Ol Doinyo Lengai — the Mountain of God to the Maasai — rises 2,870 m out of the eastern Rift Valley south of Lake Natron, about 137 km from Arusha. It is the only active carbonatite volcano on Earth, erupting lava so cool and fluid that it runs black and turns white in the sun.
The climb starts at midnight to beat the heat, taking five to seven hours up steep ash and rock to the caldera rim. You arrive for sunrise, breakfast on the summit above the Rift Valley, then descend to camp and drive back to Arusha the same afternoon.
Depart Arusha for a three-hour drive north through volcanic country to Lake Natron, where you meet your mountain guide and a local Maasai guide. The afternoon is spent trekking a narrow gorge to the Engare Sero waterfalls, with time to swim in the spring-fed pools before dinner at camp.
The climb begins at midnight in the cool of the night, five to seven hours up steep volcanic terrain to the crater rim. Breakfast is a summit picnic looking over the caldera, Lake Natron and the Rift Valley wall. Descend to camp for lunch, then drive back to Arusha by evening.
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Request a QuoteOl Doinyo Lengai stands on the eastern wall of the Great Rift Valley, just south of Lake Natron and roughly three hours' drive north of Arusha.
A short, sharp adventure that pairs perfectly with a Serengeti safari or a Kilimanjaro warm-up.
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