Ethiopia might sound like a tempting warm-weather escape during the winter months, but the Danakil Depression might be more than you signed up for. In northern Ethiopia, this is one of the lowest, hottest, and driest places on Earth. It’s home to the Erta Ale lava lake, one of just six lava lakes on Earth, and Dallol — a boiling hot spring that resembles a strangely colorful apocalyptic hellscape more than anything else. This might not sound like a ringing endorsement, but Dallol’s sulphur springs are one of the most geographically unique landscapes anywhere in the world, and worth the temporary physical discomfort of a visit
