Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a beautiful protected area in northern Tanzania, it was established in 1959 as a vast land use area, the very first purpose was for the land to co-exist with wildlife and the local nomadic Masaai people, however later it was gazette completely from the locals. The crater is the world’s largest caldera. It is impressive with the fact that instead of it being filled with water it is rather filled with life! Imagine meeting the so-called big five of the wilderness at one point (African elephants, African buffaloes, rhinos, leopards, and Lions) and several other species present in the biodiverse ecosystem. The crater has been nicknamed the “Eden” on Earthbecause of its raw undisturbed virgin land.
The Ngorongoro crater is a UNESCO World Heritage site, it is part of the larger conservation area consisting of the Oldvai gorge, forests, mountains, savannah grasslands, woodland, acacia forest, rivers, mini lakes and remote areas, in the past it used to be part of the Serengeti until it was gazette as a game reserve, this region is close to the Kenyan border its fame was brought to the world when the region featured in the movie “Out of Africa”. The crater was created as a result of volcanicity this volcanic mountain collapsed to its weight about 3 million years ago. The crater region is an enclosed space animals here seem to be trapped and do not have the chance of moving to other ecosystems more so for the species that migrate.
The presence of several attractions including the wildlife of the Ngorongoro crater, its vast biodiverse topography, many birds, and the local Masaai people makes the crater region perfect to do tourism activities including game drives that are conducted all day long beginning in the early morning 6:00 am,2;30pm, 4:00 pm respectively, through the well distributed trails of the crater expect to see wildlife such as zebras, leopards, wildebeests, Jackson hartebeest, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs, crocodiles, hippos, to mention a few. The crater region is a whole amazing picture square point to take great wildlife photos.
Guided nature and crater walks, it is angelic to walk around the edges of the crater rim, the views of the grasslands, woodlands and acacia forests are epic, along the walks, you will get the chance to see animal species, like waterbucks,bushbucks, the sound of birds is not to miss while in the wilderness. It takes 2-3 hours to do the activity led by an experienced guide. Birding in the Ngorongoro crater, there are over 500 species of birds that have been recorded in the region to date. Besides the mentioned activities the Ngorongoro crater has several other activities including visiting the Masasi people, the Lerai fever tree forest, Lake Magadi, visit Empakaii crater, visit the oldvai gorge to mention a few.
Ngorongoro conservation area can be visited all year round but is best during the dry season between the months of December- February and June –September, this time is when the crater receives lots of visitors, it is also a high tourism season. There is available accommodation around the crater region ranging from the best budget to Luxury.