Lake Natron
Caustic soda lake below Ol Doinyo Lengai
Lake Natron lies close to the Kenyan border beneath Ol Doinyo Lengai, the active volcano the Maasai call the Mountain of God. It is shallow, extremely alkaline and often very hot, and the mineral crust across its surface takes on strong reds and oranges from the salt-loving micro-organisms that live in it.
Those conditions are hostile to almost everything, which is precisely why it matters: Natron is the principal breeding site for East Africa's lesser flamingos, because the caustic water keeps predators away from the nests.
Why visit Lake Natron
Natron is a different kind of trip from the rest of the northern circuit. It is remote, the roads in are rough, the heat is serious, and there's no dense concentration of big game. People come for the landscape, the flamingos and the volcano, not for a game drive.
The usual activities are walking to the waterfalls in the Ngare Sero gorge, walking out toward the lake shore with a Maasai guide, and, for the properly committed, a night ascent of Ol Doinyo Lengai timed to reach the summit at dawn. That climb is steep, loose underfoot and genuinely demanding, and it isn't a casual add-on.
We don't currently sell Natron as a named itinerary. It is arranged as an extension for travellers who specifically want it, usually added to a northern circuit trip. If it interests you, ask. But ask knowing that it's a rougher trip than the parks.
Practical notes
Wildlife
Lesser flamingo in very large numbers when conditions suit, and this is their main breeding site in the region. Otherwise limited: some plains game, and birdlife around the freshwater springs and gorge.
What to do there
Walks in the Ngare Sero gorge and to the waterfalls, guided walks toward the lake shore, and the night ascent of Ol Doinyo Lengai for experienced and fit trekkers.
Getting there
By road north from the Arusha area or across from the Ngorongoro highlands. The route is rough and slow, which is a large part of why the area stays quiet.
Best time to visit
The dry months are more comfortable and the roads far easier. Flamingo numbers vary with water level and aren't predictable.
A landscape that does not look survivable
Natron is the strangest place on the northern circuit, and the least like a safari.
It is a shallow soda lake sitting at about 600 metres on the floor of the Rift Valley, one of the lowest and hottest places in Tanzania. Water comes in from mineral-rich springs and the Ewaso Ng'iro river, but nothing flows out. The sun evaporates it and concentrates what is left into something close to caustic soda.
The surface can reach 60°C, and the water can be more alkaline than pH 10. It will burn your skin, and it will blind an animal that falls in.
A specialised community of salt-loving micro-organisms does live in it. Some of them are cyanobacteria carrying red and orange pigments. They give the lake the deep reds and pinks it is photographed for. The colours are strongest late in the dry season, when the water has concentrated the most.
Above the lake stands Ol Doinyo Lengai, which means Mountain of God in Maa. It is an active volcano, and the only one on earth that erupts natrocarbonatite lava. That lava is unusually cool and unusually runny, and it looks black, not glowing, when it flows. Within days it weathers to white, which is why the summit looks snow-capped from a distance in the middle of Africa.
Between the lake and the mountain there is black lava, dust and low scrub, grazed by Maasai cattle. There is very little game. Instead you get a view of geology still happening.
Flamingos, the waterfall, and the volcano
Natron is the most important breeding site for lesser flamingos in East Africa. The reason is the very thing that makes the lake so hostile. The caustic water and the soft soda flats stop predators reaching the nesting islands, so the birds nest there when conditions allow.
Numbers change enormously with the water level, and the birds do not breed every year. You cannot go near the nesting areas, because disturbance is a real conservation problem here. You watch from the shoreline, at a distance.
The Ngare Sero gorge walk is the part most visitors enjoy most, and the part almost nobody expects. You wade and scramble up a narrow stream cut into the escarpment for about an hour, and come out at a waterfall and a freshwater pool. The pool is safe to swim in and it is cold. After the heat down at the lake it is a real relief. You need a local guide from the village, and you pay them separately.
You climb Ol Doinyo Lengai from the base at about midnight, to reach the summit at dawn. It takes roughly five to seven hours to get up, on steep, loose volcanic ash, and the gradient never lets up. Coming down is harder on your legs than going up. It is a far more serious climb than its 2,962 metres suggests, so do not attempt it casually or in bad conditions. Ask about current volcanic activity before you commit.
There are also human footprints preserved in ash near the lake, thought to be about 19,000 years old. You can visit them with a guide.
Getting there, and what it costs you in comfort
The drive is the price of getting here. You reach Natron from the Ngorongoro highlands or from Mto wa Mbu, on some of the roughest road on the northern circuit. It is corrugated, rocky and slow. Allow most of a day in each direction, and expect to be shaken hard.
Heat is the second cost. In the dry season daytime temperatures at the lake regularly go above 40°C, and there is almost no shade. Accommodation is simple. The bandas and tented camps here run on solar with limited water, and you cannot count on a hot shower.
There is a community fee for entering the Natron area, and separate fees for the waterfall guide and for climbing Lengai. You usually pay these in cash on the day, so confirm them with your operator in advance.
Do not swim in the lake or walk out onto the soda flats. The crust looks solid. It is not.
Natron suits travellers on a second trip who want something other than another game drive, and photographers who want a landscape unlike anywhere else in the country. It is a poor use of three days on a first safari.
Fees, guides and safety
There is a community fee for entering the Natron area, levied locally, plus separate charges for the waterfall guide and for climbing Ol Doinyo Lengai. These are usually paid in cash on the day. Confirm them with your operator in advance.
A local guide is required for the Ngare Sero gorge walk and for the volcano. Both are arranged in the village, not booked from elsewhere.
Do not swim in the lake or walk out onto the soda flats. The water is caustic, can reach very high temperatures at the surface, and the crust looks solid where it isn't.
Flamingo nesting areas aren't approachable. Disturbance is a genuine conservation problem here and viewing is from the shoreline at distance.
Ask about current volcanic activity before committing to Lengai. It is an active volcano and conditions change.
Bring far more water than you think, and expect daytime temperatures above 40°C in the dry season with almost no shade.
Visiting Lake Natron
Why is Lake Natron red?
Can you swim in Lake Natron?
Why is Lake Natron important for flamingos?
Can you climb Ol Doinyo Lengai from Lake Natron?
How do you get to Lake Natron?
Want Lake Natron in your trip?
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