At Semera, you’ll pile into the Toyota Landcruiser that will take you into the Danakil in convoy. You’ll begin the drive into the Danakil Depression at around 9 AM. The roads leading out of Semera are smooth and asphalted, and as you drive further out of town there are some wonderful views of the Afar landscape. As you drive further towards Afdera Town (Salt Lake), the roads get rougher until you reach the Danakil desert. Here, the roads are a maze of solidified lava, rock, and sand with an occasional palm-lined oasis. You will stop for lunch before continuing to the base camp of the Erta Ale volcano. The drive from Semera to Dodom is around 7 hours. Your cooking team will wait for you to prepare dinner. As the sun begins to dip behind the horizon, you begin the 1 half-hour hike up Erta Ale. You’ll reach the crater rim around 7:00 PM, where the fiery lava lake awaits You’ll spend some time on the volcano and you will descend to the campsite then you will be served your dinner.

Afdera (Afar Afxeera) is one of the woredas in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the saline Lake Afdera, located in the southern part of the Afar Depression. Part of Administrative Zone 2, Afdera is bordered on the southwest by Administrative Zone 4, on the west by Erebti and Abala, on the north by Berhale, on the northeast by Eritrea, and on the southeast by Administrative Zone 1. The largest town of this woreda is Afdera.