Tanzania, Africa, sits on the south side of the Equator. Lake Natron is on Tanzania’s northern border, with a tiny part of it in Kenya. This area in Tanzania is its Northern Safari Circuit. Tanzania is known worldwide for its safaris with luxury tents in vast Tanzanian National Parks, and especially the Serengeti.
Yes, Lake Natron is very much alive. Lake Natron’s climate presents a dry and dusty landscape. Yet, 75% of the earth’s lesser flamingo population hatch out at Lake Natron, in the Arusha Region of Tanzania. Visitors to Lake Natron can engage with the cultures of the Datoga, Hadzabe, and mostly Maasai tribes and experience thrilling safaris.
About Lake Natron
The Ramsar Convention designated the Lake Natron Basin as a Wetland of International Importance in 2001. The Ramsar Convention supports 2,512 wetland sites around the world via Contracting Parties in 172 countries. Lesser flamingos have survived at Lake Natron despite its high alkaline and salt contents.
Volcano Ol Doinyo Leng’ai is 12 miles south of Lake Natron and towers 9,442 feet (2,878 meters) over the lake. Ol Doinyo Leng’ai and lava from the Pleistocene period deposits preserves and contributes to Lake Natron’s high levels of alkaline, natron, potassium, and sodium.
Lake Natron’s shallow depth and size fluctuates with a pH level that can reach as high as 10.5 to 12, making its water a corrosive agent. Ol Doinyo Leng’ai, plus the surrounding alkaline, sodium-dominated trachyte lava make up Lake Natron’s bedrock and account for its alkalinity.
Lake Natron is subject to a high rate of evaporation. It has no outlet. When Lake Natron’s water level is highest, it can reach 35-miles (57 km) long, 14-miles (22.5-km) wide, and just under 10-feet (3-meters) deep. In its hottest season, Lake Natron’s water temperature can climb to 106 °F (41 °C).
The Southern Ewaso Ng’iro River, which arises in central Kenya, is Lake Natron’s primary inflow. Hot springs are the secondary source of inflow to Lake Natron. However, Lake Natron supports a diverse biological habitat.
Lake Natron Location
Lake Natron lies in the Ngorongoro and Monduli Districts of the Arusha Region in the East African Rift Valley. Regions in Tanzania are comparable to states or provinces and districts to counties. Swahili is Tanzania’s primary language, but its people speak over 100 alive, vigorous, endangered, developing, and dying languages throughout the country.
Lake Natron is part of the Loliondo Game Controlled Area (LGCA), a wildlife protected area in Tanzania since 1951 with an area of 1,544 square miles (4,000 sq km). The LGCA concerns lie in the Great Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem (GSME), one of the largest and most protected ecosystems on earth.
The GSME stretches from the Ngorongoro Highlands in Tanzania to the Loita Hills of southern Kenya for over 1,500 miles. It comprises the Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Loliondo Game Controlled Area, Maswa, Ikorongo and Grumeti Game Reserves, and in Kenya, the Maasai Mara National Reserve and adjacent Conservancies.
In Western terms of management, Lake Natron may be viewed as in a conglomerate of managing entities. While the Tanzanian government recognizes the environmental importance of Lake Natron, it also recognizes the need to develop it economically. This is of critical importance on both sides of the environmental issues afflicting the Lake Natron Basin.
The Maasai migrated to the Lake Natron Basin between the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, the Natron Basin is the Maasai’s traditional homeland. Maasai governmental structures, national, international, and the Tanzanian government take part in the preservation and development of Lake Natron’s natural resources, with Kenya playing a small role.
Formation of Lake Natron
Unique geological features characterize Lake Natron in association with volcanic activity, which has shaped its landscape. Active tectonic activity, including volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, and faults and fissures created the rift valleys of the entire region over millions of years.
Scientists estimate that Lake Natron is one to two-million years old. The East African Rift system is a region where the African tectonic plate has been and is still splitting apart today. This led to the gradual formation of Lake Natron, and the entire GSME. Lake Natron sits in the Gregory Rift.
Paleoclimate records show that this region has seen long periods of aridity interchanged with those of humidity. Ol Doinyo Leng”ai is the only volcano known to erupt carbonatite lava, rich in sodium and potassium carbonates. Mt. Gelai, southeast of Lake Natron, is now extinct.
The Southern Ewaso Ng’iro River and hot springs, both rich in minerals, feed Lake Natron. The Southern Ewaso Ng’iro River rises in central Kenya and flows south through the rift valley and crosses the border into Tanzania, where it empties into Lake Natron.
Lake Natron FAQ
Why is Lake Natron Still a Mystery?
Lake Natron ranges from a pink to a red color. It is caustic and poisonous to most animals and birds. The endangered lesser flamingos thrive because they have no predators in its alkaline environment. Alkaline tilapia, an endemic species of fish, live along the edges of the hot spring inlets.
Lake Natron’s extreme hypersaline water temperatures of up to 140 °F (60 °C) promote blooms of haloarchaea, which salt-loving microorganisms consume and color the lake from pink to red. Its waters are so caustic that it externally burns the skin and eyes of animals, birds, and people.
Both of these factors have a hand in turning animal and bird carcasses into calcified, stone-like statues. Deposits of sodium carbonate (also used in Egyptian mummification) acts as a type of preservative for the animals that die in Lake Natron.
Chalky sodium carbonate deposits in Lake Natron preserve and outline deceased organism’s bodies in sharp, relief-like positions. Unfortunately, migrating birds crash into Lake Natron frequently. We do not know why. One theory is that Lake Natron’s highly reflective, chemically dense waters trick the birds into thinking they’re flying through empty space.
In December 2007, a group of wildlife documentary makers survived a Lake Natron helicopter crash. The Sydney Morning Herald reported, “The group were in the air for little more than five minutes and were flying at a very low altitude over the mirror-like surface of the lake when the pilot dipped too low, catching the water with the helicopter’s landing skis.”
Everyone survived with some injured rescued from inside the helicopter. The nearby Maasai people immediately built makeshift stretchers from walking sticks to assist. The helicopter soon exploded with spinning smoke vortices and sent its empty fuel tank into the air. Investigators theorized that the pilot became disoriented by Lake Natron’s reflection.
Can I Swim in Lake Natron?
No one swims in Lake Natron. It is too caustic and dangerous to swim in because of its high pH levels and water temperatures. The victims of the above helicopter crash reported how hot the water was and how uncomfortable their skin was and their eyes were burning.
Can You Touch the Water of Lake Natron?
Touching the water of Lake Natron will not turn anyone into a calcified statue, but it will sting cuts intensely.
Can People Go to Lake Natron?
The city of Arusha in Arusha Region serves as the portal to Tanzania’s Northern Safari Circuit. The coolest time of the year and the most pleasant time to visit Lake Natron is June through August, when the temperatures average 58 °F to 79 °F (14.5 °C to 26 °C).
Yes, people can visit the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Serengeti first, then continue to Lake Natron or drive via Longido to the West Kilimanjaro Area, which is close to JRO International Airport in Arusha.
Is Lake Natron Worth a Visit?
Natron is part of a Wildlife Management Area. These are countrywide conservation areas, established to benefit and help local communities throughout Tanzania. A Wildlife Management Association (WMA) permit is required when visiting Lake Natron.
The GSME and the Northern Safari Circuit include Tanzania’s the Arusha National Park, Kilimanjaro National Park, Lake Manyara, Mkomazi National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Olduvai Gorge, Serengeti, and Tarangire National Park, with Lake Natron in its northern sector. Visitors like to include different destinations in the GSME along with a visit to Lake Natron.
The village of Engare Sero is two miles (3.2 km) from the southern tip of Lake Natron with a small office that issues Wildlife Management Area entrance permits to Lake Natron. You can pay with cash or card, but GPS signals are weak, and their POS terminals go down. It is advised to take cash in the case of no signal.
Approximately 4,000 people a year visit Lake Natron. Several factors combine for the reasons why, when other world-famous tourist destinations in Tanzania see so many more visitors. The Serengeti National Park attracts an average of 200,000 visitors annually and witnessed almost 500,000 in 2019.
It is time consuming from anywhere in Tanzania to get to Lake Natron. The entrance to Serengeti is only 20 miles from Engare Sero as the crow flies. But It takes almost five hours to drive to Lake Natron from there over a long 143-mile (231-km) road trip in open and closed 4WD vehicles. Or you can fly in.
Visiting Lake Natron is extremely expensive. Visitors cannot make Lake Natron in a day trip or an easy side trip. In 2024, a budget safari costs about $150 per day per person, and a luxury safari costs $1,000. Flights to the Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) are scarce from many countries, including Europe and North America.
JRO is 52 miles (83.5 km) from Arusha, which is 149 miles (240 km) southeast of Engare Sero. From Arusha, people can fly, ride a bus, or drive to Engare Sero. The bus ride or driving takes five to six hours. Visitors can fly to Lake Manyara and then travel to Lake Natron. Other ways to get to Engare Sero are through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area or drive via Longido to the West Kilimanjaro Area, close to JRO International Airport.
Visitors only trickle into Lake Natron due to little destination/ecotourism marketing of its potential attractions, plus the lake does not attract the exotic animals of the other Northern Safari Circuit destinations. There are community-based ecotourism projects at Lake Natron, but they have had little positive effects on tourism. Lake Natron’s remote location deters tourists because of little to no cell phone or internet reception.
Can Flamingos Survive Lake Natron?
The lesser flamingo is an endangered species that flourishes at Lake Natron for biological and genetical reasons. Most species of animals and birds cannot tolerate the harsh alkaline conditions or water at Lake Natron. The lesser flamingos are seemingly created especially for Lake Natron’s causticity and salinity. Great flamingos also hang out at Lake Natron.
The lesser flamingos wear tough skin and scales on their legs that prevent Lake Natron’s water from burning them. They can drink water that is near boiling and source the freshwater from springs and geysers at the edges of the lake. Flamingos use glands in their head that can remove salt, and they drain it out through their nasal cavities if they cannot find freshwater.
Things to Do at Lake Natron
Hiking is the major activity at Lake Natron.
One hike leads to the Ngare Sero Waterfalls. The waterfalls are a five-minute drive and then a hike south of Engare Sero. Visitors must pay park fees, buy a permit, and hire a Maasai guide to go to the waterfalls. Visitors encounter a refreshing natural pool to swim in surrounded by steep rock walls pouring cascades of spring water and palm trees.
The guided climbs to Ol Doinyo Leng’ai begin at midnight to avoid the scorching heat. The stunning sunrise atop this volcano reveals spectacular views. Only experienced hikers should attempt this hiking up this challenging volcano. Visitors can also book guided climbs at Mt. Gelai.
As recently as 2006, the Maasai community in Engare Sero discovered the Lake Natron Hominid Footprints near the Lake Natron Camp. They are a collection of 408 human footprints in a 300 square meter site left in Ol Doinyo Leng’ai ancient volcanic mudflow.
Scientists believe that a group of 14 adult females, two adult males, and one young male walking in a southwesterly direction immortalized the 17-tracks of footprints. They think these footprints hardened between 5,000 and 19,000 years ago when the wet ash lava dried almost like concrete. Researchers speculate the females were foraging together and were either visited or accompanied by the males.
Luxury and budget safaris are available at Lake Natron through Maasai guide services. The Lake Natron guide services advertise that these safaris cater to adventurous people. Visitors can book safaris with multiple destinations that include Lake Natron, or just plan on an optimal three-day safari at Lake Natron. At least a two-day stay is recommended.
What Is Found in Lake Natron?
Lake Natron has a high concentration of cyanobacteria that releases a chemical which damages cells, livers, and the nervous system of most of the organisms. Most species of birds and animals that drink from Lake Natron will die from it.
Two endemic fish species to Lake Natron, the Alcolapia latilabris, the wide-lipped Natron tilapia, and Alcolapia ndalalani, the narrow-mouthed Natron tilapia, are small fish in the Cichlidae family. Alkaline lakes contain ammonia. The Natron Alcolapia have an evolved enzyme that converts ammonia to urea without using too much energy.
