Northern Tanzania
Lake Eyasi
Hunting with the Hadzabe at first light
Overview
In the dry scrub below the Ngorongoro highlands live the Hadzabe, one of the last true hunter-gatherer peoples on Earth — and one of the few communities anywhere that will take a visitor out on a real morning hunt.
Eyasi is Tanzania's most substantial cultural destination, and it demands to be done properly. You join a Hadzabe group before sunrise, walk with them as they track, listen to a language built on clicks, and watch fire made from two sticks in under a minute. Nearby, Datoga blacksmiths forge arrowheads from scrap metal in open-air workshops.
We work only with communities that have agreed terms directly and receive a fair share of what visitors pay. Done well this is unforgettable; done badly it is a human zoo, and we have no interest in the second version.
The landscape
A shallow seasonal soda lake in a Rift Valley trough, ringed by acacia scrub, doum palms and the steep Eyasi escarpment.
Quick facts
- Drive from Karatu
- ≈ 1.5 hours
- Famous for
- The Hadzabe and Datoga peoples
- Best combined with
- Ngorongoro and the Serengeti
- Ideal stay
- 1 night
Wildlife
Who lives here
- Dry-country birds including hornbills and lovebirds
- Baboon, dik-dik and greater kudu in the surrounding bush
- Flamingos and pelicans on the lake when water levels allow
Seasons
When to come
Dry seasonJune – October
Best hunting conditions and reliable road access.
Green seasonNovember – March
The lake fills, drawing waterbirds; foraging replaces hunting.
Experiences
Hadzabe morning hunt · Datoga blacksmith visits · Bush walks · Birdwatching · Onion farm and village visits
In Pictures
Scenes from Lake
Journeys Here
Safaris that visit Lake Eyasi
Good to Know
Questions, answered
It can be, and it can also be exploitative. We use long-standing arrangements where the community sets the terms and is paid directly, we cap group sizes, and we brief guests properly beforehand on photography and behaviour.
Northern
Pairs well on the northern circuit
Lake Eyasi is one of 9 destinations on the northern circuit. Most itineraries combine two or three.
