Hunt with the Hadzabe
Join Hadzabe hunters at dawn as they track game and gather wild foods, using skills passed down for thousands of years.
Tanzania Lakes & Waterfalls
Lake Eyasi
A shimmering, wind-swept salt lake at the foot of the Rift Valley, where the Hadzabe still hunt with bow and arrow and the Datoga forge their blades by hand.
- Location
- South of the Ngorongoro highlands
- Known For
- Hadzabe & Datoga cultures
- Altitude
- About 1,020 m
- Best Time
- June – October
Discover Lake Eyasi
A quiet lake with some of Africa's oldest ways of life.
Lake Eyasi is a seasonal, shallow, endorheic salt lake on the floor of the Great Rift Valley, lying south of the Ngorongoro Crater and the Crater Highlands and south of the Serengeti plateau. It is a couple of hours' drive from the small, dusty town of Karatu, and its scenic, little-visited shores mean you will rarely share the experience with crowds.
The lake is fed mainly by the Sibiti and Baray rivers, along with several smaller seasonal streams. Its area changes with the seasons, but it is less than a metre deep and sits at an elevation of about 1,020 metres (3,346 feet). Eyasi is famously windy, with breezes that can blow almost around the clock, which makes it difficult for fishermen, many of whom move to nearby Lake Manyara instead. Even so, catfish and lungfish thrive in its waters.
What makes Eyasi truly special is its people. The lake is home to the Hadzabe, one of the last hunter-gatherer communities in Africa, as well as the Datoga, Iraqw and Isanzu. A visit here is a rare opportunity to learn about history, origin, migration and assimilation, settlement, clothing, diet, shelter, culture and social organisation directly from the communities themselves.
Why Lake Eyasi
Culture, landscape and a slower pace of travel.
Eyasi adds a deeply human dimension to a northern Tanzania safari, combined with dramatic Rift Valley scenery and few other visitors.
Datoga Blacksmiths
Watch Datoga craftsmen turn scrap metal into arrowheads, knives and jewellery over a simple charcoal fire.
Uncrowded and Authentic
Eyasi is less visited and less famous than the parks around it, so encounters feel personal rather than staged.
Rift Valley Scenery
Pale salt flats, doum palms and the steep escarpment create a beautiful, wild landscape, especially at sunset.
Stone Age Heritage
Mumba Cave on the lakeshore has yielded Middle and Late Stone Age artefacts, linking today's cultures to a very deep past.
Location
Where is Lake Eyasi?
Lake Eyasi lies on the floor of the Rift Valley, south-west of Karatu and south of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Most visitors stay around the village of Mangola near the north-eastern shore, about one and a half to two hours' drive from Karatu on a partly rough road. From Arusha the journey takes around 4 hours, and from Kilimanjaro International Airport about 5 hours.
Because it is so close to Karatu and the Ngorongoro Crater, Eyasi fits easily into a northern circuit safari. Gip Adventure arranges both full-day and half-day visits, or an overnight stay so you can join the Hadzabe at first light.
When to visit
How the seasons change Lake Eyasi.
Cultural visits are possible all year, but the lake itself expands and shrinks dramatically with the rains.
Dry Season
Warm, dry days and easy roads. The lake shrinks to shimmering salt flats and the Hadzabe hunt close to water sources.
Short Rains
Showers revive the bush and the lake begins to fill, bringing waterbirds back to the shore.
Green Interlude
Lush landscapes between the rains, with good access and a chance of flamingos on the lake.
Long Rains
The wettest months. The lake is at its fullest, migrating flamingos may stop over and roads can be slippery.
What is the best month to visit Lake Eyasi?
Every month offers meaningful cultural encounters; the difference lies mainly in the lake's water level and the condition of the roads.
Warm and green, with water on the lake and good birdlife.
A dry spell between the rains, ideal for combining Eyasi with Ngorongoro.
Long rains begin and the lake starts to fill with water.
Usually the wettest month; the lake is full and roads can be challenging.
Rains ease and the landscape is lush around Mangola's farms.
Dry season begins, with pleasant temperatures for early morning walks.
Cool mornings and clear skies, perfect for joining a Hadzabe hunt.
Dry and bright, with the lake retreating to wide salt flats.
Warm, dry weather and easy access from Karatu and the crater.
Hot afternoons and dramatic light over the dried lakebed.
Short rains return and the bush begins to green.
Green landscapes and fewer visitors before the festive season.
Explore the area
Explore the shores of Lake Eyasi.
Visits centre on the north-eastern shore, where villages, springs and farms sit between the lake and the escarpment.
North-eastern shoreMangolaThe main base for visitors, known for freshwater springs that irrigate fields of onions and other crops in the middle of a dry landscape.
Hadzabe countryHadzabe Bush CampsSimple camps in the bush where Hadzabe families live, hunt and gather, and where visitors join them at dawn.
Datoga villagesDatoga HomesteadsPastoralist homesteads where blacksmiths forge arrowheads and women wear beautiful brass and beaded ornaments.
LakeshoreMumba CaveAn archaeological rock shelter that has yielded Middle and Late Stone Age artefacts.
The lakebedEyasi Salt FlatsWide shores that turn into glittering salt flats in the dry season, beautiful at sunset and home to waterbirds after the rains.
Wildlife
Birdlife and hardy wildlife on a salt lake.
Eyasi is not a game-viewing destination in the way the nearby parks are, but it has its own wildlife interest. During the wet season, the lake becomes a seasonal stop for migrating flamingos, and hippos are attracted to its waters. Catfish and lungfish thrive in the lake, supporting pelicans, storks and other waterbirds.
Around the lake, dry acacia and commiphora bush shelter small antelopes, baboons and a wealth of dry-country birds, many of which the Hadzabe know intimately as food sources and as guides to wild honey.
10 animals to look for
Flamingo
Chance of seeingOccasional
Where to look: On the lake after the rains
Migrating flamingos stop over in the wet season when the lake is full.
1 / 10
Great white pelican
Chance of seeingOccasional
Where to look: Open water and shoreline
Gathers to fish when water levels are high.
2 / 10
Greater honeyguide
Chance of seeingOccasional
Where to look: Acacia bush near Hadzabe camps
Famous for leading Hadzabe honey hunters to bees' nests, sharing the wax and larvae left behind.
3 / 10
Yellow-billed stork
Chance of seeingOccasional
Where to look: Lake margins
Wades the shallows hunting fish and frogs.
4 / 10
Hippo
Chance of seeingRare
Where to look: Wetter parts of the lake in the rainy season
Hippos are drawn to the lake when water levels are high.
5 / 10
Olive baboon
Chance of seeingCommon
Where to look: Bush and farmland around Mangola
Troops forage around villages and along the escarpment.
6 / 10
Vervet monkey
Chance of seeingCommon
Where to look: Trees near springs and farms
Common around Mangola's springs and fields.
7 / 10
Dik-dik
Chance of seeingOccasional
Where to look: Dense dry bush
A tiny antelope that the Hadzabe may track during a hunt.
8 / 10
Rock hyrax
Chance of seeingCommon
Where to look: Rocky outcrops
Lives among boulders and is hunted by the Hadzabe.
9 / 10
Catfish
Chance of seeingOccasional
Where to look: In the lake and inflowing rivers
One of the fish that thrive in Eyasi's waters, alongside lungfish.
10 / 10
A Morning with the Hadzabe
Hunt and gather the way it has been done for millennia.
Before sunrise, you join a small group of Hadzabe men around their fire as they prepare bows and poison-tipped arrows. Setting off into the bush, they read tracks, call to the honeyguide bird and stalk small game, while the women and children gather roots, berries and baobab fruit.
The Hadzabe speak a unique language with click sounds and live with very few possessions. Afterwards, many visitors continue to a Datoga homestead to watch blacksmiths at work, a powerful insight into two very different ways of life sharing the same landscape.
Safaris to 中文
Tours that include Lake Eyasi
Itineraries that visit Lake Eyasi, usually combined with Karatu, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara.
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15-Day The Best of the Northern Circuit Taste
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13-Day Tanzania Wild North
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Lake Natron Helicopter Scenic Flight
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Tanzania · Half day
Southern Serengeti Scenic Flight
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GipsonTravel ExpertOnline
Planning your Lake Eyasi visit?
Tell us how much time you have and a Gip Adventure specialist will arrange a full-day, half-day or overnight Eyasi experience, accompanied by our professional guides, as part of a safe, secure and satisfying safari.
Usually replies within minutesHeritage
The story behind Lake Eyasi.
The Eyasi basin is one of the few places where four of Tanzania's language families meet. The Hadzabe speak a click language unrelated to any other; the Iraqw speak a Cushitic language and are skilled farmers; the Datoga are Nilotic pastoralists and blacksmiths; and the Isanzu are Bantu farmers. Each community has its own history of origin, migration and settlement, and each has adapted to the lake in a different way.
The area's human story runs much deeper still. Excavations at Mumba Cave on the lakeshore have yielded Middle and Late Stone Age artefacts, and the wider region, which includes Olduvai Gorge and Laetoli, is among the most important in the world for understanding human origins. Today, land pressure from farming and grazing threatens the Hadzabe's way of life, and respectful, community-led tourism helps support their efforts to protect their land.
Is Lake Eyasi worth visiting?
Yes, especially for travellers interested in culture. Meeting the Hadzabe and Datoga is one of the most authentic cultural experiences in East Africa.
How far is Lake Eyasi from Karatu?
About one and a half to two hours by road, which makes it easy to visit before or after the Ngorongoro Crater.
Can I go hunting with the Hadzabe?
Yes. Visitors can accompany Hadzabe hunters on foot early in the morning. You observe and walk with them, and it requires moderate fitness.
Is a day trip enough?
A full-day or half-day visit is possible, but staying overnight near Mangola lets you join the hunt at dawn, when it is most authentic.
Are there animals at Lake Eyasi?
There is little big game, but you may see flamingos and pelicans after the rains, as well as baboons, small antelopes and many dry-country birds.
Is it ethical to visit the Hadzabe?
Visits arranged through reputable operators and local guides provide income to the community. Travel respectfully, ask before taking photos and follow your guide's advice.
What should I wear?
Neutral, comfortable clothing, sturdy closed shoes for walking in thorny bush, a hat and sun protection.
Your safari starts here
Ready to meet the people of Lake Eyasi?
Let Gip Adventure take you to Lake Eyasi, where you will discover why Africa is Africa, through the lives and traditions of its people.