Lac abbé in jibuti: apocalypse wow

Veröffentlicht: 15. Juli 2022, 15:28 Uhr

Aktualisiert: 09. Juni 2025, 22:52 Uhr

Von: wom87

The LAC Abbé in Dschibuti is both bleak and apocalyptic. Seeing this scary lunar landscape is a surreal experience like hardly anything else on Earth

It turns out that the film planet of 1968 was not shot at the Lac Abbé in Dschibuti, like several travel guides, numerous blogs, countless Dschibutic tour guides and even international newspapers proudly claim. The producers did not even leave the West of the United States.

This is very bad, firstly because the LAC Abbé is an appropriate apocalyptic location, and secondly because Dschibuti's only claim to fame is in it.

Before Lonely Planet Dschibuti 2018 appointed one of her best travel countries, I would have troubled to show on a map of this tiny stain of a nation - a sixth as big as England. Stationed on the horn of Africa between some rather dubious neighbors, it houses some of the strangest landscapes we have ever seen - Lac Abbé is one of them.

140 km southwest of Dschibuti-Stadt located on the Ethiopian border, the LAC Abbé could just as well lie on another planet. The salt lake is located on a level that is known as an Afar Triple Junction. Here is the central meeting point, at which three deviating segments of the earth's crust - the African, the Somali and the Arabic plate - are tearing apart.

It is this feature that defines and influences the strange topography of the Afar depression. Immediately behind the border in Ethiopia, other phenomena that side shape the landscape of the Danakil-Senke, including the sulfur corners of Dallol and the Vulkan Erta ale.

The only practical way to visit the LAC Abbé is out with the off-road vehicle from Dschibuti-Stadt. We joined an organized tour with Rushing Waters Adventures and left the city in the morning to drive across the country towards the border.

we kept in the Grand Bara desert, just another of the many crazy panoramas by Dschibuti. Broken tone - everything that is left of the dry sea floor - extends for miles in all directions and forms a huge dry level in the center of the country.

alt = “lac abbé in jibuti landscape 1 ″> atlas & boots The Grand-Bara desert-just one of the many crazy panoramas by dschibuti

After a short stop for lunch in the unforgettable city of Dikhil, we left the paved road to vapor through the desert. Here and there, small villages appeared that literally appeared out of nowhere. On the way we stopped to represent our legs and breastfeed our thirst.

Incredibly life is somehow life out here. The Afar have built settlements in this apparently sterile country where they keep cattle and dig well to get access to water.

closer to the banks of the lake there are swamp areas that offer their cattle a certain pasture. The Afar, which are a nomadic people, use these bags fully and lead their grazing goats back and forth from the shore.

Despite these bags, there is not much on the Lac Abbé: water. The lake may be the final goal of the Awash River in Ethiopia, but its dry landscape absorbs almost all of the water. Instead, a thin, flat layer of sultry water extends like an inhospitable gray layer.

After our stop in the village, we made our way back to the off -road vehicle to continue our trip. We meandered through rugged embankments before we suddenly appeared on the basalt plateau of the LAC Abbé.

The plateau is not without characteristics. Rather, hundreds of limestone chimneys are littered with, of which a few 50 m (160 feet) are high and emit vapor. In order to complete the already dystopian landscape, there are hot springs that break the earth, and temporary dust storms that sweep over them.

alt = “lac abbé in jibuti landscape 7 ″> atlas & boots The plateau is littered with hundreds of limestone chimney

We hiked between limestone chimneys and twisted, tortured, corks -educated battlements, which rose sharply from the dusty level. When the light began to fade, a typically inflamed African sun went down and the lunar landscape became Mars -like.

It actually felt like you were a witness to the apocalypse. Soon the dawn began and we continued to our warehouse for the night, certainly in the knowledge that the sun would open again and we would see how the whole scene disguised in the opposite direction.

After the camp in the Danakil desert in Ethiopia, we had no great hopes for this equally remote corner of Dschibutis, but were pleasantly surprised.

The camp was clean and had toilets, showers, flowing water and electricity. Our traditional Afar huts compared the belt animal tanks and were equipped with mattresses and mosquito nets-all relative luxury compared to what we had experienced on the other side of the lake in Ethiopia.

alt = “lac abbé in jibuti landscape 16 ″> atlas & boots bubble sprinkling and vaping through abysses in the floor

We slept comfortably (if a little smuggling with mosquito protection) and got up early to capture the sunrise and explore the landscape. We drove deeper into the site and parked to inspect the different topography under our feet.

In places, boiling sources bubbled and steamed through abysses in the ground. Elsewhere, groundwater pockets such as petrified and reflected the uncanny scenery. Wild boars trotted over the greener parts of the level.

After our morning exploration, we returned to the camp for breakfast before we got into our 4WD to go back to the coast to follow the LAC Assal, another unique landscape. Jibuti may be small, but what he lacks in size does it through ... well, crazy again.

It doesn't matter that the monkey was not shot here. It could have been very good.

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Atlas & Boots

lac abbé in jibuti: The essentials

What: Visit to the Lac Abbé in Dschibuti as part of a 2-day tour with 1 night to the Lac Abbé and Lac Assal.

Where: We stayed in an Afar camp that was surprisingly comfortable (running water, western toilets with bids and electricity!).

Then we returned to the Sheraton Djibouti with a view of the Red Sea. The rooms are clean and comfortable with excellent WiFi and beautiful sea view on one side of the hotel. The outer pool is located on an elevated platform over the sea and conveys the distinctive feeling of being on board a boat.

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Atlas & Boots

The hotel offers a number of amenities, including a free airport transfer, a business with the bare essentials, a business center and a fully equipped fitness center. Of course we preferred the cozy lounge area, perfect to enjoy a whiskey sour in the evening and watch the sunset over a gentle rippling sea. Overall, it was a welcome touch of comfort that we were able to end with.

When: The best time for a visit to Dschibuti is November to January when Walhaie pays off your annual visit and the weather is cooler. The temporary season from October and February to April is also a good time for a visit. May-September is extremely hot.

like: We visited the Lac Abbé in Dschibuti on a two -day tour with Rushing Waters Adventures, which is currently classified on Tripadvisor as the best company in Dschibuti. Rushing Waters is operated by the Ken from Wisconsin, who has lived in Dschibuti for over seven years (and can even speak Somali!).

Our tour was well organized and, as mentioned above, the accommodation camp was surprisingly comfortable. The tour includes collection and return, all meals and non -alcoholic drinks, a driver for two days and accommodation for one night.

Overall, it is an excellent way to visit these landscapes. Book via Ken at Rushing Waters Adventures: www.kayakdjibouti.com, kgradall@kayakdjibouti.com, +253 77 79 58.

jibuti is a small country, which means that it is pretty easy to move. Taxis from the airport require fixed driving prices to hotels in the city (approx. 2,000 DJF / $ 11). Check the board outside the airport to ensure that you are not calculated too high. Some hotels, including the Sheraton, offer free shuttles, so inform yourself beforehand.

Book international flights via skyscanner.net at the best prices.

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In order to learn more about sights such as the LAC Abbé in Dschibuti, we recommend the travel guide Lonely Planet Ethiopia & Dschibuti - ideal for those who want to explore both the most important sights and take the less busy road.