A collapsed volcano 600 metres deep with black rhino on its floor.
The Ngorongoro Crater is the world's largest intact, unflooded volcanic caldera. Its floor of grassland, swamp and fever-tree forest supports an extraordinary density of wildlife, including some of Tanzania's last black rhino.
The crater floor covers roughly 260 km², enclosed by walls about 600 metres high. Lions, elephants, buffalo, hyenas, flamingos on Lake Magadi and a small population of black rhino all live inside. The wider Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site where Maasai herders live alongside wildlife.
Vehicles may spend a limited number of hours on the crater floor each day, so we start early to be first down the descent road. Nights on the rim, at around 2,300 metres, are cold - bring a warm layer.
Nearby, Olduvai Gorge is one of the most important sites in the story of human origins.
About 3 hrs by road from Arusha
3 days
Elephants and baobabs in Tarangire, then a full morning on the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater. A perfect short safari before or after Kilimanjaro.
6 days
Tarangire, two full days in the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater. The classic first safari, paced so you're never rushing.
7 days
Three nights at Ndutu during calving season, when the southern plains are full of newborn wildebeest and the predators that follow them.
11 days
The Northern Circuit followed by four nights on a Zanzibar beach. Dust, then sand.
4 days
Flamingos, waterfalls and Maasai country at Lake Natron, then down to the Ngorongoro Crater.
3 days
A dawn hunt with the Hadzabe, Datoga blacksmiths and a morning in the Ngorongoro Crater.
