4 days · Safari
Lake Natron & Ol Doinyo Lengai
Rift Valley at its rawest: a soda lake full of flamingo, a waterfall gorge, and an overnight climb of an active carbonatite volcano.
Is this trip for you?
Trip type
Private departure
Every safari is yours alone: your own Land Cruiser, your own driver-guide, your own dates. We do not sell seats on a shared vehicle, so the day runs at your pace and the itinerary changes when you want it to.
Ages
All ages
Children are welcome and we run family safaris regularly. A few camps set minimum ages, and long transfer days are hard on younger children, so family itineraries get shorter drives and more rest.
Fitness
No fitness requirement
Game drives are done sitting down. The demanding part is the road, not the walking. Tell us about mobility needs and we will plan around them.
Group size: 1 to 7 travellers per vehicle, everyone on a window seat
Day by day.
-
1
Arusha to Lake Natron
Drive north through Mto wa Mbu and up into Maasai country, reaching the lake in the late afternoon. Overnight near Natron.
- Overnight
- Lake Natron
- Where
- Lake Natron
- Driving
- 5 to 6 hours from Arusha on rough road
- Meals
- Lunch and dinner
-
2
Waterfall walk and rest
A guided morning walk up the Engare Sero gorge to the waterfall and pool. The afternoon is deliberately quiet, because tonight is a midnight start. Overnight near Natron.
- Overnight
- Lake Natron
- Where
- Engare Sero waterfalls
- Driving
- Short local transfers only
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
3
Ol Doinyo Lengai
We leave around midnight and climb roughly 1,600 m of steep ash and rock to reach the crater rim at sunrise. Descend through the morning, then rest. Overnight near Natron.
- Overnight
- Lake Natron
- Where
- Ol Doinyo Lengai
- Driving
- 30 minutes to the trailhead; the climb is on foot
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
4
Natron to Arusha
A last look at the flamingo on the lake shore, then the drive back to Arusha, arriving in the afternoon.
- Overnight
- You travel home
- Where
- Lake Natron
- Driving
- 5 to 6 hours back to Arusha
- Meals
- Breakfast
Where you sleep.
Camping
Einoti's own camping safari: a two-person tent on the public campsites inside or beside the parks, pitched by the crew, with a safari cook travelling with you and cooking on site. Bring a sleeping bag and mat, or hire them from us. It is the cheapest way to travel and the closest to the bush you will get.
Comfort
Small lodges and permanent tented camps just outside the parks. En-suite bathrooms, hot water, solid food and a real bed. The difference from the tier above is the location and the size of the room, not the safety or the cleanliness. Note that there is no accommodation inside Lake Manyara National Park at any tier: the options there are around Karatu or inside the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Classic
Mid-range lodges and tented camps, usually inside the park or on its boundary, which buys you an earlier start at the gate and a longer evening. Pools at most properties, and a proper restaurant.
Premium
Small luxury camps and lodges in the best positions on each circuit, including mobile camps that follow the migration. Fewer rooms, more staff, and a view you will not want to leave in the morning.
We book against availability for your dates rather than naming a property we may not be able to get you into. Your written quotation names every lodge and camp before you pay anything.
What is included
- All park entrance and administrative fees
- All meals while on safari
- 1.5 litres of drinking water per person per day
- Transfers from and to your hotel
- 4x4 Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof while on safari
- Professional English-speaking driver-guide
- Staff fees
- Accommodation where noted in the itinerary
- A walking tour in those protected areas that allow one
Not included
- International airfares and departure taxes
- Visa fees
- All items of a personal nature
- Tips and gratuities for hotel and lodge staff, camp staff, your driver and guides
- Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks
- Laundry services
When to go.
June to October — dry season
The busiest and most expensive months, and the easiest game viewing of the year. Water is scarce, so animals concentrate on the rivers and waterholes and the grass is short enough to see through. The Mara River crossings fall in the northern Serengeti between roughly July and September.
January to March — short dry season
Hot, green and much quieter than the June-to-October rush. The wildebeest are calving on the southern Serengeti plains in February, which is the single best month of the year for predator sightings.
November to December — short rains
Rain falls in the afternoon and rarely stops a day. The parks are green, the migration is moving south, and both lodges and park traffic are lighter.
April and May — long rains
The wettest months. Some camps close and some tracks become difficult, but the parks are empty and the light is extraordinary. We plan these trips around the surfaced roads and the lodges that stay open.
Questions about this trip.
How hard is the Lengai climb?
It is the hardest single day we sell. Roughly 1,600 m of ascent on loose ash and rock, in the dark, with no path in places. Ten to fourteen hours round trip. If you have not done a long night ascent before, tell us honestly.
Why climb at night?
Because by nine in the morning the ash is too hot to sit on and the exposure is brutal. Starting at midnight puts you on the rim at sunrise and off the mountain before the worst of the heat.
Can we do Natron without the climb?
Easily, and many do. The waterfall walk, the flamingo flats and the Maasai villages fill the days on their own.
On this route
Where you will be.
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Plan it with us
Make this itinerary yours.
Add days, drop a park, change the pace. This is a starting point, not a fixed departure.