las Geel |
September 26, 2014
Berbera to Hargeisa
Just before enjoying the breakfast provided by the hotel, I went outside the hotel and had a peek of Berbera Beach. The beach itself is nice with few people and is swimming friendly. Another interesting site in town is Ottoman Mosque which I asked to stop at in my journey back to Hargeisa. The hotel arranged a taxi back to Hargeisa Airport for US$40 but indicated that they would put 5 more passengers in the car as well. It turned out to be very time consuming and it took almost 6 hours to reach Hargeisa Airport for the otherwise 2-3 hour journey.
Before reaching Hargeisa Airport, I asked the driver to stop by the Livestock Market in the suburb of Hargeisa to get an idea what the market looks like. It was already late afternoon and I didn't see any caramels there. I did see lots of goats there, some with numbers written on their body. Surprisingly, many vendors were women.
At Hargeisa Airport, I had to pay a US$10 airport fee and a US$33 departure tax to leave Somaliland. The flight heading for Addis Ababa departed on time at 5 pm. From Addis, I changed to another airplane to Toronto, that marked the end of my journey to the Horn of Africa.
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| Livestock Market, Hargeisa |
Summary
The Horn of Africa is definitely worth visiting. While Ethiopia is a popular tourist destination, Djibouti and Somaliland see few tourists. Even in Ethiopia, many tourists bypass Danakil Depression which is a regret. Danakil Depression does need some adventurous spirit to visit but it's one of the once-in-a-life-time experiences one can expect. Lake Abbe and Lake Assal in Djibouti are also unique places not seen in other parts of the world. Like Daakil Depression, you need to be prepared for the heat in the two lakes as well. Traveling in Somaliland offers unique experience too, as there is no “tourism industry” in this “country”. It often takes time for the local people to understand what you want to do and for you to realize what they have done for you (usually for good). Plan extra time for this extended understanding period.
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