Ngorongoro Conservation Area

The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the world’s natural wonders. It is a very special place to visit. It covers quite a lot of land, more or less 8300 km², but only 230 km² or 3% from total surface was declared a World Heritage in 1978. Ngorongoro Conservation Area is very divers protected area where you can find from breathtaking outlooks, important archeological sites, awesome mountains, forests, huge grassland plains, extinct volcanoes and amazing number of wildlife. It has almost everything what East Africa can offer, so it’s like perfect microcosm of East Africa. The most important role of Conservation Area Authority is to fulfill needs of the animals and to give them opportunity of normal life without much interruption. They are protecting wildlife, their natural environment and they try to accommodate also the needs of Massai people living in Conservation Area as well as needs of their livestock.

Location

This protected area is located in the Great Rift Valley gigantic fracture. Volcanoes, mountains, plains, lake, forest and archaeological sites are part of it. At 2.286 m above sea level, is the largest unbroken caldera in the world. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is 190 km west of Arusha or it is 4 hours drive or 1 hour charter flight. From Lake Manyara is 60 km or just a 2 hours drive.

Fauna

It is home to up 30.000 animals in an area naturally enclosed by the slopes of the volcano (bit the animals can leave). It is bounded by Lake Eyasi in the southwest and the Gol-Mountains in the north. It has some of Tanzania’s last remaining black rhino. Animals are free to leave or enter the crater but most of them stay because of the plentiful water and food available on the crater floor throughout the year. More than 100 species of birds not found in the Serengeti have been spotted here. Birds found in Ngorongoro include flamingos and other water birds.

Time to visit

It is possible to make a visit any month of the year. April is considered as rainy season. Also don’t miss a whole day in the crater and watching the sunset above the crater.