Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Ngorongoro Conservation Area, which boasts the Ngorongoro Crater as its crown jewel, is a wildlife area of exceptional features.
The crater itself is home to 30,000 animals and is the only place in Africa where one can almost certainly see the Big 5. Additionally, Ngorongoro is one of the few places where the endangered African black rhino can be observed.
As this area is not an official national park, the Maasai people reside here without any boundaries, and visitors have the opportunity to encounter them in their natural habitat.
At the crater floor, visitors can also witness large groups of lions, while at Lake Magadi, they can observe big herds of water buffalos and hippos in their own pool.
The bird life is also impressive, with over 500 species recorded, including thousands of greater and lesser flamingos, sandpipers, storks, and vultures.
In addition to the primary caldera, there exist two other volcanic craters, namely Olmoti and Empakai. Olmoti is renowned for its picturesque waterfalls, while Empakai is recognized for its profound lake and verdant walls.
A remarkable destination worth visiting is the Olduvai Gorge, a ravine stretching 14km in length. To preserve this extraordinary natural marvel, the number of visitors is closely regulated, and a permit is mandatory to access the crater and the gorge.
Getting there
The Park can be accessed by road or air.
By road:
Ngorongoro Crater Region is about 185 km from Arusha by road, a journey that can take between two and four hours.
By Air:
There are daily flights from Arusha to Lake Manyara Airstrip. From there you would have scenic 1h30min trip to the crater itself.
