Crater Highlands Trek

The secluded and rarely visited Great Rift Valley in Tanzania is home to some of the most breathtaking scenery a trekker can hope for, from dense forests and waterfalls to wild flamingos and endless protrusions of rock that cast dark lines along the horizon. Also home to the Maasai, who have grazed cattle along these 3,000-meter-high grasslands for centuries, this is a region that boasts not only striking scenery, but an utterly unique and ancient culture that, in spite of its reasonable population, leaves little mark on the undeveloped region’s natural beauty.

The Crater Highlands rise from the edge of the Great Rift Valley, boasting world-famous peaks such as Oldeania, Empakaai, Ngorongoro, and the still active Ol Doinyo Lengai (“Mountain of God”), a unique volcano whose lava is so much cooler than most that it appears black instead of the typical molten red. With the trek culminating in a summit of this mythical feature, view Lengai’s many sister craters that rise up out of the colorful tropical highlands that stretch out as far as the eye can see.