Moussa Ali Attempt, Djibouti Highpoint

Djibouti, Moussa Ali Attempt

Waiting in Tadjoura

Feb 18-20, 2026

Feb 18 – fly to Djibouti, drive to Tajdoura
Feb 19 – try unsuccessfully to get permission to climb peak
Feb 20 – drive back to Djibouti city, fly out

Moussa Ali, the highpoint of Djibouti, is located on the triborder point between Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Djibouti. Based on satellite images a road goes to a point 300m below the summit on the Djibouti side. So, in theory, it should be a short day hike.

Driving from Djibouti city around the bay

However, this is a sensitive border area and permission from the military is required for access. Ginge Fullen successfully climbed it in 2004. In 2017 Francis Tapon got close from the Ethiopia side, but was turned around by the military.

Now in 2026 there is a brewing conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia and the border zone is tricky to access.

Islands in Lake Ghoubet

We thought we had secured permission in advance, and flew from Hargeisa, Somalia, to Djibouti on Feb 18 in early afternoon. We had secured visas in advance and soon met our drivers in two land cruisers. We also met Saeed from UAE, Yousef and Faisal from Kuwait, and Markus from Germany. This was a rare meeting of four century club members (me, serge, Saeed, Markus).

Waiting in Tadjoura

There exists a ferry from Djibouti across the bay to Tajdoura, but we were too late to catch it. So we drove four hours around, getting a now familiar African massage from the rough roads.

Our drivers said they would meet with the appropriate authorities that night to secure permission. This was troubling, because it was late and we had agreed before coming that they had already secured permission before we arrived.

An ostrich wandering around the parking lot of a restaurant

Feb 19 in the morning our contacts said they hadn’t received permission the previous night, so would get it in the morning. We waited until noon until they finally returned and said permission was denied. Apparently in the recent weeks the border zone had become more dangerous and the military didn’t want us in there. The Djibouti military was sending drones into the border area for surveillance. That is definitely not a place to sneak in.

After pursuing a few last ditch efforts that day we resigned to defeat.

On the summit of a hill with negative elevation near Lake Assal

The next morning we drove the long road back, stopping at Lake Assal on the way. This is the lowest point in Africa, 155m below sea level. We flew out of Djibouti city that evening.

© 2026, egilbert@alum.mit.edu. All rights reserved.