From Karatu, you can reach Lake Eyasi, a large alkaline expanse not far from where the famous Hadzas or Khoisans live, hunter-gatherers from the original people who existed before the arrival of the Bantu. Times have changed since then, with the Datogas (pastoralists close to the Maasai) moving into the region, but the Hadzas still live in the traditional way, amidst the onion-field farms created by an efficient irrigation system in the Yaeda valley.The lake lies on the edge of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, at the foot of the 800-metre-high Eyasi escarpment. As a result, rainwater flowing down the rift creates a lake that is more than 80 km long in the wet season, and almost nothing at all in the dry season! During the rains, fishing is even very good on the shores of the lake, where temporary camps form and birds of all kinds flock.The edges of the lake, notably the impressive cliffs of the great escarpment, are inhabited by elk, oréotragues, baboons, snakes... To the north of the lake, at Garusi, a prehistoric site has been discovered (tools and traces of human habitation), but there's not much visible.55 km to the south-east, south of the lake, lies the former fort of Mkaloma, dating from the colonial wars. In the Mbulu region, on high plateaus at over 2,000 m (the climate is really cold), live the Iraqi farmers and herders or burungis, who are Couchites who arrived here around 5,000 years ago. Their purification rituals to bring down rain are studied today by anthropologists. From Mangola, you can visit the Hadzas, Iragw and Datogas villages in this region.Smart tip. There are few accommodation options in this hard-to-reach and rather expensive part of the world, apart from a desolate campsite, and if the Hadzas have managed to stay away from the Tanzanian population, it's because conditions there are difficult: intense heat, drought, violent winds, mosquitoes galore, etc. Even if comfortable camps have been set up, they offer only basic comfort at a high price. We advise you to take the Karatu day trip very early in the morning, and to hike with a guide in Hadza country.

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Lac Eyasi, flamants roses Tom Pepeira - Iconotec
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