Lake Assal is located 157 meters below sea level.
Its salt content is one of the highest in the world: more than 300 grams of salt per liter of water. The beauty of this place inspired the French writer-adventurer J. Kessel, who described the « 3 color circles » of Lake Assal: the incomparable turquoise waters of the lake are surrounded by the whiteness of the salt ice, itself surrounded by the ochres or black colors of the surrounding volcanic rocks and mountains.
If you wish it and provided that the spray is not too strong, you can swim and float on Lake Assal; plastic shoes are recommended to protect against sharp salt crystals, and you should avoid immersing your head under water.
Don’t worry, web ring the freshwater gerry cans to take the obligatory shower after the saltwater bath!
At the edge of the lake, you can buy natural salt balls of varying sizes (the largest are the rarest) and objects or animal skulls crystallized in the salt.
You may be lucky enough to witness the exploitation of the salt crust according to ancestral methods, or to see a caravan of dromedaries with its cargo of bags of salt.
