Safari to Lake Natron

arguably the greatest single day hike in Africa

Lake Natron is a little-visited area of magnificent volcanic landscapes, amongst the finest scenery in the whole of Africa.

The area is part of a vast mixed use conservation area of around 20,000 square kilometres which also includes Tarangire and Lake Manyara national parks.

The main highlights of the area are the fabulous active volcano Oldonyo Lengai (which can be hiked in a day), the remarkable Lake Natron (with its soda formations and flamingoes), palaeontological sites and cultural interaction with the local Maasai people.

Despite lying so close to the main safari route through Ngorongoro and Serengeti, the Lake Natron area receives only a trickle of safari vehicles, it really is a surprising backwater.

We tend to recommend the Lake Natron area to guests who really appreciate getting off the beaten track and who appreciate the unusual range of activities on offer down here.

The main potential downsides are that Lake Natron takes many hours to get to along some pretty rough roads, the area is not strong for wildlife and the choice of accommodation is limited to some pretty outdoorsy options.

The key issue in this Lake Natron area is the effect of rain on road conditions, since there are most definitely periods when getting here can be more trouble than it’s worth.

Jun-Oct is the main dry season and the tracks should be easily navigable.
Mar-May is the main rainy season and the tracks can become difficult to negotiate and the whole drive in and out of Lake Eyasi can become much more of a chore than a pleasure.

Nov-Mar is a much more unpredictable period, with conditions depending very much on the strength of the short rains. We tend to continue arranging safaris for this period, but with the caveat that last minute route changes may be necessary in the unlikely event of heavy rain.

Getting there

The vast majority of visitors to Lake Natron include it in a guided overland safari of the greater region.

Despite being located immediately adjacent to Serengeti and Ngorongoro, Lake Natron experiences less than 1% of the visitor numbers into those areas and therefore has a pleasantly remote feel.

We usually prefer to fit the Lake Natron into a clockwise routing around the region, usually starting in Arusha and travelling north through Ngorongoro to Serengeti.

From Serengeti there are two routes out to Lake Natron.

During the May-Nov dry season it is more common to exit Serengeti via the northerly Klein’s Gate (since the migration is up north) and drive down on the backtracks and through the various Maasai villages of Loliondo.

During the Dec-Apr green season it is more common to exit Serengeti through the southerly Angata Salei area (since the migration is down south) and drive across the plains, notably passing the vulture roost at Olkarien Gorge, before descending the Rift Escarpment to Natron.

A third rather exciting option is to drive from Serengeti, back through the Ngorongoro Crater and out into the remote highlands to the mysterious Empakai Crater, from where it is possible to undertake a fabulous two day trek through Maasai villages and down the Rift Escarpment below the volcano and down into Natron.

When in the Lake Natron area you can continue to explore with your guide and vehicle, as well as getting out on foot in the company of the local guides.
In all these cases the exit is usually the rough road down to Lake Manyara, although there are options to cut directly east to meet the Nairobi-Arusha road just south of the border with Kenya.

Where to stay

Although there are now a handful of accommodation options in this area, the outstanding property remains the unusual Lake Natron Camp, which offers a particularly wide range of activities and a high standard of guiding.

reached by a very long and dusty drive