Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a 8,300 square kilometer (3,200 square miles) park adjacent to the Serengeti to the north, with the centerpiece being the Ngorongoro crater. The Ngorongoro Conservation area also contains some famous archaeological sites, such as the Olduvai Gorge, which has produced fossil evidence of earlier ancestors of modern humans.

The areas that surround the crater are a continuation of the grasslands of the Serengeti. The landscape then slowly morphs from the plains as the elevation around the crater rises and gives way to a lush, dense, sub-montane forest habitat. This landscape surrounds the crater rim and the change from the endless plains is dramatic.

The Ngorongoro crater is the world's largest inactive, intact, and unfilled volcanic caldera. The crater, which formed when a large volcano exploded and collapsed on itself two to three million years ago, is 610 meters (2,000 feet) deep and its floor covers 260 square kilometers (100 square miles). Awesome vistas are available from a viewpoint passing through but the real action is inside the crater.

Approaching from the north. 

A Masaai village to the north of the crater. 

View of inside the crater from a look out.  

The road down into the crater is very steep and the panorama of the crater walls surrounding a flat plain is stunning. The crater is about 19km (11 miles) across so you can see the crater walls in the distance in every direction you look. It's large enough that you can't see landmarks like lakes and hills from all points, but small enough that you feel like you can drive around the entire area. The abundance of wildlife in the area is shocking, with the only notable absences being gazelles, leopards and giraffes. Other game is extremely habituated and we even saw two lions mating!

Ngorongoro was my favorite park/conservation area that I've visited in Tanzania. Even excluding the animals, the landscape is so unique and the surrounding high altitude forest area is vastly different from the surrounding plains. There is certainly much more traffic inside the crater than other parks, at one point I counted 35 safari cars surrounding a lioness and her cubs, but this does not take away from the beauty of the area. Rightfully so, it's popular for a reason.

Zebras graze the grass. 

Two lions, mating like crazy.  

A hyena stalks for prey. 

A lioness seeks shade. 

Lake Magadi, a relative oasis in the crater. 

Lake Magadi from another angle. 

A lioness and her cubs. We could hear them "roaring" (more like squeaking) from our car. 

Ostrich! 

Solitary wildebeest. 

Not so solitary wildebeests. 

Beautiful view and quaint lodge. They even had an old wood fueled stove in the room as it quite very chilly in the night. 

Lot's of condensation due to the elevation. 

An elephant wandered through camp and blocked our way to the car.