Discover the lowest point of the African continent.
Lake Assal
The traveler will be amazed by this unique place. The gorgeous colorings vary throughout the day. Mysterious alchemy of colors, the white of the salt, the black of the lava, the ocher of the earth, the intense emerald of the depth of the lake, the perfect blue of the sky make this place a magical place and rare beauty. It is one of the most exceptional sites in the region and the lowest point of the African continent, located less than 153 meters below sea level. The salinity of Lake Assal is 35g / liter or 10 times more than the salt content of the Red Sea. The Lake has a solid part, the pack ice, with an area of 52 km2 with a maximum thickness of 60 m, and a brine part of 54 km2 with a depth that can reach up to 40 m.
The Abbe lake: a landscape of a fantastic world …
Would you like to discover idyllic landscapes during your trip to Djibouti? Treat yourself to a sensational stroll along the shores of magnificent Lac Abbé and you will understand that there is nothing more attractive, and more fascinating than this one-of-a-kind jewel. “Extraterrestrial” landscape, lunar and magnificent at dawn, with astonishing mineral formations, hot springs, and abundant fauna: flamingos, ibises, ostriches, hyenas, gazelles.
THE ALLOS DEPRESSION AND ITS SALT LAKES
A natural site with an extraordinary landscape….
Difficult to access, the Allols are supplied with sea water by underground fractures. Made up of vast expanses of salt, the landscape is very different from Lake Assal: there are many hot springs, small swamps, narrow expanses of surprising greenery where the tree from which we draw wine grows. palm: the palm-doum.
THE RIFT FAULT, ARDOUKOBA VOLCANO, GOUBET EL-KHARAB
Live the overwhelming experience of our world in perpetual turmoil…
The rift fault
Main breaking point, a triple junction, which is located in Djibouti in the Afar depression ……… ..
The beginnings of a new ocean
Main breaking point, a triple junction, which is located in Djibouti in the Afar depression (north of Ethiopia). It causes a separation of tectonic plates. This Rift presents many manifestations of crustal distension: open faults, recent volcanism and significant heat flux. Numerous volcanic cones dot this sector, including the Ardoukoba, the last volcano born on November 7, 1978.
Ardoukoba
During your stay in Djibouti, do not hesitate to make your way to this unique area in the world, located between Goubet and Lake Assal, considered in particular as a paradise for geologists and volcanologists. Few places in the world allow one to contemplate with such ease the movements and the perpetual work of the earth’s crust.
Culminating at an altitude of 298 meters, the Ardoukoba, a mushroom-volcano, was born and died in one week in November 1978. In the place, lies a veritable sea of black lava, shining, sometimes smooth, sometimes tormented and chaotic which hurtles down between Ardoukoba and Goubet.
The Goubet al-Kharab
At the extreme tip of the Gulf of Tadjourah, Goubet Al-Kharab is a magnificent and disturbing cove dominated by Devil’s Island, an impressive dome that sprang up in the middle of the bay during tectonic movements linked to the formation of the Rift of Assal. Accessible by the road which dominates it or by boat, the Goubet has always suffered from an evil reputation, to such an extent that no Djiboutian fisherman would still risk his boat there today! The site, it is true, has something to strike the imagination, surrounded by arid mountains which descend directly into the waters.
Even if, nobody was “pulled by the feet” towards the depths of Goubet, nobody today doubts the existence of an underwater fauna of a particularly imposing size (manta rays, sharks) .
DAY’S PRIMARY FOREST
An exceptional reservoir of biodiversity, the Day forest is a living remnant of what the vegetation of the Sahara and Arabia was a few thousand years ago…
The Day Forest National Park is located at an altitude of 1,500 meters, on the slopes of Mount Goda. Living vestige of what must have been the vegetation of the Sahara and Arabia a few thousand years ago, the forest is home to giant acacias, junipers, wild olive trees, jujube trees, but also sacred Baboons of Egypt, green monkeys, warthogs, and an infinite variety of birds and a few panthers… An exceptional reservoir of biodiversity. The most notable animal species is certainly the Francolin of Djibouti ( Pternistis ochropectus ), the only endemic bird of the country.
PROTECTED AREA OF THE DJALELLO VALLEY
A formidable site of astonishing biodiversity and for the observation of Gazelles …
During your stay, do not hesitate to visit the Djalelo valley for its astonishing biodiversity. Indeed, located 1 hour from the capital, this valley is home to the highest concentration of “giraffe gazelles” or “guerenuks” in the local Somali language.
With a little luck, we can see 4 species of antelope in the same place:
– Giraffe gazelle
– Soemmerring’s gazelle
– Pelzeln’s gazelle
– Salt’s dik – dik
