Arusha town → Tarangire → Lake Natron → Serengeti …
8-Day Lake Natron & Northern Serengeti Safari
The back road to the Serengeti via flamingos, waterfalls and Ol Doinyo Lengai.
8 days 7 nights
From $3,490 pp
Rift Valley lake · Northern Circuit
Lake Natron
Flamingos, Ol Doinyo Lengai and an otherworldly Rift landscape.
About Lake Natron
Lake Natron is raw and remote: a shallow alkaline lake in the Rift Valley, beneath the active volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai. It is the main breeding ground for East Africa's lesser flamingos.
Visitors walk along the shore, wade up a gorge to the Ngare Sero waterfalls and meet Maasai communities who live here. Natron also links neatly to the northern Serengeti via the Loliondo road.
Highlights
- Lesser flamingo breeding grounds
- Waterfall walk up the Ngare Sero gorge
- Ol Doinyo Lengai sunrise climb
- Early human footprints at Engare Sero
- Back-road route into northern Serengeti
What you might see
- Lesser flamingo
- Greater flamingo
- Zebra
- Gazelle
- Fringe-eared oryx
- Ostrich
When to go
Best Good Quieter / wet
June to December is driest. Flamingo numbers tend to peak from August to December.
Getting there
Around 5–6 hours from Arusha on rough roads, or by light aircraft to the lake shore.
How long
1–2 nights
Where to stay
- BudgetNatron campsite
- Mid-rangeLake Natron Tented Camp
- LuxuryLake Natron Tented Camp (private tent upgrade)
Examples of properties we use. We choose the right camp for your month and budget.
1 trip visit Lake Natron
Lake Natron safaris & tours
Good to know
Lake Natron: questions travellers ask
Is Lake Natron hot?
Yes. It is one of the hottest places in northern Tanzania, so walks are planned for early morning and late afternoon.
Nearby
Also on the Northern Circuit
National ParkSerengetiEndless plains, big cats and the Great Migration.Explore
Conservation AreaNgorongoroA collapsed volcano holding one of Africa's richest wildlife floors.Explore
National ParkTarangireBaobabs, a life-giving river and some of Africa's largest elephant herds.Explore
National ParkLake ManyaraGroundwater forest, a soda lake and the Rift Valley wall.Explore
Plan your Lake Natron trip
Tell us your dates, who is travelling and a rough budget. A real person in Arusha will reply within 24 hours with a route and an honest price — no obligation.