Ngorongoro Crater

Crater floor: ≈ 260 km²
Crater depth: ≈ 600 m
From Arusha: ≈ 3.5 hrs drive
Best for: Black rhino, lions, Big Five in a day
Status: UNESCO World Heritage Site
Managed by: Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority

About Ngorongoro

When a huge volcano collapsed on itself millions of years ago, it left behind a bowl about 20 kilometres across and 600 metres deep. Today the Ngorongoro Crater floor is a self-contained world of grassland, soda lake, swamp and fever-tree forest.

Because the animals have everything they need inside the walls, sightings are concentrated and reliable. It is one of the best places in Tanzania to see the endangered black rhino, and seeing all of the Big Five in a single morning is a real possibility.

More than the crater

The wider Ngorongoro Conservation Area is shared by wildlife and Maasai pastoralists. It also includes the Ndutu plains, where the migration calves each year, and Olduvai Gorge, one of the most important sites in the story of human evolution.

Things to do

Crater floor game drive

Descend at first light for a full morning among lions, hyenas, buffalo, elephants and rhino, with a picnic lunch by the hippo pool.

Crater-rim views

Stay on the forested rim for sunrise views over the caldera, often with mist pouring over the edge.

Maasai culture

Visit a Maasai boma in the highlands to learn how families live alongside wildlife.

Olduvai Gorge

Stop at the museum on the way to the Serengeti to see where some of our earliest ancestors were found.

Gallery

Getting there

Drive from Arusha in about three and a half hours on a good tarmac road via Mto wa Mbu and Karatu. Most itineraries combine Ngorongoro with Tarangire, Lake Manyara and the Serengeti.

When to go

Open all year. The dry months, June to October, give the clearest game viewing. From December to March, the nearby Ndutu plains host the migration's calving season.

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