Tour code: TTS 20:

TRIP Narration: Oldonyo lengai as it is called by the Maasai means, the mountain of God because they believe it to be the sacred Mountain on which God stood and gave them land and cattle. Oldoinyo mean the Mountain while Engai means God.

Lengai is a unique Balsatic active mountain in Tanzania found on the floor of the Great Eastern Rift valley. Eruption of 1967 & 1968, left two craters. The western one is inactive, while the active Northern crater has become
the major attraction for scientists and tourists. Since then the mountain has been showing eruptions, which differ from one period of the year to another. There is only one official route to hike the Mountain (the western route),
but scientists with a particular purpose can climb the Northern route. Researchers, photographers or anyone else interested can camp on the top.

Day by day description:

Day 1: Arrive day pick up from Kilimanjaro International Airport or transferred from Nairobi to Arusha by Shuttle bus. Overnight at the Hotel booked in Arusha.

Day 2: Drive from Arusha to Lake Natron ( 5 - 6 hrs drive) for dinner and overnight.

Day 3: In the midnight (1 am) start of the climbing. The reason for night climbing is to avoid heat. Sunrise on the top and watching African sky during the night. (4 - 6 hrs climb, 2 - 3 hrs Descent). The car will pick you up and drive you back to L. Natron camp for lunch. Late in the afternoon you can visit Engaresero river waterfalls. The water of this river is ideal for swimming because it is not polluted from its source on the crater highlands.

Day 4: Early breakfast and drive to the shores of Natron for a Flamingo walking tour. Lake Natron is the breeding site for flamingos in Tanzania because of the availability of the salty islands on the lake. Apart from being a breeding site, it provides a home to a hundred species of water birds and other birds of prey. After lunch drive to the next planned destination.

End of tour