Lake Natron: Where Impossibly Salty Water Matches Flamingos

With its vivid red waters and stunning surrounding terrain, Lake Natron is one of East Africa's most mesmerizing and otherworldly natural wonders.

Located in northern Tanzania near the border with Kenya, this beautiful lake is both a harsh environment and a vital ecosystem, especially for birds like the lesser flamingo.

Visitors who choose to visit Lake Natron quickly realize it's unlike any other destination. Fed by mineral-rich hot springs and surrounded by salt marshes and freshwater wetlands, the lake sits at the base of Ol Doinyo Lengai, an active volcano considered sacred in the Maasai language as the "Mountain of God."

A Harsh Yet Vital Ecosystem

Lake Natron's alkaline water has an extremely high pH level — as high as 10.5 — due to high concentrations of sodium carbonate and sodium sesquicarbonate dihydrate.

This makes the lake's water deadly for most animals. The high salinity and temperature (often reaching up to 60 C or 140 F) create a harsh environment where only specially adapted species can survive.

The lake is home to three endemic fish species — Alcolapia alcalica, Alcolapia latilabris and Alcolapia ndalalani — that thrive in slightly less salty water near river inflows.

And most famously, it serves as the only regular breeding area for lesser flamingos in East Africa, whose nests dot the lake's crusty surface during the dry season.

A Birdwatcher’s Paradise

Despite its forbidding nature, Lake Natron draws thousands of lesser flamingos during the breeding season. The lake's salty waters and chemical makeup discourage predators, creating a relatively safe breeding ground.

With few other animals able to tolerate the environment, more nests survive, helping support the species' fragile population across Africa.

Other birds visit or inhabit the lake's surrounding area, including those en route between Lake Manyara and Serengeti National Park or further south toward the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Ngorongoro Crater.

This convergence makes the lake a crucial node in East Africa's network of national parks.

Visiting Lake Natron

Though remote and rugged, Lake Natron is an increasingly popular destination for intrepid travelers. Lake Natron Camp offers guided tours and access to nearby attractions like waterfalls, hot springs and river crossings.

mountain and desert — Climbing expeditions to Ol Doinyo Lengai or safaris through the northern Serengeti and other parks are often part of the experience.
Beautiful photos from all over t / Getty Images

Services are limited, and visitors must prepare to travel at their own risk. This includes navigating irregular seasonal rainfall that affects river levels and water level fluctuations in the lake itself. The width of the lake depends on rainfall and river input, changing dramatically between seasons.

An Exceptional Landscape

The area around Lake Natron is culturally rich, home to Maasai communities and wildlife that have adapted to the region's tough conditions. The mud flats and salty shore may look barren, but they tell stories of survival and adaptation.

If you're planning to visit, know that this isn't your average safari stop. It's a place where life edges up against impossibility, where flamingos raise their young in caustic mud and where the landscape feels more like a scene from another planet than a postcard from Africa.

We created this article in conjunction with AI technology, then made sure it was fact-checked and edited by a HowStuffWorks editor.