Tanzania · Rift Valley lake
Lake Eyasi
Meet the Hadzabe and Datoga peoples
Size
Seasonal soda lake
Location
Northern Tanzania
Best time
Year-round
Known for
Culture · Landscapes
About the park
Ancient ways of life
Lake Eyasi is a seasonal soda lake beneath the Eyasi escarpment, south-west of the Ngorongoro highlands. The surrounding bushland is home to the Hadzabe, one of the last hunter-gatherer communities in Africa, and the Datoga, pastoralists known for their metalwork.
Visits here are about people, not wildlife. With a local guide you can join a Hadzabe group on a morning walk to learn how they track, gather and make fire, and visit Datoga blacksmiths who turn scrap metal into arrowheads and jewellery. We arrange visits respectfully, with the community’s consent and fair payment, and they combine easily with Ngorongoro.
Highlights
Why visit Lake Eyasi
Hadzabe hunter-gatherers
Join a morning walk to learn their skills and way of life.
Datoga blacksmiths
Watch craftspeople forge arrowheads and jewellery.
Lake & birdlife
Flamingos and pelicans when the lake holds water.
Escarpment views
Wild landscapes beneath the Rift Valley wall.
When to visit
Year-round. Early mornings are best for visits with the Hadzabe. The lake is fuller in the wet season.
Wildlife you may see
The focus is culture, but you may see baboons, vervet monkeys, flamingos, pelicans and many birds.
Getting there
About 4 hours by road from Arusha or 1.5–2 hours from Karatu near Ngorongoro.
Visit with Asili
Trips including Lake Eyasi
8 days
Tanzania Family Adventure
14 days
The Complete Tanzania & Zanzibar
5 days
Northern Circuit Classic
Plan your Lake Eyasi safari
Tell us when you’d like to travel and we’ll design a private journey that includes Lake Eyasi.
Enquire now