Empakaai Crater

Empakaai Crater

Lake-filled Empakaai Crater, 23km northeast of Olmoti Crater, may not be as famous as Ngorongoro, but many travelers consider it to be its match in beauty. The lake, which draws flamingos and other water birds, fills most of the crater floor, which is surrounded by steep-sided, forested cliffs at least 300m high. The view from the crater rim is one of the most appealing in northern Tanzania, but hiking down into the crater is a wonderful experience as well. For the bird lovers, this is a great place to visit, and also those who love photography, you may catch up with some stunning photos here as you explore this great site. Empakaai Crater is the second-largest crater in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Empakaai is almost 8km in diameter and its floor is dominated by a saline crater with an elevation of 3,200m on the eastern rim. One of East Africa’s most underrated and seldom-visited scenic gems, the crater lies about 90 minutes’ drive northeast of Ngorongoro Crater via the Embulbul Depression, a grassy bowl that which dips to below 2,350m at the base of the 3,260m Mount Losirua and 3,648m Lolmalasin (the highest point in the Crater Highlands). The view from the forested crater rim is fabulous, whether you look inward to the emerald green crater lake, its shallows frequently tinged pink by thousands of flamingos, or east across the Rift Valley to the ashen slopes and smoking fumaroles of volcanic Ol Doinyo Lengai, a scene that also takes in Lake Natron and snow-capped Kilimanjaro on a clear day. Count on around 30 minutes down to the lakeshore, and an hour for the climb back up. It’s possible to circumnavigate the lake on foot, which will take at least four hours. It’s a wonderful place worth a visit.