Destination guide
Lake Eyasi
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Why come
What Lake Eyasi is known for
The Hadzabe
One of the last hunter-gatherer peoples in East Africa, speaking a click language with no known relatives.
The Datoga
Pastoralists and blacksmiths, still smelting and forging by hand a few valleys away.
A lake that comes and goes
Shallow and alkaline, it retreats to flats in the dry season and draws flamingo when it fills.
A shallow soda lake southwest of Ngorongoro, in a valley dry enough that farming has never really taken. Two peoples live around it who could hardly be less alike: the Hadzabe, one of the last hunter-gatherer communities in East Africa and speakers of a click language unrelated to any other, and the Datoga, pastoralists and metalworkers who smelt and forge by hand.
Best time: the dry months, June to October, when the tracks are passable and the lake retreats. How long: a night, because the mornings are what matter and the drive is long.
Shape a journey around Lake Eyasi
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