Ngorongoro Crater

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Ngorongoro Conservation Area (1979). The World'S Largest Intact Volcanic Caldera, With A 600 M Deep Floor Holding Roughly 25,000 Large Animals, Including A Black Rhino Population, Big Cats, Elephants, Hippos And Flamingos On Lake Magadi. Maasai Pastoralists Share The Conservation Area. Visits Are By Half Day Safari Vehicles On The Crater Floor. · Karatu, Arusha

Ngorongoro is the collapsed cone of a volcano, about 19 km across and 600 m deep, with a floor of about 260 sq km at 2,300 m on the rim of the Crater Highlands. Its walls hold in roughly 25,000 large animals, so the density of game is exceptional: lions, hyenas, elephants, hippos, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, flamingos on Lake Magadi in some seasons, and a small number of black rhino that are usually seen far off. It is a UNESCO site, inside a conservation area that Maasai herders share. The honest picture: in the middle of the day the floor feels like a zoo, with dozens of vehicles around a single lion, and the fees are high, and the road in from Arusha is long. A night in Karatu or on the rim is kinder than a day trip. The Maasai live here with their cattle, and pressure on them to relocate is a live issue worth asking about. Come very early, wrap up for the cold mist on the rim, and book a rim lodge months ahead, because the views are the best part. Fees are quoted in US dollars and usually paid by card, so confirm how before you travel.

Collapsed volcano crater of about 260 sq km at 2,300 m on the Crater Highlands, entered from Ngorongoro Conservation Area headquarters at Park Village and descended by one of three roads, Karatu, Arusha, Tanzania

The conservation area is open every day. A visit to the crater floor is limited to about 6 hours, between the early morning gate opening and about 4 pm, and you must be back on the rim by the cut-off. Roads can be CLOSED in heavy rain. Confirm the times when you book.

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