Introduction to Lake Natron

Renowned for its unique landscape, Lake Natron is incomparable to other places in Tanzania.
The place has charm and houses the famous mountain of god, Ol Doinyo Lengai. It is also where Tanzania’s deadly lake exists!

Why visit Lake Natron?

  • Natron offers good game viewing. You may encounter animals like gerenuk here.
  • It is the only well-known breeding site for millions of lesser flamingos, covering the lake from August to October.
  • It’s so wildly different from the neighboring attractions and houses Tanzania’s deadly red lake.

Getting to Lake Natron

By Road

You can reach Lake Natron by road for around 2 hours from Manyara or Ngorongoro. However, note that the journey will be bumpy.

By Air

By air, you can fly from Arusha Airport, which usually takes around 1 hour to reach Lake Natron.

Best Time to visit Lake Natron

First, it’s best to know that Lake Natron is visitable all year round.
However, particular months offer excellent game-viewing experiences, like June to October, which is the dry season.
These months are slightly cooler. The area is too hot from December to February during the short dry season. The flamingos gather at the lake in August and continue to amass until October.
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Weather in Lake Natron

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Things to do in Lake Natron

You can do day hikes to the Great Rift, bird watching, and much more at Lake Natron.

Wildlife in Lake Natron

Though Lake Natron has lesser wildlife, its haunting beauty is incomparable. So, seeing its beauty firsthand is something you shouldn’t miss out on!

Birds in Lake Natron

With over 250 bird species, Lake Natron is one of the best places for bird watching. Your eyes will surely have a feast!

Landscape in Lake Natron

Although Lake Natron is relatively small, it boasts several hauntingly beautiful landscapes that you can check out below.

Where to stay in Lake Natron

Staying at the campsite to Luxury Glamping with an amazing view of Ol Doinyo Lengai is available here.

Lake Natron Tours: Our Top Tours in Lake Natron

Reviews of Lake Natron

Top questions answered for Lake Natron

Lake Natron is unlike anywhere you’ve been before. So, you have questions. We’ve been visiting for decades. So, we have answers.

You can go to Lake Natron for its spectacular scenery and the possibility of taking a challenging night hike to Oldoinyo Lengai, the mountain of God.

The answer is that it depends on the activity you want to do. For instance, if you want an excellent game-viewing experience, this is not the place to be.

Though the place is uniquely beautiful, the wildlife here is scarce. But, if you intend to see the red lake and the Oldoinyo Lengai, the place is worth visiting.

The mystery behind Lake Natron is its eerie ability to turn animal corpses into stone. The lake’s high sodium bicarbonate content preserves the animal’s body, leaving behind statue-like figures.

Not at all. However, you may have a corrosive burn if you touch the water for quite some time.

You can visit Lake Natron year-round. However, the ideal time to visit there would be during the dry season—from late May to early November, which happens to be slightly cooler.

Visiting, particularly in August, is a good option since flamingos gather around the lake at this time.

No. If you accidentally touch the lake’s water, your eyes or skin will likely be damaged.

Lake Natron is not deadly. It houses some wildlife and birds, most prominently the lesser flamingos. These birds casually wade the caustic water without any problems.

If you get your body submerged in the waters of Lake Natron, your body will stop decomposing due to the water’s high salt content.

In other words, you’ll be preserved like a pickle in brine.
Lake Natron was discovered in 1954 by the Europeans. But before that, the lake was still unknown and isolated.

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