Ngorongoro Crater & Conservation Area Website

The proximity of Ngorongoro Conservation Area makes it possible to combine your Ngorongoro Crater safari packages with other great destinations like Serengeti National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro, Lake Manyara National Park and Tarangire National Park among the rest.

Most of our Ngorongoro crater safaris bundle up 2 or more destinations in a single package. Visiting Ngorongoro Crater only is much more like limiting yourself.

Ngorongoro Video

There are a lot more great Tanzania safari attractions that you can visit on your affordable Ngorongoro safari tours and holidays unless you want to only stick to one destinations.

So do you want to experience the safari Ngorongoro Crater has to offer? We have a couple of tailor itinerary options above that you can choose from.

Alternatively, you can contact us below so that we even send you a much more interesting tour package.

About Ngorongoro Crater – Conservation Area

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area consists of the incredible Ngorongoro Crater, which is the world’s largest caldera. It’s a paradise that you wouldn’t want to miss while touring. Before delving into the silver lining of the area, let me first take you through its history.

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area was established in 1959, with greenery that favored both wildlife and human settlement, particularly the Maasai people.

The area has been subject to extensive archaeological research for over 80 years, leading to different discoveries of fossils, including human remains.

For example, fossilized footprints were found at Laetoli, which played a crucial role in understanding human bipedalism.

This locality offers insights into the rise of anatomically modern humans, modern behavior, and human ecology.

It’s located in Ngorongoro District in Tanzania, covering an area of 102 square miles.

This everlasting blissful vicinity is rich in flora and fauna, which means that a variety of activities can be enjoyed in this place.

These activities include:

• Game Drive: This activity provides travelers with an opportunity to explore the area and observe different animals and their behaviors, such as zebras, wildebeests, warthogs, buffaloes, waterbucks, reedbucks, lions, leopards, and many others. The tour is conducted in a 4WD safari vehicle and guided by experienced guides. Game drives are usually done in the morning when animals are most active.
• Bird Watching: The area is home to over 550 bird species, making it one of Tanzania’s best birding destinations. These species include migratory birds, endemic birds, grassland birds, and more. Bird enthusiasts will find this place truly captivating due to the variety of colors and species.
• Photographic Safari: The best time for this activity is in the morning when the sun casts its bright light. This makes the beauty of the area shine, offering photographers great opportunities for capturing stunning shots. It’s advisable to have a tour guide for safety and to carry all the necessary photography equipment.

The best time to visit the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is usually during the dry season in October when animals are active in their search for food and water.

However, the park is open year-round, so you can visit at any time.

Upon arrival, an entry fee is paid, and guests are provided with clear instructions that include what not to do.

This includes not feeding animals, as it can make them dependent and lazy, not littering, as designated waste disposal areas are provided, and avoiding unnecessary noise, as it can disrupt the daily routines of animals.

The entry fee is US$35.50 for non-resident adults, US$70.80 for non-resident children, and 11,800 Tanzanian Shillings for East African citizens.

Tanzanian citizen children aged 5 to 16 pay 2,360 Tanzanian Shillings, while foreign resident children pay 11.80 US$. Children under the age of five enter for free.

It’s important to note that over-speeding within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is prohibited.

Transport to the area is possible either by road or air:

• Road Transport: There are various routes to reach Ngorongoro, including the northern circuit, with stops at places such as Serengeti National Park and Lake Manyara National Park. Alternatively, travelers can drive from Arusha city to Loduare Gate, near the town of Karatu.
• Air Transport: Direct flights to Kilimanjaro International Airport provide access to Arusha town, which is 46 kilometers away. From Arusha, a domestic flight can be taken to Ngorongoro Airstrip, offering tourists an aerial view of the landscape.

The popular tourist attractions within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area include:

• Lake Magadi: This blue lake is famous for hosting a great number of long-legged pink flamingo birds. Photographers are drawn to this site, capturing the birds against the stunning landscape. The lake is alkaline from sodium carbonate, and during the dry season, it shrinks, leaving behind thick crystalline salt pans that some animals use as a dietary supplement.
• Lerai Fever Tree Forest: This area is home to a variety of wildlife, including elephants, rhinos, eland, bushbuck, and black rhinos, which feed on the tall, slim, yellow-barked acacias. It creates a lace-canopied wonderland of glades and provides water to hippos due to the seedlings that spread in the Gorigor swamps.
• Shifting Sands: A result of ash from Ol Dionyo, this formation of shifting sands is remarkable. It’s 100 meters in length, nine meters high, and moves slowly across the plains at a rate of 15 meters every year.

Accommodations in the area include Ngorongoro Forest Tented Lodge, Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge, Ngorongoro Corridor Lodge, Neptune Ngorongoro Luxury Lodge, Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge, Ang’ata Ngorongoro Camp, Ngorongoro Tortillis Camp, Crater Forest Tented Camp, and Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge, among others.

Nature’s music never ends. Come to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and enjoy the symphony of nature as you dance to its tunes by exploring the area.

Interesting Facts about Ngorongoro Crater

Here are the Facts about Ngorongoro:

• This crater was formed by the volcanic forces. There was a large volcanic eruption that occurred to form the crater. The crater later collapsed on its self.
•  The crater itself is about 610 meters deep and 260 kilometers squared.
• The Masai people live here and its estimated that about 40,000 people share this conservation area together with about 25,000 animal species. It’s also one of the best places to see the endangered black rhino and black-maned male lions.
• There are no giraffes in the Ngorongoro crater. It is believed that they can’t make it on the steep slopes o the crater to walk down and up. You will however be able to see them in other areas of the Ngorongoro conservation area.
• . The Ngorongoro crater was listed as a UNESCO world heritage site in the year 1979. It’s also among the seven wonders of Africa.
• The Olduvai Gorge is one of the most prestigious archeological sites in the world. This site is also located n the Ngorongoro conservation area.
• Tourism has a great impact on the development of the area and the lives of the locals here. There are over 40,000 visitors to the Ngorongoro conservation area and each of them is required to have permit. This means a percentage of these incomes will be used to improve the community and boost conservation efforts.
• There are several prominent people that have visited this area. These include former USA president Bill Clinton, the queen of Denmark and Prince William of the United Kingdom.
• The movie “out of Africa” was shot in the Ngorongoro conservation area. This movie won an Oscar.
• The Ngorongoro Crater is also called to ‘the Garden of Eden’ due to its stunning beauty and being a haven for animals.

Vegetation & Ecology

There are variations in vegetation in the Ngorongoro conservation area due to variations in Altitude and land forms.

The general area lies below the 1300 meters above sea level mark which is the cultivated climate and vegetation zone.

The area is characterized with short grass that catches the waters form the highlands.

These are also known as the savanna vegetation.

They are characterized by short bushes and a lot of acacia trees. There are patches of woodlands, swamps and mashes.

Why Visit Ngorongoro

Why visit Ngorongoro? The Ngorongoro is one of the attractions you will see while on the safari in Tanzania. The Ngorongoro conservation area is a UNESCO world heritage site. The area is home to the famous Ngorongoro Crater. This crater is the largest in the world. It’s still intact. The crater is also among the seven wonders of Africa since 2015. Here are some of the reasons why you should visit the Ngorongoro:

The Garden of Eden: Most people will refer to this area as the Garden of Eden as its gives you a little bit of everything. You will find lions, all the African big five, beautiful scenery. There are also wildebeests here that are very popular for their migration seasons. The Ngorongoro crater is another great attraction in the Garden of Eden. There are two rivers in this area.

Masai Village: The Masai people are among the ethnic groups that live in the Ngorongoro area. You can visit them in their village and experience their lifestyle first hand. Adumu is the traditional dance of the Masai. This dance is used to celebrate young men coming of age. The dance will involve a lot of jumping. The word “Adumu” is a Masai word to mean jump and in this perspective it is used to mean jumping up and down. The warriors will make a circle and a few people will enter the circle and just keep jumping for a while before they go back to the circle for another group to join in.

Olduvai Gorge: For those that love archeology, you can visit this site and be taken through the evolution of man. It is one of the most important sites of the history of human nature. The oldest human skull was discovered here.

The Crater: The crater covers an area of about 3,202 square kilometers and it’s the largest Crater Lake in the world. The crater is about 610 meters deep. Most of the animals in the conservation area are around the crater as they use this crater to get water.

Closer to the Serengeti: The Serengeti is one of the most famous safari destinations in Africa and Tanzania. The Ngorongoro and the Serengeti are the only areas you will find Wildebeests calving before they go for the great migration. The fact that you can have these two destinations within the same area makes them worth a visit since they all offer the best in wildlife.

Self drive safaris: The area is well secured with marked trails and you can easily do a self drive safari. When you do a self drive safari, you have the chance to go slow and run everything to your own pace. The experience will be better.

Explore the Big Five Animals of Ngorongoro

Here are Big five in the Ngorongoro conservation area.

Leopard

The Leopards in Ngorongoro conservation area are mostly found in the Northern highland forest reserve.

This area is also good for those searching for the big five.

There is a large population of leopards in the Ngorongoro conservation area.

The northern highland forest reserve is located in the southern sector of the Ngorongoro conservation area.

The forest covers an area of about 893 square Kilometers.

This is about 20 percent of the total area of the Ngorongoro conservation area.

Leopard are carnivores and they feed mostly on fish, antelopes, warthogs, monkeys, rodents, zebras, wildebeests and many other animals.

Night Hunts: They are usually shy animals and most of their hunting is during the night. Most of their night preys are owls, porcupines, bats and hyenas.

Day Time Hunts: They usually hide in the caves or on top of trees or huge rocks. They prefer to spend the day time resting.

African lion

In the 1960s, the population of lions in the Ngorongoro had declined a lot fur to the floods the happened then.

It is said that about 9 female lions and one male survived this ordeal.

By the end of 1965, there were other 7 males that had come to the Ngorongoro conservation area.

This boosted the efforts to improve the population of these animals.

By the year 1975, there were over 100 lions that live only inside the Ngorongoro crater.

There about 60 lions in the crater today.

The decrease in number is due to the steep slopes of the crater that deter the lions come here and boost reproduction.

Lions are also killed by the locals that graze their animals here.

There have been several conflicts between the two.

African buffalo

They are usually in groups and will form a great defense again predators. The males and females will all have horns.

The buffalos in Ngorongoro are really heavy animals and if attacked by a lion then it’s at risk of losing its life.

Buffalo can be aggressive, and frequently come into conflict with humans outside of protected areas.

African elephant

The numbers of elephants in the Ngorongoro crater are probably the largest will ever come along on any safari. They are very giant animals with ivory tusks that they flaunt around.

The elephants were killed a lot before the pre ivory ban of the 1980 and since then the population has grown a lot. The crater doesn’t have elephants since it’s too steep for them to go down and climb out.

The Lerai forest is one of the best places where you can view these African giants.

Baby elephants are about 80 centimeters tall at birth but they grow into very large adults. Elephants use their trunks to pick up objects, bathing and drinking. They use the trumpet sound to warn others.

Due to their size, they intimidate the predators and they only trouble the young elephants. Elephants can use their trunks to dig and find water in periods of drought.

An adult elephant will drink about 90 to 140 liters of water a day.

Rhinoceroses

There are two species the black rhinoceros and the white rhinoceros. The Ngorongoro conservation area has the black Rhinos.

These black rhinos in Ngorongoro are an endangered species. They have been killed a lot for their tusks to near extinction. The Ngorongoro conservation area is among the few places in Tanzania where you will be able to view these Black Rhinos. By the year 1965 there were about 100 black rhinos in the Ngorongoro crater alone.

By the year 2004, the number of these rhinos had grown to 17. The Moru Kopjes is the other place where you can see these rhinos and its home to about 12 rhinos by 2004 census.

Black Rhinos are highly endangered and have been poached to near extinction. The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the last places in Tanzania where you can still reliably see wild black rhinos.

The Lerai Forest is the best spot to see these rhinos in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. They are very hard to miss here.