Daring photographer captures rare images of lava lake that's been flowing for over 100 YEARS

These dramatic images offer a rare glimpse inside the 'Gateway To Hell', one of the world's oldest continuously active lava lakes.

Portuguese travel photographer Joel Santos, 38, piloted a drone over the bubbling lake - which reaches temperatures exceeding 1,100 degrees Celsius - while he stood just a metre from the edge.

The lake, situated in Afar, Ethiopia, has had a continuous flow since 1906 and lies inside the 2,011-foot-high Erta Ale volcano, otherwise known as the Smoking Mountain.

These dramatic images offer a rare glimpse inside the 'Gateway To Hell', one of the world's oldest continuously active lava lakes

Portuguese travel photographer Joel Santos, 38, piloted a drone over the bubbling lake - which reaches temperatures exceeding 1,100 degrees Celsius - while he stood just a metre from the edge

Mr Santos said, 'Every two or three minutes you can hear a small hiss of pressure beneath the volcano and all of a sudden a crack (pictured) just opens wide'

The last major eruption occurred In September 2005, which killed a 250-strong heard of livestock and forced people in the surrounding area to flee.