Lake Abbé

Lake Abbé, straddling the remote border with Ethiopia in Djibouti's southwest, is one of the most surreal and otherworldly landscapes on earth, so alien that it has famously served as a setting for science-fiction films. Across a barren, cracked plain rise hundreds of towering limestone chimneys, some up to 50 metres high and many venting steam from the geothermal forces beneath, formed where hot springs deposited minerals over millennia. Beside them lies a shallow, salty lake fringed with flamingos, and the whole eerie scene, especially at sunrise and sunset amid the steam and strange forms, is unforgettable, best experienced camping overnight.

What you actually see

• The limestone chimneys - the hundreds of towering steaming spires.
• The steam vents - the geothermal steam rising from the plain.
• The flamingos - the birds on the shallow salt lake.
• The sunrise and sunset - the eerie scene at dawn and dusk.

When to go

November to March, the cooler season, for the most bearable conditions, as the region is extremely hot; the chimneys are at their most atmospheric and photogenic at sunrise and sunset, when the low light and steam create an eerie spectacle, so an overnight camp is the classic way to experience it.

Honest expectations

Lake Abbé is deeply remote, reached only by a long four-wheel-drive journey across harsh terrain and best experienced on an overnight camping trip with basic facilities, so it is a genuine desert adventure for the intrepid rather than a casual visit, and the heat is intense. For the reward of one of the most surreal, otherworldly landscapes on the planet, a field of steaming chimneys and flamingos glowing at dawn, though, it is extraordinary and unforgettable.

Nearby

Lake Assal, the town of Dikhil and the Ethiopian border are within reach.