Ngorongoro Crater
Travel information on the Ngorongoro Crater. This is a UNESCO protected World Heritage Site. Wanderlust can organise for you a tour to this park as part of your safari itinerary to Tanzania. Contact us for a discount quote today
Tanzania Parks > Lake Manyara > Arusha Nat. Park > Serengeti > Tarangire Nat. Park > Mt. Kilimanjaro > Ngorongoro > Selous Game Reserve
Ngorongoro Crater
Approaching
Ngorongoro Crater is a unique experience. The road winds upwards through
a beautiful area of forests and meadows carpeted with wild flowers.Then
a final bend reveals the crater 610m/2,000ft below in all its incomparable
glory. Indisputably one of Africa's true wonders of nature and an extraordinary
place of haunting beauty, with its grand majestic mountain ring and lake,
shimmering in the blue grey haze.
Ngorongoro covers an area of (264km/102m) and is the largest intact caldera in the world, its enduring charm stems from its overwhelming beautiful rosy-breasted longclaw, waders and flamingo can be seen around the lake, whilst on the crater rim the abyssinian nightjar is often seen at dusk
A UNESCO protected World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is situated some 190 km west of Arusha, between Lake Manyara and Serengeti National Parks.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area consists of the Ngorongoro Crater itself, the Olduvai gorge and Nduta, the Empakai crater and the Oldonyo Lengai Mountain. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a pioneering experiment in multi-purpose land use where people ( the Maasai), their livestock and wildlife coexist and share the same protected habitat.
Wild animals are protected as in the National Parks. the craters of Ngorongoro and Empakai are reserved exclusively for wildlife, while the rest of the Conservation Area is shared by wildlife, people and livestock.
The Maasai, the main residents of Ngorongoro, are pastoralists who move wildely with their herds of cattle, sheep and goats in search of pasture and water. The Ngorongoro Crater floor, a sheer drop of 610 metres below the crater rim, has an area of 265 sq km with a diameter of 19 km. The sight of Ngorongor Crater is simply stunning!
The crater floor is covered with plains animals, including wildebeest, zebra, gazelles, elands, rhinos and a large predator population of lions, hyenas and jackal which can all be viewed at close quaters. Cheetah and leopard can also be seen here. The rainy season is between November and May. The altitude at the crater rim is about 2286 metres above sea level, and temperatures can get quite chilly in the evening.
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::: Ngorongoro Crater :::