Salt Lake · Afar Region · Danakil
Lake Afdera
The desert has a lake.
- Best Time
- Nov – Jan
- Suggested Stay
- A stop or one night
- Altitude
- More than 100 m below sea level
- Region
- Afar Region · Danakil
Why We Go
After hours of salt flats and volcanic terrain, water appears in the desert.
Lake Afdera, also called Afrera, offers another side of Afar. It lies more than 100 metres below sea level and covers about 117 square kilometres, with no river flowing in: hot springs along the shore feed it instead.
The lake is up to about 80 metres deep and holds roughly 160 grams of salt per litre. The white rectangles around its shore are evaporation ponds, where salt is produced from the brine; the deposits around it are among the largest in the region.
On most of our Danakil expeditions, Afdera is the first stop after the descent from Semera, and on longer journeys we spend a night here. It becomes a natural pause: a place to slow down, look back at the road and understand how varied Afar really is.
Highlights
- Hypersaline water, more than four times saltier than the sea
- Hot springs along the shore
- Salt evaporation ponds and the local salt works
- A natural pause on the road to Erta Ale
Expeditions Including Lake Afdera
Routes that pass through here
Plan This Destination
Build Lake Afdera into your journey
Tell us what you are curious about, what you want to photograph and how slowly or quickly you want to travel. We build the journey around you and confirm current conditions for your dates.
Speak With a Designer
Your Ethiopia should not feel like someone else’s itinerary
Ask about road conditions, the season or what a day here is really like. You will get a straight answer from the team that runs the route.
Or call us directly on +251 956 61 6969