What is Lake Natron? /Why is Lake Natron famous? Lake Natron is an alkaline lake found in Tanzania in Arusha region just 130 kilometers northwest in Ngorongoro district it borders with Kenya. The Lake is part of eastern branch of the Great East African Rift Valley which is in the Gregory Rift. Lake Natron is the breeding site for lesser flamingoes that arrives in this area from Lake Manyara National Park and other area places in East Africa.
What is Gregory Rift?
The Gregory Rift is the eastern subdivision of the East African Rift breakage scheme. The gap was caused by the parting of the Somali tectonic plate from the Nubian plate due to a thermal plume. Though the term is occasionally used in the slight sense of the Kenyan Rift, the more excellent
characterization of the Gregory Rift is the fixed of faults and valley encompassing southward from the Gulf of Aden over Kenya and Ethiopia into Northern Tanzania, fleeting over the local elevates of the Ethiopian and Kenyan roofs. Antique remnants of early hominins, the ancestors of humans, originated in the southern part of the Gregory Rift
This lake is nursed predominantly by the Ewaso Ng’iro River, which originated in central Kenya, and by inorganic-opulent hot springs. It is narrow, less than three meters (9.8 ft) shallow, and differs in thickness subject to its water level. Lake Natron is approximately 57 kilometers (35 mi) extended and 22 kilometers (14 mi) wide. The nearby area obtains asymmetrical periodic rainfall between December and May, totaling 900 millimeters (35 in) each year. Temperatures at the lake are frequently above 35 °C (95 °F)
Significant vaporization points have left Natron (sodium carbonate decahydrate) and trona (sodium sesquicarbonate dihydrate). The alkalinity of Lake Natron can range from a pH of more than 13. The adjacent core comprises alkaline, sodic soil trachyte magmas that remained placed down throughout the Great Ice Age. The lavas have substantial amounts of carbonate but very little calcium and magnesium. This process has permitted the lake to distillate into pungent, corrosive alkali saline.
What makes animals into stone in Lake Natron?
The water’s chemical reaction is notorious for calcifying the bodies of animals and species of birds that perish in the lake, making them stone before they decay.
Is Lake Natron Red? Why is Lake Natron in Tanzania Red?
The lake’s color is distinctive from those with identical high dehydration rates. As water evaporates through the dry period, salinity heights surge to the level that salt-doting microbes start to flourish. Such haloarchaea organisms comprise certain cyanobacteria that make their foods with photosynthesis, like plants. The red decoration photosynthesizing color in the cyanobacteria creates the profound reds of the exposed water of the lake and the orange colors of the partial areas of the lake. The alkali salt coating on the bottom of the lake is similarly often colored pink or red by the salt-loving microorganisms that inhabit it. Salt swamps and freshwater marshlands around the ends of the lake sustain diverse plants.
Safari Tours in Lake Natron – Lake Natron Safari Tour
Lake Natron is the ideal place to go for a walking tour, watching less flamingoes and climbing Ol Doinyo Lengai and interact with a Maasai people for cultural tour in Lake Natron.
Safari tours to Lake Natron can be combined with Ngorongoro Safari or Serengeti Safari tours itinerary mixing a glimpse of cultural safaris and wildlife tours give you a sense of African adventure. Lake Natron boasts both luxury and budget lodges and camps. It is also possible to do only Lake Natron tour without combing it with wildlife safari especially for bird lovers, the lake hosts prolific bird’s species.
Animals to see in Lake Natron- Wildlife in Lake Natron Tanzania
Even though the Lake Natron is lethal to some mammals, an exclusive ecology has developed in this punitive environment, making excellent gaps for nature lovers and avian.
Saline swamplands and nonsaline marshlands have formed a home for the long-legged ducks. Lake Natron also comprehends four indigenous fish type: Oreochromis Ndalalani, Alcolapia latilabris, Alcolapia alcalica and Alcolapia graham.
The big attraction in Lake Natron is lesser flamingoes, which congregate in the lake between August and October for eggs laying and hatching in November during the rainy season. 80% of the lesser flamingoes on earth were born in Lake Natron that reason has made the lake a must place to visit for your Tanzania wildlife safari tour.
The neighboring area is also habitat to other creatures that can endure in this waterless and grubby countryside, such as kudus, Oryx’s, ostriches, zebras and gerenuks. Privileged explorers can also see a golden jackal!
Though Lake Natron does not encompass the sheer amounts of wildlife as the neighbouring national parks, it is enthralling to experience life so close to such a fatal body of water.
Best time to visit Lake Natron-When is good time for safari in Lake Natron
The finest period to go on a Lake Natron Tanzania Safari tour is from late May to early November during the dry seasons since these months are more relaxed. The area is sizzling through the short dry season from December to February.
The flamingos start assembling at the lake shores in August and accumulate until October. Touring in these months offers you an opportunity to witness this remarkable gathering.
Activities in Lake Natron- What tours to do in Lake Natron?
Hiking Ol Doinyo Lengai Mountain;
For voyagers who prefer to test themselves, you can hike Ol Doinyo Lengai Mountain with the support of a knowledgeable climbing guide from East Africa Safari Guides.
Ol Doinyo Lengai means ‘Mountain of God’ in the Maa language. The hike is very sharp, and our team of experts recommends that you have at least mountaineering skills.
The climb is regularly finished at night to avoid the blazing temperatures of the daytime.
Hiking at night also gives you ample opportunity to watch the enormous sunrise from the summit in the morning.
Birdwatching safaris in Lake Natron;
The only breeding site for flamingoes in East Africa is Lake Natron where over 2.6 million lesser flamingoes migrate to the lake for the breeding. Birdwatchers should prepare for hotness because of the weather in this dry area. Our tour operator in Arusha Tanzania will instruct you on what to carry and wear during the tour in Lake Natron.
Cultural Tour in Lake Natron-Maasai visit in Lake Natron villages
There are few breathtaking waterfalls from place to place in the lake Natron which you can explore.
You can also discover the local culture by touring the Maasai villages and their traditional houses called ‘boma’
You can also spend time with the Maasai and study about their customs, taste traditional food, warrior tribe and sleep under sky in the sheltered of their ‘boma’
Lake Natron is a safari destination in Tanzania and Kenya that only some holidaymakers plan to visit. With flamingoes occupying the lake, earliest hominoid footprints, and vigorous volcanoes, Lake Natron is a striking place for the explorers—a genuinely brilliant region for private family safari in Tanzania.
With a charmed site ‘protected’ Lake Natron, Ol Doinyo Lengai Mountain is a tremendously steep ascent – but to reach its summit, you will be pleased with magnificent sights over Ngorongoro Highlands, Kilimanjaro Mountain, and the Great Rift Valley view! On a vibrant day, this view is unquestionably beautiful. The shoreline of Natron footprints’ solidified footfalls conserved flashes of more than 120,000 years ago when two parts of Homo sapiens traversed the volcanic-ash topography.
The human footprints in Lake Natron are amongst the largest collections in the world.
Where to stay in Lake Natron Safari- Best accommodation for Safari in Lake Natron tour
East Africa Safari Guides help you with the awareness of where to stay in Lake Natron; in the area, there are few lodgings for the guests to stay in because of it is geographical location; the following are the secluded tented camps and lodges where you can visit;
Lake Natron Tented Camp is established in the middle of the orchard of trees next to the shorelines of Lake Natron. Budget, nonetheless hygienic safari tents offer hot showers, comfy beds, and a private balcony. Lake Natron Tented Camp is a fully supplied bush bar and night-light-lit cafeteria that guarantees a beverage and delightful food and halal foods after a challenging climb at Ol Doinyo Lengai or extensive walking hours with a Maasai guide in the villages.
Lake Natron Camp; comprises ten large guest tents, smartly camouflaged under a secret shadow net. Respectively, every tent encompasses a portico area, main bedroom, and en-suite rest room with a bath and eco lavatory. The main bedroom has a cozy king-size bed, deluxe Egyptian linen, and amenities carved from forest woods. While at the Lake Natron Camp, you have full access to the lake; you can see the flamingoes jumping from place to place at the shoreline.
Africa Safari Lake Natron Lodge: Africa Safari Lake Natron is an indulgence safari lodge offering entree to the Northern Safari Circuit National Parks. The scenery here is unparalleled raw loveliness: a melodramatic magma semiarid with a high level of salty lake in a gap formed by the Rift Valley.
The grounds are extensive and offer various lodging options, from budget Safari tents to the luxury in Glamping Luxe.
The ventilated Luxury Glamping rooms are comprehensive with elevated wooden floors, a lounge, and attractive rustic amenities. Safari Coziness accommodations are large and comfortable, with external canvas walls, a material floor, and a permanent restroom.
The Africa Safari Lake Natron swimming pool, with sunbeds overlooking the majestic Mount Ol Doinyo Lengai, offers breathtaking views.
Let our Lake Natron tour operator help you planning a fabulous trip to Lake Natron check out this well curated sample itinerary of 12 Days Wildebeests Serengeti Wildlife Safari & Lake Natron Tour.
