Lake Eyasi Cultural Tourism
This day trip offers you a unique opportunity to visit the traditional homeland of the Hadzabe (or Hadza) peoples, one of the last surviving hunter-gatherer tribes in the world, and to meet their neighbors, the Datoga peoples.
You’ll leave The Vijiji Center at 8 am and drive west to Karatu, in the Ngorongoro Highlands, and then travel to the Lake Eyasi area about 50 km to the southwest. Once there, you’ll make your way to a Hadzabe encampment where you’ll learn about their traditions and daily life, and have an opportunity to hunt with the men, practice your bow and arrow skills, walk with the women as they gather wild plant foods, and purchase crafts made by the families. After a picnic lunch, you’ll visit the world of the Datoga, another of Tanzania’s cultural groups, who practice the ancient art of blacksmithing. Watch as the men smelt metal and form it into arrowheads, utensils and jewelry using age-old techniques, and visit their homes where the women will talk about their way of life. In the late afternoon, you’ll return to Karatu and then travel back to Arusha.
