We arrived at about 11am at Djibouti airport and headed straight for lunch at a local restaurant. The lunch was a scrumptious fish served with veggies and local bread.
Post lunch, we drove east from Djibouti City for 4 hours to the border with Ethiopia to Lake Abhe. The road leading to the lake is paved, except for the last 80kms that are unpaved and rough!
Lake Abhe
An impressive small lake located and shared between neighboring Djibouti and Ethiopia, Lake Abhe is filled with water from the Awash River that flows from Ethiopia, however, the lake water is salty. With a lunar, desolate, strange, and interestingly beautiful landscape surrounding the lake, one can distinguish the lake easily due to the dark blue-green color that is surrounded by a a land otherwise dominated by browns and black.
Set in the Afar Depression, the most important feature are the sulfuric vents that look more like chimneys from the Earth. Some of those vents go high up to 150 meters (492 feet), and the more scientific explanation for their creation is the calcium deposit from the boiling water that bubbles up to the surface and continues as puffs of vents from the top of the chimneys.
Lake Abhe offers attractive sunsets with surreal landscapes. It’s a unique experience to stay at the lake for a night. There are tent-huts operated by local Afar people that needs to be booked well in advance considering the popularity of the area. Each hut has a simple bed with a mosquito net and a ceiling fan (that often does not work!). There are shared toilets and showers that give out salty unfiltered water not suitable for a bath!
Temperatures get really high, even in night, as much as 48C (118F), and mosquitoes are nasty!
Inside the hut at the campsite of Lake Abhe
Dinner was served at the campsite by the locals who live there – chopped lamb/chicken with veggies and curry, bread and soup, along with water or soda of your choice.
Thankfully the ceiling fan in my hut was working, which was huge respite from the extreme heat and humidity!
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Costs
Note: All values in USD, unless otherwise mentioned, are approximate and based on the exchange rate of USD 1 = DJF 175 at the time of publishing. Each cost is for one adult. Note that the expenses do not include international flights to and from Djibouti.
| What | Cost | Notes |
| None | $0.00 | No additional costs for the day. |
| Day Costs | $0.00 | Per person |
| Overall Costs | $785.71 | Per person |
Day 1
Djibouti City, Lake Abhe
Arriving in Djibouti and driving to Lake Abhe.
Day 2 – NEXT »
Lake Abhe, Dimbya Canyon, Lake Assal
Travel from Lake Abhe to Dimbya Canyon, Lake Assal, onward to Djibouti City.
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