The great caldera
the place
About two and a half million years ago a volcano here collapsed in on itself and left the Ngorongoro Crater: an unbroken bowl roughly 20 kilometres across with walls around 600 metres high. The crater rim stands above 2,200 metres, often wrapped in cloud, and nights up here are cool enough for a fleece.
On the crater floor you drive through open grassland, swamp, the yellow-barked acacias of Lerai Forest and around Lake Magadi, a shallow soda lake that draws flamingos. Water and grazing last all year, so wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland and gazelle stay, and so do the lions and hyenas that hunt them. The crater is one of the best places in Tanzania to see the endangered black rhino, usually through binoculars across the grass.
The crater sits inside the wider Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where Maasai families still graze their cattle alongside the wildlife. Our guides plan an early descent to beat the busiest hours, and lunch is usually beside the hippo pool before the climb back up to the rim.
why go
At a glance
Best time to visit
Year-round. June to October is driest; November to May is greener, quieter and good for birds
Size
8,292 km² (conservation area)
journeys that go here
Starting points you can change to suit you.
7 days · 6 nights
Lake Manyara National Park · Serengeti National Park · Ngorongoro Conservation Area · Tarangire National Park
Price on request
4 days · 3 nights
Tarangire National Park · Serengeti National Park · Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Price on request
5 days · 4 nights
Tarangire National Park · Serengeti National Park · Ngorongoro Conservation Area · Lake Manyara National Park
Price on request
2 days · 1 night
Tarangire National Park · Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Price on request
6 days · 5 nights
Lake Manyara National Park · Serengeti National Park · Ngorongoro Conservation Area · Tarangire National Park
Price on request
6 days · 5 nights
Serengeti National Park · Ngorongoro Conservation Area · Lake Manyara National Park
Price on request
7 days · 6 nights
Serengeti National Park · Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Price on request
8 days · 7 nights
Tarangire National Park · Serengeti National Park · Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Price on request
where you might stay
karibu
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