Lake Chala Day Trip (Add-on Tanzania)

Lake Chala is a crater lake in a caldera located some 55km northeast of Moshi town on the south-eastern flank of Mt Kilimanjaro, located on the border of Tanzania and Kenya on the eastern end of Kilimanjaro. In fact, the international boundary between Tanzania and Kenya runs through the middle of the lake! Up for a swim to Kenya? This place is a real find for tourists who like panoramic views and a quiet environment to take everything in. 

What to expect:

Your Rafiki guide will arrive at your accommodation armed with a tasty lunch. From here you will be transferred to Lake Chala. From Moshi it will take about 1.5 hours, from Arusha it will take about 3 hours to get to the lake.

During the ride, you´ll get to see a variety of landscapes, but from our own experience we know that many of you will end up sleeping in the car for an hour or two (especially when we leave early morning from Arusha)

Once arrived at the Lake Chala area, the car stops at the Lake Chala Safari Camp. From here we will head towards the lake. Lake Chala Safari Camp is a beautiful private game reserve overlooking Lake Chala.

Lake Chala offers great hiking routes and is a great place to swim or take a kayak to paddle around the lake! You can even fish with the locals. In the area of the lake, you might be able to spot animals such as baboons, velvet- and blue monkeys, and maybe a cute little dik-dik or kudu. Sometimes even an elephant!

After exploring the lake you can take some time to relax, float around or stop at the local bar for a nice, cold beer (or a Konyagi). If you haven’t opted to camp at the Lake, we will drive back to Moshi/Arusha in the late afternoon.

Possible overnight: There’s also a possibility to make this a two-day trip, where we’ll camp near the lake. A sweet adventure where we set up camp and light a fire underneath the star-filled heavens. Because of the green surroundings, there’s little to no light pollution which offers a great opportunity for star-gazing. If you’re interested in this, please send us an inquiry.

*This Day trip is both possible as a private excursion and it is possible to join a group. If you’d like to join a group. Please send us an inquiry and we will find a group for you to join!

Please check out our other day trips to the Materuni Waterfalls and Coffee Plantation or why not the Timeless Tarangire safari?