Ngosi Crater Lake

Great viewpoint. I'm sure if it's sunny the water is an even more stunning mix of blues and greens

Ngosi Crater Lake (also spelled Ngozi) is a place we've always talked about going to but never got around to it. The picturesque and easily accessible lake is a top attraction for the south. It's only about an hour from Mbeya town and theoretically can be reached from two different access points. There seems to have been a recent investment in the attraction and we saw a new sign post just south of Uyole. Unfortunately the pouring rain and previous days rains made the road impassible. It was a beautiful drive along a narrow ridge surrounded by verdant farms. I imagine the climb made its way to the northern rim and likely a great viewpoint.

When we turned around we went to the more well known turn off to the lake past the village of Isongole, about an hour from Mbeya. We were once again met with some muddy roads and managed to get stuck in a mud soup but wriggled our way out. We were not to be deterred and continued on though the lack of tire tracks indicated it was not the right season to make the trek.

In the end we made it to the trailhead in a lush piece of forest. We were pleasantly surprised at how dense the forest was so close to the road and farms. There was an obvious trail that led up to the rim of the crater with a beautiful viewpoint. The hike only took about an hour or so at a leisurely pace.  There was an extremely steep path that led down to the lake but after a long weekend of hiking I was not very enthusiastic about the climb. We enjoyed the views and then took our time on the trail back stopping to examine all the fungi and birds inhabiting the forest. We were pleased to see some Colobus monkeys as well. I'm hoping in the future they will link the two view points by a crater rim trail, it'd be quite the hike!

Reaching the trailhead we had evidence of being stuck in the mud on our car.

Hiking in the forest

Amazing fungi. I did not consume them.