Ngorongoro Crater
Ngorongoro Conservation Area Highlights
- Maasai herdsmen grazing cattle alongside predators
- Very easy sightings of the Big Five
- Lerai Forest is the best place for leopard sightings
- Views from the Crater rim are breathtaking
- Luxurious lodges on the rim with wonderful views
Ngorongoro Crater
The spectacular landscape of the world-renowned Ngorongoro Crater has to be seen to be believed. It forms part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) within the Serengeti ecosystem and the Crater itself is home to more than 25 000 large mammals. Once a large volcano that later collapsed, it is now the largest intact caldera in the world.
The Ngorongoro Crater is often called ‘Africa’s Eden’ and the ‘8th Natural Wonder of the World,’ a visit to the crater is the main draw for tourists coming to Tanzania and a definite world-class attraction. Within the crater rim, large herds of zebra and wildebeest graze nearby while sleeping lions laze in the sun. At dawn, the endangered black rhino returns to the thick cover of the crater forests after grazing on dew-laden grass in the morning mist. Just outside the crater’s ridge, tall Masaai herds their cattle and goats over green pastures through the highland slopes, living alongside the wildlife as they have for centuries.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area includes its eponymous famous crater, Olduvai Gorge, and huge expanses of highland plains, scrub bush, and forests that cover approximately 8300 square kilometres. A protected area, only indigenous tribes such as the Masaai are allowed to live within its borders. Lake Ndutu and Masek, both alkaline soda lakes are home to rich game populations, as well as a series of peaks and volcanoes and make the Conservation Area a unique and beautiful landscape. Of course, the crater itself, actually a type of collapsed volcano called a caldera, is the main attraction. Accommodation is located on its ridges and after a beautiful descent down the crater rim, passing lush rain forest and thick vegetation, the flora opens to grassy plains throughout the crater floor. The game viewing is truly incredible and views of the surrounding Crater Highlands out of this world.
This truly magical place is home to Olduvai Gorge, where the Leakeys discovered the hominoid remains of a 1.8 million-year-old skeleton of Australopithecus boisei, one of the distinct links of the human evolutionary chain. In a small canyon just north of the crater, the Leakeys and their team of international archaeologists unearthed the ruins of at least three distinct hominoid species, and also came upon a complete series of hominoid footprints estimated to be over 3.7 million years old. Evacuated fossils show that the area is one of the oldest sites of hominoid habitation in the world.
The Ngorongoro Crater and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area are without a doubt some of the most beautiful parts of Tanzania, steeped in history and teeming with wildlife. Besides vehicle safaris to Ngorongoro Crater, Olduvai Gorge, and surrounding attractions, hiking treks through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area are becoming increasingly popular options. Either way, you choose to visit, the Crater Highlands are an unforgettable part of the Tanzanian experience.
Throughout the year we run a standard program of open safaris of differing lengths. Our full schedule of safaris by date is below. We are also able to offer tailor-made safaris to fit in with any Kilimanjaro climb.
