Lake Eyasi

A paradise for birdwatching and meeting the ancient Datoga and Hadzabe tribes

Lake Eyasi is a saltwater basin located on the floor of the Rift Valley. Its size changes depending on rainfall: during the dry season it becomes little more than a sun-baked puddle, while in the rainy season it fills enough to attract groups of hippos and water birds. For birdwatching lovers it’s a true paradise, where you can observe flamingos, great white pelicans, grey-headed gulls, African spoonbills, yellow-billed storks, avocets and many other species.

Beyond the birdlife, the peculiarity of Lake Eyasi is that two of the most fascinating tribes you can meet live in the surrounding area: the Datoga and the Hadzabe.  

The Datoga come from the highlands of Ethiopia and South Sudan. They are pastoralists and farmers, generally sedentary, and their dwellings are built with branches and mud. The men are skilled iron workers, making spears, arrowheads and blades that they trade with Hadzabe hunters, plus jewelry and ornaments. The women are characterized by scarification marks on their face and shoulders, made as decoration.

The Hadzabe are the last Bushmen tribe existing in East Africa and are thought to be one of the oldest lineages of humanity. Their population isn’t large, with just over 1,000 people divided into groups of about 30 individuals. They are hunter-gatherers: while the men hunt prey with bows and arrows, the women gather tubers, fruits, roots and wild herbs. They are nomadic, so when food and water run low they move to another area, where they build simple huts or take shelter in caves. They speak a language made of clicks, unlike any other language on earth.