Lake Natron

Lake Natron

Lake Natron is a mineral-rich soda lake sitting below the base of the active Ol Donyo Lengai in northern Tanzania, a soaring active volcano in the Rift Valley. It’s a breeding ground for hundreds of thousands of lesser flamingos, despite the highly alkaline state of the striking red waters. The area around the Lake is often described as having a desolate and almost lunar beauty. Trails lead from the lake to the Engero Sero waterfalls, which flow over craggy rocks into a natural pool.

East Africa has over 2.5 million Lesser Flamingos and roughly 1.5 million found in Tanzania, representing three-quarters of the world population and most of them are hatched at Lake Natron. Food is plentiful, nesting sites abound and above all, the lake is isolated and undisturbed. The lake and its ecosystem provides a source of livelihoods to the local communities.

The area around the lake offers different appealing attractiveness, numerous waterfalls and ravines with nesting places for Rüppell’s Griffon Vultures. Among the most prominent attractions of Lake Natron is the Gelai Volcano, a 2,942 m (9,652 feet) high volcano in the southeastern part, and the archeological site of Peninj, where archeologists discovered the Peninj Mandible (the fossilized teeth of Australopithecus boisei).

Some of the activities at Lake Natron are swimming, a visit to Maasai boma or a simple trek to the Ngorongoro Crater Highlands with numerous craters. Walks around the lake and to the streams and waterfalls along the nearby escarpment make for a fantastic adventure off the beaten track.

There are a number of campgrounds near the lake, which is also the base for climbing Ol Doinyo Lengai.

The area has a beautiful wildlife

 Flamingos build their nests using soda flats between the months of August and October. They feed with the lakes Spirulina algae and because the flamingos use this area for breeding, the lake and its surrounding is under the International concern for preservation. Other animals which inhabit this area are zebra, ostrich, fringed eared oryx, gazelle, gerenuk, lesser kudu and golden jackal.