This trip to the Horn of Africa includes visits to Ethiopia’s and Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland. It begins with a visit to Ethiopia’s otherworldly Danakil Depression and continues to the Tigray region’s rock churches and Somaliland’s Laas Geel cave paintings. Erta Ale is an active volcano near Ethiopia’s inhospitable Danakil Depression that continues to produce lava, creating a beautiful lake of magma. Tigray, also in Ethiopia, has many rock churches that are known for their ancient designs and paintings. Finally, on the outskirts of Hargeisa, Somaliland, are intricate cave paintings from possibly as far back as 9000 B.C. The trip is run by Untamed Borders, an adventure travel company that organizes trips to some of the world's most inaccessible places. They specialize in trips to Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, the Middle East, East Africa, Central Asia and the Caucasus. The trip is 10 days long, with seven in Ethiopia and four in Somaliland. The trip costs $3,275.

James Willcox, the co-founder of Untamed Borders, is also one of the organizers of the Somaliland Marathon. To learn more about Somaliland and the Somaliland Marathon, check out CATALYST’s Travel and Purpose Podcast, in which James is interviewed about his experience. 

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Untamed Borders

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