Flamingos breed here August-October, but there are flamingos all year. In the dry season, this may be a half-mile walk. Lake Natron is great for bird watching ! You will walk from your camp or from the road out on the mud flats to the edge of the water. There may be baboons or other wildlife in the gorge. It is an excellent swim in the river and under the waterfalls for a nice cool-down from the hot sun. It is slippery and requires scrambling and walking through the river (sometimes waist deep). You will need non-leather sandals (soda harms leather).

This is a 20 minute hike one-way up a river gorge. You would visit Lake Natron either on the way the Serengeti or on the way back. Lake Natron is a 3+ hour drive from the Lake Manyara area, and 4-5 hours from the northeastern entrance to the Serengeti (Klein’s Gate). The best months to visit are June-July and December-January. On the drive between Lake Natron and the Serengeti, the vast number of Maasai villages and cattle is amazing. On the drive between Lake Natron and the Arusha/Lake Manyara road, you can see many Maasai villages, termite mounds, gazelle, giraffe, zebra, baboons, bee boxes, and birds such as vultures, ostrich, starlings, Cory Bustards, and kites. Local, fresh springs form surprising oases in this landscape. The lake is extremely high in sodium carbonate, algae, and zooplankton supporting vast numbers of flamingos and other water birds, especially during and after the rainy season. It is also home to the only active volcano in Tanzania: Ol Doinyo Lengai (Mountain of God). Lake Natron is the lowest point of the Great Rift Valley in Tanzania (600m / 2000 ft). As isolated as the lake is (it wasn't even discovered by Europeans until 1954), there are no protections in place for the lake or its threatened flamingo population.įollow Marc Lallanilla on Twitter and Google+. The serenity of Lake Natron - and its flamingo population - are threatened by a proposed hydroelectric power plant on the Ewaso Ngiro River, the main river feeding the lake. As shallow lakes in a hot climate, their water temperatures can reach as high as 106 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius). Both are terminal lakes that do not drain out to any river or sea they are fed by hot springs and small rivers. Lake Natron is one of two alkaline lakes in that area of East Africa the other is Lake Bahi.

The flamingos' nests are built on small islands that form in the lake during the dry season.

During breeding season, more than 2 million lesser flamingos ( Phoenicopterus minor) use the shallow lake as their primary breeding ground in Africa.

Lake natron animals