Ol Doinyo Lengai is an active volcano in the Gregory Rift of northern Tanzania, about 16 km south of Lake Natron and 120 km north-west of Arusha. Its summit stands at 2,962 m, some 1,800 m above the rift floor. The Maasai name means "Mountain of God", and the peak is associated with their deity Engai. It is the only volcano on Earth known to erupt natrocarbonatite lava in historical times — a low-temperature, highly fluid magma that flows black and weathers white within days, giving the summit its snow-like cap. The mountain has been active since 1983; a major explosive eruption began in September 2007 and continued into 2008, and activity has been recorded as recently as 2024. The ascent is a single long night: climbers set out around midnight from the base near Engare Sero, gain the summit on steep ash and lava slopes for sunrise, and descend by mid-morning. It is strenuous rather than technical and is normally combined with Lake Natron's flamingo lagoons and the Engare Sero waterfalls.
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