Ngorongoro Crater

The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the natural wonders of the world with one of the highest wildlife densities on earth. In addition to large herds of antelopes, wildebeest and zebra, sightings of the Big Five, lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard, are frequent and the natural beauty of the crater adds a grandeur to your safari experience that is unrivalled anywhere in Africa.

The conservation area is also home to Maasai people and their cattle which co-exist with the existing wildlife in a unique ecosystem. The foothills between the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Lake Manyara offer beautiful lush green landscapes dotted with small villages and picturesque coffee and tea plantation which you can explore on bicycle horseback or on wonderful walks.

Ngorongoro Crater is a huge caldera (collapsed volcano) 300 square km in size, 19.2 km in diameter and 600 meters deep. It is home to one of the world's largest inactive and unflooded volcanic calderas with a rich diversity of Tanzania wildlife safari(including some of Tanzania's last remaining black rhino), and the famous paleontological site of Oldovai Gorge nearby.

Location:
4 hours drive from Arusha on the way to the Serengeti (Serengeti National Park).

Time to visit:
1 half-day is usually enough to see the Ngorongoro Crater.

Animals:
One of the few places where you have a chance to spot rhinos. The Ngorongoro Crater supports a large resident population of wildlife pre-dominantly grazing animals. These include Wildebeest, Buffalo, Zebra, Giraffe, Gazelle, Eland, and Warthog. The swamps and forests provide additional resources for Hippo, Elephant, Waterbuck, Reedbuck and Bushbuck, Baboons and vervet monkeys. Jackals thrive in the Ngorongoro Crater and bat-eared foxes live in the short grass. Predatory animals: Lion, Leopard and Cheetah, several cats and large packs of Hyena roam the Ngorongoro Crater, making their own kills and scavenging from others.