Lake Natron is a unique place along the northern circuit of Tanzania, it is a shallow soda lake with high alkaline levels, and its waters are known to the locals as deadly mostly red and covered in Algae it is a great breeding place for both lesser and greater flamingoes. There are a few mountains surrounding the lake including the famous Od Odonyoi Lengai, covering an area space of approximately 2941m above sea level. The mountain is referred to as the “Mountain of God” by the local Masai people. The lava of this volcano is different from that of other active volcanoes.
Lake Natron is amazingly placed at the lowest point of the Rift Valley region about 600meters above sea level, the lake is the most alkaline in East Africa, and it is believed that some of the animal species in the ecosystem once drank on the water they are turned into mummies or even end up dead, however never the less some have adapted to the condition and can survive perfectly on the harshness of the region. Lake Natron is a beautiful lake of the Rift Valley the surrounding environment is one of the most amazing things you can encounter on your Tanzanian safari.
Driving to Lake Natron begins from Arusha, once you land at the airport, your tour operator will pick you up and transfer you to Lake Natron, the drive is done using 4*4 wheel car drives to beat the tough terrain of the Rift Valley, 2 routes can be taken, the views of the walls of the rift valley is superb and beautiful to see. Via the southern route through Mto wa Mbu, it takes approximately 3 hours to drive to the destination, the western route via Longido and west Kilimanjaro is the longest to take, this route takes 7 hours to arrive at the destination.
Driving to Lake Natron is more adventurous via other ecosystems from Serengeti it is a picture square journey is a long drive to the Lake hence advisable to break the journey into 2 and sleep somewhere nearer to the lake for example the Kleins gate from here is approximately 4-5 hours to reach. The lake can be accessed from the Ngorongoro crater as well this part of the world is one of the most amazing places to see, it is the Eden of the world where a crater is filled with physical life rather than water.
The other option is flying to the nearest airstrip to the Lake, there are no direct flights to Lake Natron however domestic flight handlers have routings to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro craters, it is from here that guests can easily access the Lake, it can be visited all year round but best during the dry season between December –February and June to August, for guests interested birding and viewing of Flamingoes towards the end of the dry season in August and October is the best time to see greater and lesser Flamingoes.
In conclusion, it is possible to drive to Lake Natron any time of the year, there is available accommodation ranging from the best budget to Luxury.