Lake Natron (Lake Natron), in northern Tanzania, is one of the most mysterious places in Tanzania. Its reddish color, its volcanic landscapes and its flamingos, make it an ideal destination to get away from the classic 5-day safari in Tanzania.
Located in one of the most remote areas of the country, this alkaline lake is famous for its extreme waters, which can calcify the animals that fall into them. However, it is also a sanctuary for millions of flamingos that find their breeding grounds here.
Our trip to Lake Natron was a very positive surprise. From the beautiful drive to the lake, with the Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano nearby, a spectacular crater that we encountered along the way and even walking on the saline shore of the lake to see the hundreds of flamingos that inhabit Lake Natron.
Where Lake Natron is located
Lake Natron is located in northern Tanzania, near the border with Kenya and within the Rift Valley. If we look at google maps, we will see that it is located just above the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
It is a saline and alkaline lake with extremely warm waters (up to 60°C) and a pH of up to 10.5, which makes it hostile to many forms of life, except for some microalgae and flamingos, which use it as their main breeding ground.
Its intense red color and surreal appearance are due to the presence of algae and thermophilic bacteria that thrive in its waters.
Despite its high salinity, Lake Natron is a key ecosystem in the region, providing refuge for millions of flamingos that come each year to nest and hatch their young, and then move on to other lakes such as Lake Nakuru in Kenya.
Our experience at Lake Natron
How to get there
We went to Lake Natron, from the Lake Manyara area. After a safari in Tarangire National Park, and visiting some hotels in the Karatu area, we headed to the north of the country to visit the lake. With several stops (for lunch and to see the crater) and without much haste it took us about 4 hours to reach Lake Natron.
We were immediately impressed by the landscape of the area. We immediately noticed its arid character, with sparse population and very little tourism, especially during our visit in January.
The Shimo La Mungo Crater:
The environment is truly spectacular and reminded us of the most remote regions of the Argentine Patagonia, but with the presence of the Maasai. Our first stop for lunch was at the Shimo la Mungo crater, an easily accessible crater that pleasantly surprised us with its beauty.
The crater is located 12 km southwest of the Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano and is one of 200 such craters in the area. It has a diameter between 500 and 700 meters and a depth of about 70 meters. This type of crater was created through a single eruption. Technically this crater is called Maar-Type, and it was created when the magma underneath the earth rose and water was found on the surface. The magma mixed with the water, caused an explosion on the surface creating the current crater.
During the visit, Raquel bought some handicrafts from the Maasai women who approached us. The truth is that there were a lot of them, for only 3 of us, but well, she tried to distribute the purchases as best she could.
After visiting the crater and having lunch, we continued on our route, stopping every now and then to take pictures. It was too beautiful to pass up.
We were surprised by the number of Maasai children grazing their flocks in the area. They asked us for water. We gave them water, but the guide told us that they all asked for water and then threw the bottles on the ground. Nothing could be further from the truth, during the following kilometers, the children did not stop asking us for water and we saw how the road was full of empty plastic bottles. The guide did not stop again because he did not want them to throw them on the ground and it is also true that we could not give water to all the children because there were enough and we did not have water for everyone. But we were left with a bittersweet feeling.
Our visit to Lake Natron and the footprints of Engare Sero.
Upon arrival at Lake Natron we enter through the gate of the conservation area and pay the entrance fee. The money from the entrance fee is used to improve the quality of life of the Maasai communities living in the area. It goes directly to them, unlike in National Parks where the entrance fee goes to the Tanzanian state, in conservation areas like Lake Natron, the money is kept by the community.
We arrived at the lodge and decided to go directly to the lake with a Maasai guide (local to the area) who took us to the lake. It was already late afternoon and the sun was setting. It was beautiful and our 3 year old daughter felt the freedom of being able to run and walk without limits or dangers. We visited the lake completely alone, without any other travelers, and walked 1-2 hours around the lake. There were quite a few flamingos, but they had not all arrived for nesting yet.
Footprints Engare Sero
After visiting Lake Natron and seeing the flamingos and other birds, we went to see the homo sapiens footprints nearby. They are estimated to be between 5,000 and 19,000 years old and are one of the earliest records of human life in Africa. You see several footprints of children, women and men, going in one direction and seeming to turn around and come back. It is as if they are running away from danger or as if the ground is burning due to the volcanic eruption that may have occurred at that time.
They are the largest footprints found in Africa and provide information on how our ancestors moved in groups in an area that a priori did not have the best conditions for human life.
After seeing the footprints we headed to our lodge, owned by a Maasai.
Lodging within the Conservation Area
In Lake Natron there are several lodges and depending on your budget you can choose. We will go to Masai Jiraffe Lodge because it is run by the same Maasai community. Besides its “glamping” tents are beautiful. It also has rooms with private bathrooms. We slept in one of those rooms. But before dinner we still had time to swim in the pool 🙂
The Lodge, without being anything luxurious, is fine and the environment is beautiful and very safe for our daughter. So it is an ideal accommodation for families.
Engare Sero Waterfalls
The next day, we went hiking to visit the Engare Sero waterfalls. It is a relatively accessible trek, but it has a point of difficulty because the rocks are wet and you have to get into the water to cross the river several times. Our daughter was in the backpack carrier, and it was relatively easy to do the whole route, but always with the help of our Maasai guide who told us where to cross and gave us a hand in the most complicated places. If you go alone with children and you are used to trekking you will not have any difficulty, of course, ask about the flow of the river (in the rainy season you can not go).
Our opinion of Lake Natron waterfalls: It was an excursion that we really liked because it is a beautiful environment and at the end of everything when you get to the waterfalls you can get a good dip. But it is like everything else, if the same excursion coincides with a lot of people, it can happen that the experience is regular. We met a group of American students but they stayed on one side of the waterfall and we stayed on the other side. But if another group had arrived, surely it would have been an overcrowded experience.
Ol Doinyo Lengai (the mountain of God)
During most of the visit to Lake Natron we had the Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano in sight. This is a volcano of almost 3,000 meters, located south of Lake Natron and in northern Tanzania. It is still active with several hornitos and cones. It is considered by the inhabitants of the area (the Maasai) as the “mountain of God” and they go to it to make sacrifices and ask God to help them when they have a problem, either a disease, or want rain in their territory.
It is the only volcano in the world that produces tephra and lavas, a unique composition in the world. By the way, if you want, you can climb up to the volcano, but you have to be fit and have experience and the right clothes.
Best time for flamingo sightings in Lake Natron
The best time to see flamingos at Lake Natron in Tanzania is in February and March. This is when most of the flamingos come to nest and raise their young. From July onwards they begin to move to other lakes and do not return to Lake Natron until December.