NGORONGORO CRATER & Conservation Area
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area & Crater
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is one of the most famous of Safari destinations in Tanzania. This is due to the volcanic Ngorongoro Crater and amazingly unique wildlife diversity. The Conservation Area is a protected area and a UNESCO World Heritage site that sits 110 miles west of Arusha and is named due to the huge volcanic caldera that is iconic of the Ngorongoro area.
The Caldera (an empty cauldron after the expulsion of magma) is the worlds largest inactive and intact crater of its kind. The explosion that collapsed the volcano into itself is estimated to have been two, or three million years ago. It is estimated that the original volcano was between 4,500m to 5,800m tall, which is close to the height of Kilimanjaro.
In an effort to preserve the Wildlife in the Ngorongoro, in 2009 the Ngorongoro Wildlife Conservation Act placed restrictions of human settlement in the area. After the displacement of Maasai in 1959 when the British Colonial Government established the Serengeti National park, this was another forcible eviction which has displaced the farmers and Maasai population of the crater. Despite this, the construction of luxury hotels has been allowed in the Conservation Area which houses thousands of tourists a year.
Ngorongoro Crater Facts
The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the 7 wonders of Africa, and with good reason. It is like Disneyland for Safari Animals and natural history!
Caldera Crater from a 5000+m Volcano
10 - 12 miles across & spanning 102 sq miles
Crater floor is 1800m above sea level
Home to the Olduvai Gorge
It's Cold! (Evening & Morning)
The Big 5 Live here!
What to Expect from an Ngorongoro Safari
Ngorongoro Safari boasts not only some of the most majestic scenery in the whole of Tanzania, but it also is home to a huge array of wildlife and predators; including the Big 5!
There are roughly 25,00 large animals that live in the crater, many of which are Ungulates (Horses and Rhinos alongside Pigs and Dogs). These animals include the Rare & endangered Black Rhinoceros (estimated at less than 2000 in the world – and followed by armed guards), Hippopotamus, Cape Buffalo, Waterbucks, Flamingos Crocodiles, Tanzanian Cheetah & African Leopard among others.
The Ngorongoro Crater is considered as a ‘Natural Enclosure’ for a wide range of animals, due to the high ‘walled’ surroundings; despite this around 20% of the Wildebeest and 50% of the Zebra population leave the confines during the rains.
If you travel to the Ngorongoro crater, then you’re almost guaranteed to see something amazing.
Giant Tusk Elephants
The Crater is also home to giant African Elephants; these elephants generally grow older and champion huge tusks. Elephants normally do not die of old age or disease but of starvation due to the erosion of their teeth and their inability to chew food. The crater, however, is a perfect water source and is lush with soft vegetation for the Elephants to feed on. This is due to the environmental protection they have in the crater as they are less exposed to poachers and human influence.
Much Like the Serengeti, you are likely to see Lions during a Ngorongoro Safari tour – the crater is one of the most densely populated areas for East African Lions. Despite this, their numbers have been in decline due to disease, drought & an increased population of Stables Flies (Blood-sucking flys that caused infections- lion number fell from 100-12). The population has since recovered. Very few of these lions migrate outside of the crater due to the natural boundaries created by the volcano, so the population is significantly inbred. Very few new lions have entered into the gene pool and those that do tend to kill the cubs of the other Males.
Outside of the Ngrorongoro Crater, wildlife populations are stable and often healthy. Tanzania Safari destinations do not get much better than this.