Lake Ngozi

Lake Ngozi or Ngosi

Standing as the second-largest Crater Lake in Africa, Lake Ngosi is the leading tourist attraction in the Rungwe district of the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, attracting hundreds of visitors each year.

Lake Ngosi. The lake is located about 38 kilometers south of Mbeya city, near the sprawling Tukuyu Township. It is situated on Ngosi Peak in the Uporoto Mountains, which form part of the Eastern Arc Ranges.

It stands at 2,600 meters above sea level in a thick natural forest within the Uporoto nature reserve, which covers about 9,332 hectares. Lake Ngosi is 2.5 km in length and 1.5 km in width, and 75 meters deep.

How to get to Lake Ngozi

To reach the lake, one has to drive and stop at the edge of the Uporoto Forest Reserve at the foothills of the Uporoto range. It takes up to two hours to walk from the foothill to the ridge where the lake lies 200 meters below.

It is an exciting adventure to trek or walk through the dense montane forest to the crater rim. Monkeys and many bird species can be seen in the forest, which is also home to an endemic chameleon species and montane wild banana trees.

The leading route consists of cascades, horrific gorges, and valleys where someone could fall with no chance of rescue. Walking and climbing around the Uporoto range is not something to take lightly; one should be very careful.

It is risky to fall into the gorges if one treks without care, and if one falls into one of the numerous gorges on the way to the lake, there is no option to survive. Blessing Safaris guides are familiar with the routes and can lead you safely and carefully. Despite those risks, it is safe to trek to Uporotos and view magnificent Lake Ngosi, a sight of outstanding natural beauty and a superb hiking destination.

Lake Ngozi View

It is a green, shimmering lake walled by the collapsed caldera of the extinct Ngosi Volcano. The peak is the highest point of the Uporoto Ridge Forest Reserve. The forest has an endemic three-horned chameleon (Chameleon fuelleborni).

This stunning caldera lake dates back to the Neocene. The water is slightly brackish, contains some fish, and is up to 75 m deep. The lake has spiritual significance for the local inhabitants.

A caldera is a roughly circular depression formed by the collapse of a magma chamber roof onto its magma body beneath. It is a significant, circular depression formed by the destruction of a volcano during a violent eruption.

The mountain and the lake are estimated to be one million years old and are remnants of an old volcano that has since collapsed, forming a wide caldera filled with shining alkaline ‘soda’ waters.

The lake’s waters are said to have magical medicinal powers. Ngosi means ‘The Big One’ in the vernacular Kinyakyusa dialect. Climbers looking to view this scenic lake are well rewarded with excellent views from the top of the sharp crater rim, where the lake gleams below with an overwhelming, tranquil air, and beyond the land is pocked with small volcanic peaks.

Walking to the rim leads through upland grasslands and tropical forests where families of Colobus monkeys chatter and play, and a miasma of birds takes refuge. The path leads into the forest for about 2.5 km and then begins the climb to the crater top.

Just before the top, the path branches into two; the right-hand path leads swiftly to the peak, and the left leads down to the water’s edge.