Overview
Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano is located next to Lake Natron, where thousands of pink flamingos migrate each year, in one of North Tanzania’s most picturesque regions. Ol Doinyo Lengai is the only active volcano in East Africa and the only one in the entire globe that spews natrocarbonatite lava, also known as “cold lava.” When it is liquid, it is a dark-brown or black color and fluid like water. This lava’s temperature is between 510 and 600°C, which is much lower than that of other lava but not very chilly. Lengai has erupted roughly 15 times in a century; the most recent eruption occurred in 2013. Fortunately, because of the volcano’s tiny size and remote location from the nearest Maasai villages, eruptions rarely result in casualties.
Itinerary
In the morning, our driver will pick you up at your accommodation and take you to Lake Natron. You will arrive at Lengai Safari Lodge sometime after lunch because the travel is very long. At the same time, the route offers beautiful landscape and the chance to encounter locals, such as Maasai tribesmen, as well as some African animals. A guide will lead you on a walking excursion to the Ngare Sero Waterfall once you check in. We advise you to wear sandals or something similar to prevent having to take your shoes off all the time because the trail passes through a canyon and you will occasionally need to cross a creek. Before heading back to the lodge for dinner and some relaxation, you take a drive along the lakefront where you have the opportunity to photograph its breathtaking landscape.
Your driver drops you off at the base of the Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano at 1:00 a.m. to begin your trek. Follow your guide without passing him by because it can be dangerous to walk on the volcano’s slopes at night. It takes between 7 and 12 hours to complete the challenging walk, depending on your fitness level and pace. Since the gradient is severe, it is best to pause for a little period of time approximately every 100 meters of elevation gain in order to acclimate. In order to regain some strength for the remaining ascent, it is recommended to stop for breakfast on the way to the summit. You will have ascended to a height of 2,960 meters when you arrive at the crater’s edge. The lava flow inside the “Mountain of God” crater is audible from here. Since the descent is simpler, you could be inclined to proceed more quickly. However, this is when most accidents occur, so take caution! After dawn, it’s also a good idea to switch your fleece for a sun hat to prevent heat exhaustion. As soon as you reach the base of the mountain, our driver will be there to greet you with cold beverages and take you back to Arusha.
Cost
The Cost Includes
- Private Transportation
- English-speaking driver/guide (other languages available upon early request)
- Local Development Fees & Taxes
- 1 night accommodation at Lake Natron (full board)
- Local mountain guide
The Cost Excludes
- Tipping for the crew: Showing appreciation for your guides, assistant guides, cook, and porters with a tip is a great way to acknowledge their hard work. We can advise on customary tipping amounts.
- Personal hiking gear: Please see our detailed gear list for recommened personal gears. e offer rentals upon request.
- Additional Food & Drinks: While meals are included on the mountain, personal preferences for snacks, energy drinks, and alcoholic beverages are not.
- Travel Logistics: Flights, travel insurance, and visas are not included.
FAQs
The name Ol Doinyo Lengai comes from the Maasai language and means “Mountain of God.” It is considered sacred by the Maasai people.
It is in northern Tanzania, near Lake Natron and part of the East African Rift Valley.
It is the only active carbonatite volcano in the world. Unlike regular lava, carbonatite lava is much cooler (~500-600°C), appears black when flowing, and turns white when exposed to air.
Yes! The climb takes about 5-7 hours to reach the summit and 2-4 hours to descend. It is a steep and challenging trek, usually starting at night to avoid the intense daytime heat.
The volcano is active and has frequent small eruptions. The most recent major eruption was in 2007-2008, but minor eruptions continue today.
Reviews
EXCELLENTVerified Excellent and exceptional experience! My experience couldn't be better and I couldn't recommend Nyange more! They are excellent and I'm super satisfied with everything.I booked my climbing to Kilimanjaro with them and everything was perfect from the starting communication to the very last second I was with them.I'm a woman solo traveler and I felt safe every single time.All the staff is very nice, helpful and attentive. They really make the phrase "come as a client, leave as a friend" come true, I'll miss everyone! Special thanks to my guide in Kilimanjaro: Amnaay (if you wanna go with him, I assure you'll have a fun and pleasant time! He knows a lot, is very encouraging and literally held me when I couldn't walk anymore. I don't know if I could reach the summit without him and all the other guys that came with me - the cooker, waiter and porters, everyone special, very professional and has their space in my heart).They arranged everything I needed: my commuting from the city center to the farm (their farm is amaaaaazing, beautiful and the room was super comfortable and clean and with a breathtaking view of Kilimanjaro. All the delicious food they make is local - with ingredients from the farm), even in my last night Amnaay asked them if they could cook Ugali for me, and they did!The owner, Praise, is also very caring and himself always make sure that everything is ok, always having nice conversations, asking if I need something, etc.I could be here writing a review of 50 pages only speaking good things about them. Highly recommend! It was for sure the best experience in my life and thanks for them!Verified Highly Recommend Nyange Adventures - a life changing experience I highly recommend Nyange Adventures. Amina coordinated our tour and was extremely helpful, communicative, and accommodating. We did a 9-day safari and 3-days in Zanzibar all coordinated through Nyange Adventures for our honeymoon. It was the perfect amount of time if you plan to do both Central Serengeti (most popular) and Northern Serengeti (Wildebeest migration in September), which we did. I wish we had more time in Zanzibar, and we could have easily spent 5-7 days there and scuba dived. Our safari was exceptional because our guide, Joseph, was top notch. Joseph is so kind and professional. He went out of his way to make sure we had an incredible experience. Joseph knew where to go, when to wake up, and he was just as excited to see the wildlife as we were, which made it even better. Our stays were mid-tier, and we always had a shower and bathroom. Some stays were better than others, admittedly, but the food was always delicious and the hospitality of the staff was incredible. Be prepared to spend a lot of time in the car and on bumpy, wild, and remote roads... remember that is what a safari entails. Be patient and let go of control. In order to access once-in-a-lifetime nature, you have to rough it a bit. We enjoyed learning more about the history of Tanzania (Tan-gan-ika) and Swahili culture. Do not skip the tribe immersions (we met the Hadzabe, Datoga, and Masai tribes). Pay your white people tax and spread USD tips around. Bring a lot of cash with you as we had trouble accessing ATMs. I wish we brought more cash, so we didn't have to waste time figuring out how to pay once we arrived. Amina warned me, but I didn't understand and if I went again, I would bring even more USD. Hadiya was our guide in Zanzibar. We did a walking tour with her. She was very informative, kind, and helpful. Skip the spice tour if you can... it is a big tourist trap. After a safari, you might want some time to decompress at these incredible beaches. Be prepared that the tides are strong and occur in the middle of the day. Amina booked a perfect hotel for us - the Sunshine Marine Lodge. In Zanzibar, it really matters where you stay! My only regret is not scuba diving. We ended our days on safari with a campfire and a dancing ceremony. I would highly recommend learning Swahili words and using Swahili language with locals. There is a lot to learn from the people who live in Tanzania - every person we met had a unique story and shared more about their way of life. Be patient. Embrace their culture and learn something. I really didn't want to leave and I can't wait to go back. I think about this experience every day.Verified Best team ever! I can honestly say that this was one of the best experiences I have ever had traveling. It was made special because of the amazing people who supported our trek up Kily- from our awesome guides, Amnaay and Musa, to Oscar, our chef, who prepared delicious meals to Steve, our waiter,who ensured all of our needs were met to Mohammed who ensured our tents and sleeping quarters were up to snuff and ever porter who supported our hike. Everyday I looked forward to seeing our team on the mountain, they always had smiles on their faces and were cheering us along the way. We became family as we shared time together and I learned to trust my team. Nyange Adventures is top notch and I highly recommend Nyange for your trek up Kily!Verified Trip of a lifetime in the Ngorongoro crater with Rashidi Spent three days with Rashidi at the Ngorongoro crater and had the time of a life. Rashidi is an excellent guide. Not only can he spot the mammals, sometimes from kilometers away. But he can spot birds too. He can recognize the calls and finds them when they are hidden in thick bush. His English is great and he is knowledgeable about the land and people as well. We saw giraffes, lions, elephants, rhinos, serval cats, water buffalo, wildebeest, zebras, hippos, plus over 30 species of birds! Can’t recommend this company and Rashidi enough.Verified Overnight guide tour to Ngorongoro Crater We had a very last minute opportunity with 3 extra days on a Tanzania mission trip and Nyange did a beautiful job arranging two nights at Ngorongoro Crater with a full day of birding and wildlife in the Crater. They welcomed us at Kilamanjaro International Airport and drove us to Dodoma and the end of the three days. Arrangements were great. Praise was very prompt with queries and helping get myself my wife and three friends all set up. Rashid was our guide and driver, took excellent care of us and demonstrated great guiding skills identifying birds large and small along with really good wildlife finds including 3 rhinos and a Serval Cat. I would highly recommend this group to anyone.Verified Roof of Africa From the Safari to Kilimanjaro to ZanzibarEverything was arranged and sorted by these guysWhat a truly spellbinding experience into the heart of TanzaniaOne for the booksExtremely reliable company and staffVerified Terriffic Tanzania We had the most amazing, interesting and memorable adventure in Tanzania. We had a 12-days adventure meeting tripes, local people in the villages, safari tours, waterfalls and farms. We had Francis Boniphase as our guide during the entire trip. He is very friendly and is curious to learn and give his knowledge to us. We also met the owner of the Nyange (Praise Nyange) who gave us some awesome experiences on his farm.Verified Made it with Nyange! My son and I just reached the summit on the 8 day Lemosho climb with the fabulous crew of Nyange. Special shout out to our guide Amnaay and the assistant guide Henry, without whom we would not have succeeded. On summit day, they carried our day packs, kept us at a steady pace (believe me, that is a good thing), when at several points I was ready to give up. We were one of the first ones to get there just in time to watch to most glorious sunrise. Then, they pretty much held on to us on the rapid and harrowing decent. I found Nyange hightly recommened in Stedman's book. It is a small local outfit that supports KPAP. The owner, who was once a porter, even came to say hi to us during our last day in Moshi. There are lots of operators, a couple of them had huge groups of trekkers, and I am sure they all do a fine job, but I chose to go with a local company and I am so glad I did. And, don't let anyone tell you Kilimanjaro is easy. It was very, very hard!Verified by TrustindexTrustindex verified badge is the Universal Symbol of Trust. Only the greatest companies can get the verified badge who has a review score above 4.5, based on customer reviews over the past 12 months. Read more
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