Lake Assal, the Goubet and Rift Valley Craters

Less than two hours' drive west of central Djibouti City lies one of the most dramatic geological landscapes on earth. Here, the East African Rift meets the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden rifts in the Afar Triple Junction, pulling the earth's crust apart and dropping the land 155 metres below sea level into the blinding white salt basin of Lake Assal.

Dimbio Canyon and the Goubet al-Kharab (Devil's Cauldron)

Setting out early from the capital in a 4x4 with a driver along the paved Route de l'Unité (RN1 and RN9), you climb above the southern shore of the Gulf of Tadjoura. Pause first at the panoramic viewpoint over Dimbio Canyon, where sheer tiered cliffs of dark basalt plunge toward the water. Continuing west, the road descends toward Goubet al-Kharab, a nearly landlocked inner bay separated from the main Gulf of Tadjoura by a narrow fault channel where tidal currents swirl around two steep volcanic cones known as the Devil's Islands.

Between Goubet al-Kharab and Lake Assal rises a lunar ridge of ropy black basalt lava flows and deep open fissures: here in November 1978, the earth split open during a week-long eruption that gave birth to Ardoukôba, the youngest volcano in Djibouti, while widening the rift between Africa and Arabia.

Standing 155 metres below sea level at Lake Assal

Passing Ardoukôba, the black lava gives way to a surreal panorama of luminous turquoise, emerald and cobalt water bordered by a vast crescent of snow-white salt. At 155 metres below sea level, Lake Assal is the lowest point on the African continent. Curiously, the lake is fed not by freshwater rivers, but by seawater from the Gulf of Tadjoura that seeps underground through porous fault fissures beneath Ardoukôba volcano and emerges as hot mineral springs along the eastern shore.

Walking the salt pan and floating in 34.8% salinity

Because intense desert sun evaporates the water almost as fast as it seeps in, Lake Assal reaches a salinity of roughly 34.8%, making it saltier than the Dead Sea. For centuries, Afar nomadic caravans loaded rectangular slabs of salt from this crust onto camel trains bound for the Ethiopian highlands. Walk out across the crunchy geometric salt polygons to the water's edge where spherical salt pearls form in the shallows. If you float in the buoyant water, keep every drop away from your eyes and bring fresh water in your vehicle to rinse your skin immediately afterwards. Compare seasonal temperatures in best time to visit Djibouti City.