Lake Natron Camp Ngare Sero

Lake Natron Camp sits on old lava flows at the southern tip of Lake Natron, with the soda lake on one side and the cone of Ol Doinyo Lengai on the other. Its ten rooms are low Bedouin-style tents hidden under shade netting, which keeps them cool in one of the hottest corners of Tanzania and almost invisible from a distance. Nine are tented suites, including a two-room family tent, and the tenth is an earth-sheltered room built for passive cooling.

Each tent has a king-size bed, an en-suite bathroom with a shower and composting toilet, a fan, charging sockets and a shaded porch. A private path leads from every tent to the camp's natural swimming pool, a spring-fed stream where you can cool off in the middle of the day. Meals are served in an open mess tent with views in every direction, and evenings usually end around the campfire.

Almost everything here happens on foot with Maasai guides: sunrise and sunset walks to the flamingos on the lake shore, the hike up the Ngare Sero gorge to swim under the waterfalls, a visit to the ancient hominid footprints and, for fit hikers, the steep climb up Ol Doinyo Lengai. The camp runs entirely on solar power, is built so it could be removed without leaving a trace, and supports food security and school projects in Ngare Sero village.