Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA)
Ngorongoro is a pioneering experiment in multiple land use, as the park has the multiple purposes of integrating the protection of the local people with that of wild nature, the latter being divided into two separate biogeographical systems.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is vast, a UNESCO-protected World Heritage Site covering 8292 sq km consisting of the Empakai Crater, Olduvai Gorge, Ndutu (the short grass plains of the south-eastern Serengeti ecosystem), and best-known part is the Ngorongoro Crater a wonderful natural bowl where some of Tanzania’s last remaining rhinoceroses still roam.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a pioneering experiment in multiple land use, as the park has the multiple purposes of integrating the protection of the local people (the Maasai), livestock, and wildlife.
The stunning spectacle of the Ngorongoro Crater, its steep walls falling some 610 meters to the floor, is undoubtedly one of the highlights of a safari tour in Tanzania.
Amazingly, the crater floor is a natural sanctuary for almost all the large mammalian species essential to the East African plains. Its highlights include one of Tanzania’s most viable populations of the critically endangered black rhino, and it is also here that the density of great predators, headed by hyenas and lions, is the highest in the world.
Why Visit Ngorongoro
- All wildlife, essentially to East Africa, can be found in the Ngorongoro crater.
- Extensive migrations, an outstanding natural event on the plain in the west and North
- Best Chances to see rhinos in Tanzania.
- Superb scenery, extending from plains to the volcano.
- A top-rated park
Tourism Activities
- Game viewing in the crater
- Safaris in the crater’s highlands
- Hiking with a guide – a good variety of trails
- Birds watching in the crater.
- Cultural tourism with Maasai and Hadzabe tribes
- Archaeological findings at Olduvai Gorge and shifting sand attraction.
Getting There
- An easy drive from Arusha
- Scheduled and Charter flight from Arusha, Zanzibar or Dar es Salaam.
Best Time to Visit
- Since the wildlife mainly stays in the crater all year round.
- However, given that the crater floor does get busy with vehicles, it can be more pleasant to visit during the low season.
- Whenever you visit Ngorongoro, you are guaranteed excellent safari action.