Lake Eyasi

Lake Eyasi
Lake Eyasi
Lake Eyasi is a seasonal shallow endorheic salt lake located in Arusha region of Tanzania in Karatu district. The surface elevation of the lake is 1030 meters above sea level. Lake Eyasi covers an area of 1050 kilometers squared, it drains an area of about 65, 500 kilometers squared.
Lake Eyasi is the largest lake in Arusha region of Tanzania. There are outflows ¹123 the lake, most inflows are small seasonal rivers but it’s primary inflows is Sibiti river flowing in from it’s southwestern side which flows almost all year round.
Lake Eyasi sometimes almost dries up completely during the dry seasons while in the elnino years the lake over floods and even attracts numbers of hippos from Serengeti national park.
At the shores of Lake Eyasi is located Mumba cave which is an important Archeological site with a number of late stone age and middle stone age artifacts. Some locals sometimes practice fishing from the inflows of lake Eyasi streams and rivers and the main fish caught is lung fish and cat fish.
Lake Eyasi national park is a birders paradise being a stop over point for migrating flamingoes. Some of the other examples of birds found around lake Eyasi include; black winged stilt, fulvous whistling duck, red billed duck, chestnut banded plover, pied avocat, cape teal, black headed gull, white winged tern, red knobbed coot, African open bill, whiskered tern, blue napped moosebird, eastern violet backed sunbird, Abdim’s stork, cut throat, northern wheatear, black throated barbet, Eurasian hoopoe, D’Arnaud’s barbet, speckled pigeon, African pipit, black heron, great cormorant, marsh sand Piper, kittlitz’s plover, Marabou stork, collared pratincole, red capped lark, brubru and red winged starling among others.
Visit the Hadza people
The Hadza also known as Hadzabe people are a dominating tribe living in areas around Lake Eyasi neighbouring the Serengeti plateau. The Hadza are not genetically realized to any people, the Hadzabe language spoken by the Hadza people has been considered vulnerable by UNESCO.
The Hadza people have lived in their land for thousands of years, these hunter gathering people are about 1300 in number and only hundreds of them still practice their traditional way of life. You can visit the Hadza people and learn a lot more about their unique culture.
Isanzu people
The Isanzu people inhabit the southern shores of Lake Eyasi. Unlike the Hadza people, the Isanzu people practice farming and mainly plant maize sorghum and millet. They mainly speak their local language and Kiswahili language spoken allover Tanzania.
Sukuma people
The Sukuma people inhabit the southwestern shores of the lake across the Sibiti river. The Sukuma people are the largest ethnic group in the country occupying most areas in the northwestern part of Tanzania. The Sukuma people also use animals for their traditional medicine and also sometimes use some plants for medicinal purposes.
Datooga people
The Datooga people live around the southeastern side of lake Eyasi at the Yaede Valley. The Datooga people are pastoralists people mainly depending on their livestock. They have maintained a strong adherence to traditional animist beliefs and practices. You can visit the Datooga people and learn about their unique culture while on a trip to Lake Eyasi.
Iraqw people
The Iraqw people are majority ethnic group in Arusha region of Tanzania. They are of a misture of Afro Asiatic people that practiced agriculture and animal husbandry. Some of the Iraqw’s people traditions are similar to that of the Jews. Though a lot of intermarriage has happened between the Iraqw and the Bantu they are a Cushitic ethnic speaking group.
Serengeti national park
You can combine a visit to Lake Eyasi with Serengeti national park also found in the northern region of Tanzania. This is one of the country’s most visited national parks renowned for the great Wildebeests migration that has earned it being one of the seven natural wonders in Africa and one of the ten natural wonders in the world.
Serengeti national park is home to over 500 species of birds recorded and 70 mammalian species inhabit the park. The word Serengeti is derived from a local Masai word translated to mean “endless plains”. Serengeti national park offers some of the excellent wildlife viewing experiences in the world, apart from witnessing the great Wildebeests migration where millions of animals participate you can take a game and spot some animals like; elephants, African cape buffalo, leopards, lions, zebras, giraffes, cheetahs, spotted hyenas, gazelles, hartebeest, topi, Impala, baboon, crocodiles, African wild dog, monkeys and black rhinoceros among the rest.
Of the over 500 bird species found in Serengeti national park, bird enthusiasts can see birds such as; red throated tit, African fish eagle, grey crested helmet shrike, secretary bird, lilac breasted roller, Jackson’s golden backed weaver.
Lake Eyasi is located about 155 kilometers southwest of Arusha town,100 kilometers from Serengeti and 75 kilometers from Ngorongoro conservation area.