nature travel

Lake Chala

To end 2012, I joined brothers and sisters from Onetouch on a photographic road trip that took us to places Google hardly knew of.

Top on the list was Lake Chala, a crater lake in a caldera on the Eastern slopes of Kilimanjaro, sitting nice and pretty on the Kenya-Tanzania border. It can be accessed easily by road from Moshi in Tanzania or Taveta in Kenya. With the Voi – Taveta being a motoring challenge especially in the rainy season for now, I believe there should be a faster, easier route through Oloitoktok, but I can’t confirm this.

We got to camp at about 2am, so it wasn’t until 6am when shooting the sunrise that we got to enjoy the beauty that surrounded us. A beauty so inviting that after breakfast, we stripped to our undies and swam in the cool, fresh waters… bliss that words can’t explain!

From the top of the 100m high crater rim around Lake Chala, one can clearly see the Kilimanjaro peaks of Mawenzi and Kibo, making  Lake Chala a great location to bum, relax and sleep. While there, you can stay here.

Canon 7D. 17mm (EF 17-40mm f/4L USM) 1/125sec at f/4.0, ISO 250

Canon 7D. 17mm (EF 17-40mm f/4L USM) 1/25sec at f/20, ISO 160

Canon 7D. 17mm (EF 17-40mm f/4L USM) 1/20sec at f/20, ISO 160

Canon 7D. 17mm (EF 17-40mm f/4L USM) 1/25sec at f/22, ISO 160

Canon 7D. 31mm (EF 17-40mm f/4L USM) 1/640sec at f/7.1, ISO 160

Canon 7D. 17mm (EF 17-40mm f/4L USM) 1/1000sec at f/9.0, ISO 160

Canon 7D. 17mm (EF 17-40mm f/4L USM) 1/1000sec at f/9.0, ISO 160

Canon 40D. 200mm (EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM) 1/400sec at f/8.0, ISO 100

Canon 40D. 200mm (EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM) 1/400sec at f/8.0, ISO 100

 

 

 

  1. Hmurimi

    January 14, 2013 at 10:26 am

    dufo! :D. The experience of swimming in chala was unforgettable. Amazing shots esp the Kilimanjaro

  2. Jesse

    January 18, 2013 at 12:16 pm

    Super amazing and beautiful

  3. David Kiania

    March 14, 2013 at 3:40 pm

    i have seen good work, great work but this is super magnificent work by the Sensi himself .. love it

    1. mwarv

      March 14, 2013 at 6:46 pm

      Asante! Just like I paid you to say.

  4. Asrar

    May 7, 2013 at 1:40 pm

    Amazing stuff!!! Need to visit that place soon!

    With the last click, I think you need clean your sensor. Try taking a pic with a small aperture like 22 and take a pic with white background, if lots of spots means your sensor needs cleaning.

    1. mwarv

      May 7, 2013 at 1:54 pm

      Thanks Asrar. My sensor does need cleaning. I just don’t have a reputable place to clean it. I’ve procrastinated on it a while. I think I should just DIY.

      1. Asrar

        May 7, 2013 at 2:10 pm

        DIY can be risky though, them sensors are sensitive, a misaligned sensor will give more headache!! Isn’t there a canon service center in Kenya? Unless you ship your camera to the nearest service center.

        1. mwarv

          May 10, 2013 at 11:30 pm

          Hey… Last time I took my camera to the Canon guys in Kenya, it took me a year to get it from them, and not fully fixed. I wouldn’t want to deal with them again.

  5. Vee

    May 28, 2013 at 7:35 am

    What!!!! This is Kenya???????????????? WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AMAZIIIING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    1. mwarv

      May 28, 2013 at 7:49 am

      Lol… Yes Vivian. This IS Kenya. Well, and Tanzania as well but what you see is mostly the Kenyan side of the Lake.

  6. Ben Kiruthi

    May 28, 2013 at 10:23 am

    Awesome work my bro, best water scapes 🙂 I have ever seen…keep it up there!!!

    1. mwarv

      May 28, 2013 at 11:04 am

      Asante ndugu. I’ll keep it up there just like you.

  7. brown

    May 31, 2013 at 12:12 pm

    In all my years i have never seen such an amazing piece of work,you have awesome talent my friend,i recommend amazing books on photography at http://www.booksfromus.co.ke/ that will for sure build your talent.

  8. Kamau Wanyoike

    October 1, 2013 at 5:00 pm

    Mwarv, just ‘stumbled’ on these amazing photos. Awesome!

  9. Alvin N. Mungai

    December 6, 2013 at 9:51 am

    Amazing….I need to know how to do this.

Comments are closed.