Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Ngorongoro Crater is what remains of a volcano that collapsed in on itself two to three million years ago. The result is a natural amphitheatre with permanent water, grassland, swamp and acacia forest — everything a large animal needs, all year round.

Because the resident wildlife rarely leaves, the crater floor is the most reliable game drive in Tanzania. It is also the best place in the country to see black rhino, with a small protected population usually visible on the Lerai side in the early morning.

The wider Conservation Area is a multiple-use landscape where Maasai families graze cattle alongside wildlife. On the way through you can visit a Maasai boma, and the Olduvai Gorge museum sits on the road towards the Serengeti.

We always descend at first light. The crater is busiest from mid-morning, and the animals are most active before it warms up.

Highlights

• Dawn descent to the crater floor
• Black rhino sightings
• Crater rim viewpoint over the caldera
• Olduvai Gorge and Maasai boma visits

Wildlife you can expect

• · Black rhino (best chance in Tanzania)
• · Big-maned crater lions
• · Elephant bulls with heavy tusks
• · Flamingo on Lake Magadi
• · Hippo, hyena, jackal, serval
• · Buffalo and huge zebra herds

Best time to visit Ngorongoro

Excellent all year. June to October is dry and clear; the green months of January to March are quieter with beautiful light.