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Lengai from Natron

Mountain·TanzaniaTanzania

Ol Doinyo Lengai

2,960m

Crater Highlands

Summit weather

Clem23 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation
2,960m
Prominence
1,360m
Isolation
17km
Relief
1,953mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope
45°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit
NoneSee month by month ↓
Summit
2.7636°S, 35.9144°E

Mountain in Tanzania

Ol Doinyo Lengai is a mountain in the Crater Highlands (Tanzania). Its summit stands 2,960 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 1,360 m, and the nearest higher ground is 17 km away.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,007 m), it rises 1,953 m. The steepest side is the south-west face: 33° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 45° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

Read more on Wikipedia

Scores

Ol Doinyo Lengai for skiers and climbers

Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.

Hiking & mountaineering

4.8/10

Difficulty to the top

Alpine climb

Estimated from the slope: OpenStreetMap has no graded paths near the top.

Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.

  • 0.0/2.50 waymarked routes and 0 path sections nearby
  • 0.0/1.50 huts and shelters
  • 2.0/21,953 m of ascent from the valley
  • 1.4/1.51,360 m of prominence
  • 1.5/1.512 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
  • 0.0/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

—

No ski runs within 12 km in OpenStreetMap.

How these scores are made

Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.

Plan your visit

Stay, climb and get there

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

Snow

When there is snow on Ol Doinyo Lengai

In a normal year there is no snow on this mountain, not even at the summit.

Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.

Summit weather

Ol Doinyo Lengai, month by month

Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.

On an average October afternoon the summit reaches about 18 °C; on July nights it falls to about 3 °C. Afternoons at the top are above freezing in every month of the average year. In October the 0 °C line climbs to about 5,810 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, July is the driest month (5 mm) and April the wettest (190 mm).

3,000 m4,000 m5,000 m6,000 mSUMMIT · 2,960 mJanuary: 5,480 mFebruary: 5,580 mMarch: 5,510 mApril: 5,330 mMay: 5,160 mJune: 5,110 mJuly: 5,190 mAugust: 5,440 mSeptember: 5,730 mOctober: 5,810 mNovember: 5,580 mDecember: 5,450 mJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit
MonthSummit high °CSummit low °C0 °C line (m)Rain & snow (mm)Wet daysSun h/day
January1665,480143158.7
February1765,580101139.2
March1775,510153168.8
April1575,330190228.2
May1455,16095178.4
June1445,1101848.3
July1435,190518.7
August1645,4401328.7
September1855,7301938.9
October1865,8107999.0
November1775,580167188.4
December1675,450151208.4

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 2,006 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.

Relief

The mountain in profile

Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. True scale: no vertical exaggeration.

West – east
2,960 m933 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmWE
South – north
2,960 m818 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmSN
Steepness by direction
30°N: 21°NNE: 27°NEE: 24°ESE: 23°SES: 30°SSW: 33°SWW: 31°WNW: 26°NW

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around Ol Doinyo Lengai

Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.

Ol Doinyo Lengai seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

  • —mountain huts and shelters
  • —cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
  • —ski areas
  • —waymarked hiking routes
  • —via ferratas
  • —climbing crags and routes
  • —named glaciers
  • —viewpoints
  • 1campsites

    Acacia Special Campsite

  • —hotels, B&Bs and chalets
  • —restaurants and cafés

OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photos

Seen by climbers and visitors

MLY07753 Mount Ol Doinyo Lengai 0821
Ben Shoshana · CC BY-SA 4.0
Mt. Oldoinyo Lengai
Daniel Msirikale · CC BY-SA 4.0

Recent years

How each month compared at the summit

Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
1991–2020 average161717151414141618181716
2020−2.5−1.9−2.2−1.6−1.2−2.0−2.5−1.1−1.3−0.2−1.3−1.5
2021−1.8−2.2−1.2−1.7−1.4−1.5−1.9−0.9−0.9+0.7+2.0−1.0
2022−1.8−3.4−0.3−0.3−0.1−1.0−1.9−3.3−4.5−2.2−0.4±0.0
2023−1.0+0.5−0.2−0.6−0.3−0.7−1.0−3.4−2.7−1.5−2.8−1.1
2024−2.3−1.2−0.8−1.2−0.2−0.8±0.0−0.1+0.3+1.3+0.6−0.9
2025−0.9±0.0−0.1−0.8−1.0−1.1−3.0−3.4−2.1−1.0+1.6+1.3

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominenceWikidata (Q746787) · CC0
Relief, 3D view, profilesCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0
Around the mountain© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

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