Once referred to as the ‘land of the devil’ for its fiery landscapes, arid salt flats, perpetually active volcanoes and sulphurous geysers fed by searing waters, Dancalia is one of the most inhospitable places on the planet and yet one of the most evocative and fascinating.

Located in northern Ethiopia, this deep wound along the Rift Valley is a vast depression in the earth that in some places sinks up to 120 metres from sea level and expresses itself in a multitude of breathtaking scenarios and incredible geological realities. It is impossible to remain indifferent to the wild, overbearing nature of the Erta Ale volcano, or to the sulphurous expanse of Dallol, with its endless perennial geysers in shades ranging from jade-green, to cobalt-blue, to sulphur-yellow, with white streaks of salt and chalk. It is from here that most of Dancalia’s salt comes, a precious commodity and fundamental trading asset for the Afar population, one and a half million people dispersed in semi-nomadic clans that for centuries have been transporting salt in blocks for hundreds of kilometres to the highlands, in very long and spectacular dromedary caravans.