Dallol (Danakil Depression)

Dallol is a ghost town today but back in the 1960s it was a mining settlement. Its modern attractions include the fascinating hydrothermal deposits like those shown here. It’s also interesting to note that the Afar Depression, where Dallol is located, is a volcanically active region, not far from a volcano of the same name. So the heat must seem to come from every direction here: from the sun above, and bubbling up from the ground below.

Visit Dallol with our full Danakil Depression Tour or Short Danakil Depression Tour

Dallol is also one of the most remote places on Earth. There are no roads; the only regular transport service is provided by camel caravans which travel to the area to collect salt.

Dallol is one of the world's most spectacular landscape: a vast area of geysers, hills of sulphur and uplifted thick salt deposits affected by intense fumarolic activity, probably caused by an active volcanic system beneath several kilometers of evaporation salt deposits.

This scorching hot town in the Afar Depression of Ethiopia holds the record for having the highest average annual temperature ever recorded. From 1960 to 1966, Dallol averaged 94 degrees Fahrenheit (daytime temperatures regularly rose to over 100 degrees). This number is an annual average, meaning that Dallol's temperature dips only moderately throughout the year. There is almost never a break from the heat at any time of the year.

Dallol is said to be the hottest place on the planet, with average annual temperatures well above 30 deg C.

Nearby is the Dallol volcano, which last erupted in 1926.