Ol Doinyo Lengai (2878m), ‘Mountain of God’ in the Maasai language, is one of the most beautiful mountains in Africa. The northernmost mountain in the Crater Highlands, it's an almost perfect volcanic cone with steep sides rising to a small flat-topped peak. It’s also the youngest volcano in the Crater Highlands, and still active, with the last eruptions in 2008. Climbing to the summit is one of the most popular Crater Highland treks.
At the peak, you can see hot steam vents and growing ash cones in the north crater. With a midnight start, a trek from the base village of Engaresero at Lake Natron is possible in one long day. Although the number of climbers scaling Ol Doinyo Lengai has grown in recent years, the loose ash along most of the path makes it a difficult climb and an even tougher, often painful, descent. Ol Doinyo Lengai, like most active volcanoes, is a constantly changing landform, and lava flows in 2013 had, at the time of our visit, all but filled the crater created during the 2007–08 eruption. As a result, views down into the crater from the rim or summit were more limited than in previous years.
