tanzania

Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

Quick Facts

Best Time to Visit: June–October (dry season); the crater holds water and wildlife year-round
Country: tanzania

Highlights

World's largest intact volcanic caldera, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
One of the best places in Africa to see the Big Five in a single day
Resident population of endangered black rhino
Around 25,000 large animals on the crater floor
Maasai communities graze cattle alongside the wildlife

Wildlife

Black rhinoLion, leopard, hyenaAfrican elephant (large-tusked bulls)Buffalo, wildebeest, zebraFlamingos on Lake MagadiHippo and golden jackal

The Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera, formed when a giant volcano collapsed around two to three million years ago. Today its 260 square-kilometre floor is one of the densest concentrations of wildlife in Africa.

A natural amphitheatre of wildlife

Around 25,000 large animals live on the crater floor, and the steep walls keep them largely contained, making sightings reliable year-round. It is one of the few places where you have a real chance of seeing all of the Big Five, including the rare black rhino, in a single game drive.

Beyond the crater

The wider Ngorongoro Conservation Area is also home to Maasai pastoralists, who graze their cattle alongside the wildlife, and to Olduvai Gorge, one of the most important paleoanthropological sites in the world.

Getting there

Ngorongoro sits between Arusha and the Serengeti and is a standard stop on the northern circuit, reached by road in around three to four hours from Arusha.