Tanzania's Yaeda Valley

It took me a few days for my blisters to heal after the Tsavo hike. Then it was off to Tanzania's Yaeda Valley, a circle safari which started in Lake Eyasi - south of the Ngorongoro Crater - and which ended in Karatu town. Somehow, despite all the modern influences of late, many of them good and many of them lamentable, which have made it down the ancient precipitous rifts which surround Lake Eyasi, its sense of remoteness and uniqueness prevails. But to then travel to Eyasi's extreme southern shores, where the sandy track climbs up and over one of these ancient surrounding rifts to the 3975 square kilometer Yaeda Valley beyond, is really stepping back in time. Yaeda is the true home of the hunter and gatherer group known as the Hadza (who have made Eyasi a popular tourist destination in recent years) and Datoga, pastoralists like the Maasai. Both the Hadza and the Datoga I meet in Yaeda are refreshingly natural, instantly recognizable as people who have not had much contact with the tourism industry. There is no infrastructure in Yaeda; we camp on a friend's land. We don't see another car besides our own while in the valley, but this doesn't mean that Yaeda is or will be left untouched. An Arab hunting concession gave up its rights to a swathe of it recently when the Hadza and Datoga joined forces and opposed the deal. Mining companies are the new threat. I suggest that travelers to whom cultural destinations are vital should see Yaeda now. Please see my photo album of Yaeda under the website's Gallery as well as a short video shot on the safari under YouTube links.

This trip to the Yaeda Valley can be arranged through MTT.
Dry season is best - June through September.
There are certain Datoga ceremonies which you might catch if you visit in May.

27-05-2009