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Ngorongoro Crater (Wildlife):
The largest unbroken Caldera in the world with a crater floor
diameter of 20-24 kilometers and walls of 610 meters from crater
floor. It is the 8th wonder of the world. Designated a World
Heritage Site, Ngorongoro Crater is a huge and stunningly
beautiful caldera full of wildlife. The crater offers some of
the best game viewing in Africa and one of the last places to
see Black Rhino in their natural habitat. The views from the rim
looking down to the crater floor, where grassland blends into
swamps, soda lakes, freshwater pools and woodland, are
sensational.
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The crater is actually a small portion of the
Ngorongoro Conservation Area which lies between Lake Manyara and
Serengeti National Parks and makes up one of three components of
the Serengeti ecosystem. The conservation area contains a wide
variety of habitats, highland forest, woodlands and grasslands
and is home to many Maasai. Cultural day hikes are easily
arranged to the Crater Highlands and to Lake Eyasi.
The crater itself contains over 20,000 mammals and the densest
predator population in Africa. Due to the plentiful water and
food available throughout the year the crater is able to support
such a high concentration of mammals year-round.
Home to the endangered black Rhino, rich in Elephant, Buffalo,
Zebra, Wildebeest, Gazelle, Velvet Monkey, Hippo, Giraffe,
Eland, Impala, and Baboon. Hungry predators include Lions,
Cheetahs, Hunting dogs that can be seen at close quarters. The
birdlife is largely seasonal and also affected by the ratio of
soda to fresh water in Lake Magadi, but it isn't unusual to see
a thousand flamingoes at this pool of water on the crater floor.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area includes its eponymous famous
crater, Olduvai Gorge, and huge expanses of highland plains,
scrub bush, and forests that cover approximately 8300 square
kilometres. A protected area, only indigenous tribes such as the
Maasai are allowed to live within its borders. Lake Ndutu and
Masek, both alkaline soda lakes are home to rich game
populations, as well as a series of peaks and volcanoes and make
the Conservation Area a unique and beautiful landscape. Of
course, the crater itself, actually a type of collapsed volcano
called a caldera, is the main attraction. Accommodation is
located on its ridges and after a beautiful descent down the
crater rim, passing lush rain forest and thick vegetation, the
flora opens to grassy plains throughout the crater floor. The
game viewing is truly incredible, and the topography and views
of the surrounding Crater Highlands out of this world. This truly magical place is home to Olduvai
Gorge, where the Leakeys discovered the hominoid remains of a
1.8 million year old skeleton of Australopithecus boisei, one of
the distinct links of the human evolutionary chain. In a small
canyon just north of the crater, the Leakeys and their team of
international archaeologists unearthed the ruins of at least
three distinct hominoid species, and also came upon a complete
series of hominoid footprints estimated to be over 3.7 million
years old. Evacuated fossils show that the area is one of the
oldest sites of hominoid habitation in the world.
The Ngorongoro Crater and the Ngorongoro
Conservation Area are without a doubt some of the most beautiful
parts of Tanzania, steeped in history and teeming with wildlife.
Besides vehicle safaris to Ngorongoro Crater, Olduvai Gorge, and
surrounding attractions, hiking treks through the Ngorongoro
Conservation Area are becoming increasingly popular options.
Either way you choose to visit, the Crater Highlands are an
unforgettable part of the Tanzanian experience.
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