Ngorongoro Crater Safaris, Tanzania
The Ngorongoro Crater holds Africa’s Big Five in the continent’s most dramatic setting. Fantastic cats, as well as elephants and a population of rhino.
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A Unique African Natural Wonder
Located in northern Tanzania, the Ngorongoro Crater is one of Africa’s most famous parks. Two to three million years ago, this ancient volcano, supposedly as high as Kilimanjaro, imploded, leaving the world’s largest intact caldera, complete with 600m-high walls. Over the years, the fertility of the volcanic soil and year-round water supply has attracted one of the highest concentrations of game in Africa. Today, Ngorongoro is a truly stunning site and has some of the best wildlife of anywhere we operate safaris. Famous for:
Ngorongoro Crater Trips
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Activities & Wildlife
This ancient caldera makes for a truly unique safari setting, where the Big Five can be seen on the crater floor. The sensational views from the crater rim also make this a ‘must see’ for any north Tanzania safari.
Wildlife
With its soda lake and acacia woodland, the crater is well able to support a wealth of wildlife. For good reason, it is known as ‘the garden of Eden’ and ‘the cradle of life’. Cats that roam the crater floor include prides of lion, leopard, serval, caracal, and sometimes cheetah. The crater is also home to black rhino, wildebeest, zebra, Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles, eland, topi, spotted hyena, hartebeest, jackal, black-faced vervet, baboon, and warthog.
The lake and its tributaries attract hippopotamus, waterbuck, and many other species, while the higher regions are populated by mountain reedbuck, Cape buffalo, and elephant. The elephant numbers are not overwhelming, but some of the oldest and largest tuskers have taken up residency here.
Game drives
Unlike most other parks, activities within the crater are limited to game driving and you can’t leave the vehicle. However, the broader Ngorongoro Conservation Area offers plenty of other things to do once you’ve started your day with a game drive across the crater floor. The crater is quite small and vehicles must remain on the roads, so it does get fairly busy – especially since lions love to languish on the roads in front of you, creating some congestion!
The crater serves as an excellent introduction to safari, before you enter the Serengeti for the main event. The key to good crater drives can also depend on which lodge you decide to stay at, as some have better access or private access, meaning you beat the crowds to arrive early.
Cultural visits
As a game drive in the Ngorongoro Crater involves a relatively small space, it is usual to do only one drive there. This leaves plenty of time for the region’s other activities. A cultural visit to a local community is high on that list. You can visit a Maasai village and meet the locals, learning about how they live, their diet, and their history. It’s a fascinating experience. Depending on where you are staying, some visits can be more authentic than others.
The accommodations off the crater rim (in nearby Karatu, especially) can offer a significantly wider diversity of activities. Here, lodges have access to the village of Mto wa Mbu, where Maasai villages are open for visits, walking areas are endless, and there is a real buzz of tribal life.
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