Tourism in Lake Ngozi - Africa Natural Tours ( africanaturaltours.com )
Tourism in Lake Ngozi: Africa Natural Tours
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Lake
Ngozi, a thrilling crater lake in Southern Highlands of Tanzania
Standing
as the second largest Crater Lake in Africa, Ngosi Lake is the leading tourist
attraction in Rungwe district pulling hundreds of visitors each year.
The
lake is located about 38 kilometers south of Mbeya city, near the sprawling
Tukuyu Township. It is located on Ngosi peak on the Uporoto Mountains which
makes part of Eastern Arc ranges.
It
is located at an uplift of 2,600 meters above sea level in a thick, natural
forest of the Uporoto nature reserve, covering some 9,332 hectares of land. It
has a length of 2.5 kilometers and width of 1.5 kilometers and 75 meters deep.
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 walking
from the foothill to the ridge where the lake lies at 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 species of chameleon and montane, wild banana trees.
Walking
and climbing the Uporoto range is organized by special guides familiar to the
route which is made up of cascades, horrific gorges and valleys where someone
could fall with no option of rescue. It is risky to fall into the gorges if one
trek without care, and, if one falls into one of numerous gorges on the way to the
lake, it will be the end of his or her life.
Despite
those risks, it is automatically safe to trek the Uporotos and view magnificent
Lake Ngozi which is a sight of outstanding natural beauty and a superb hiking
hotspot.
It
is a green shimmering lake walled by the collapsed caldera of the extinct Ngozi
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 from some time in the Neocene period. 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 large rounded depression
resulting from the destruction of a volcano in a violent eruption.
The
mountain and the lake are counted to an age of one million years, and remains
an old volcano that has now collapsed to form a wide caldera filled with a
shining alkaline ‘soda’ waters.
The
waters of the lake are said to have magical medicinal powers. Ngozi means ‘The
Big One’; in vernacular Kinyakyusa dialect.
Climbers
looking to view this scenic lake are well rewarded with excellent views from
the top of the sharp crater rim, from where the lake gleams below with an
overwhelming tranquil air, and beyond the land are pocked with the points of
smaller 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 take refuge.
The path leads into the forest
for about 2.5km and then begins the climb to the crater top. Just before the
top, the path branches in two; the right hand path leads swiftly to the peak,
and the left leads down to the water’s edge.
For more information
visit www.africanaturaltours.com
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