The chimneys
Puffing steam.
Rolf Cosar — CC BY 3.0 · Jbcombes — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Rolf Cosar — CC BY 3.0 · Jbcombes — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Andrinivo — CC BY-SA 4.0
Lake Abbe is a salt lake on the Djibouti-Ethiopia border and the final destination of the Awash River, in the heart of the Afar Triangle. It is one of the most remote places on Earth, famous for tall limestone chimneys that puff steam and for the flamingos on its waters. It looks like a scene from another planet. The lake lies where three pieces of the Earth's crust are pulling apart in the Afar Depression. On its north-west shore rises Mount Dama Ali, a dormant volcano 1,068 metres high. Vast salt flats about ten kilometres wide stretch along its southern and south-western shores. You see a flat grey plain scattered with tall limestone chimneys, some tens of metres high, with steam rising from hot springs at their base. At dawn and dusk the chimneys stand as dark shapes under a pink sky. Near the lake is a traditional camp of round huts. It is about 65 km from Dikhil in a straight line and about 155 km from the capital. The road is hard and needs a four-wheel drive and a guide. The daytime heat is intense, so dawn is the finest time.
Puffing steam.
A pink sky.
On the water.
On the Djibouti-Ethiopia border, south-west Djibouti
By four-wheel drive with a guide, from Dikhil or the capital.
In winter, and at dawn for the finest view.