Lake Natron

About Lake Natron

Lake Natron is one of East Africa’s most surreal and visually otherworldly landscapes. A vast shallow alkaline lake sitting on the floor of the Great Rift Valley in northern Tanzania at the base of the active volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai, whose sodium carbonate-rich waters turn deep crimson and burnt orange under certain light conditions as salt-tolerant microorganisms bloom across its surface in colours that seem to belong to another planet entirely. The lake is the exclusive breeding ground of East Africa’s lesser flamingo population, over two million birds nest here and nowhere else, drawn by the caustic chemistry that keeps predators away and by the algae blooms that provide their primary food source, turning the lake’s shallow edges pink with the largest flamingo congregation on earth. The surrounding landscape of volcanic rock formations, steaming hot springs feeding the lake’s edges, ancient lava flows from Ol Doinyo Lengai, and the dramatic Rift Valley escarpment rising on all sides creates a setting of raw geological power found nowhere else in Tanzania. Lake Natron is accessible by road from Arusha via Monduli and Engaruka, and is typically combined with a climb of Ol Doinyo Lengai or a visit to the Maasai communities living along the lake’s southern shore or even going to Serengeti National Park via Klein's gate.