A volcanic crater cradling the world's densest concentration of wildlife, including Tanzania's last black rhinos.
From the rim the crater is a bowl of cloud. Your guide cuts the engine. Below you, nineteen kilometres across and 600 metres down, 25,000 large animals live inside a volcano that collapsed three million years ago. It was larger than Kilimanjaro. Then the cloud begins to move.
The crater floor holds one of the densest concentrations of large mammals on Earth. Lions that have never left the crater. Elephant bulls along the swampy edge of Lake Magadi. Flamingos turning the soda lake pink in the early light. And the black rhinoceros, one of the rarest animals anywhere, still living here in one of its last viable sanctuaries in Africa.
You drive down the crater wall in the early morning, with mist filling the caldera and the rim lost in cloud above you. By the time you reach the floor the mist has usually burned off and the plains stretch out ahead in golden light. On one morning drive it is common to see most of the Big Five within a few kilometres of each other. The leopard is the shy one.
Why Ngorongoro
What You Will Notice
Three reasons this destination belongs on your itinerary
Best Time to Visit
The crater's unique microclimate means wildlife is present every month. Dry season (Jun–Oct) offers clearer skies on the crater rim.
Lush and dramatic. Short-grass plains attract herds. Flamingos flock to the soda lake.
Cool mornings on the crater rim. Excellent visibility. Animals concentrate at water sources.
Wildlife
Activities
- →Crater Floor Game Drive
- →Rim Walks at Sunrise
- →Maasai Village Visit
- →Olduvai Gorge Tour
- →Birding (500+ species)
- →Photography
How to Get There
3 hour drive from Arusha via Karatu. Light aircraft from Arusha or Seronera. Usually combined with a Serengeti circuit.
Where to Stay
Crater rim lodges with views into the caldera: Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, Highlands, &Beyond. Mboka recommends 2 nights minimum for crater and highlands exploration.
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