Destination guide · Northern circuit
Lake Natron & Ol Doinyo Lengai
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Why come
What Lake Natron & Ol Doinyo Lengai is known for
Lesser flamingo
The main breeding site in East Africa — the water is hostile enough to keep predators off the nests.
Ol Doinyo Lengai
The only volcano on earth erupting natrocarbonatite lava, which runs black and cools white.
A landscape like nowhere else
Caustic, mineral and strange, and a rough road away from anywhere.
A caustic soda lake at the foot of an active volcano, and the main breeding site for East Africa's lesser flamingo — the water is hostile enough to keep predators off the nests. Ol Doinyo Lengai, the Maasai's Mountain of God, is the only volcano on earth erupting natrocarbonatite lava, which runs black and cools to white.
Best time: June to September for the climb, which is walked overnight to reach the summit at dawn. How long: two nights, usually taken between Manyara and the Serengeti.
Shape a journey around Lake Natron & Ol Doinyo Lengai
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