Ngorongoro Travel Guide

  Maasai women
by toonsarah
 
  • Maasai women
      Maasai women
    by toonsarah
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    by Jim_Eliason
  •   Ngorongoro
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    by Jim_Eliason
 

Pro

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  Lots of wildlife, a rare chance to see the elusive rhino 


Con

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  none 


In a nutshell

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  Undescribable! 

 

Explore Ngorongoro

Things to Do  

Tour the Crater

Tour the Crater, Ngorongoro

 Geisha_Girl Says:  Our group of volunteers all decided to do a safari tour together just 3 days prior to the weekend. We knew we were just hitting the peak safari season in Tanzania, so we figured our chances of booking a decent deal was slim.Luckily, I had come across a brochure at our... 

Zebras - my favourite animals!

Zebras - my favourite animals!, Ngorongoro

 Penelope4 Says:  Do you think you can differentiate zebras from one another? I tried but I could not. Maybe because I use the stripes as point of comparison. Next time, I will try to use height and size to distinguish them from one another. 

Hyaenas - where lions are, they are there too.

Hyaenas - where lions are, they are there too., Ngorongoro

 Penelope4 Says:  If you think the hyaenas can just join the lion when the latter is having a meal, think again. What happens is, the hyaenas gather together and wait until the lion has had enough and then they eat the left over. Hyaenas look like something between tiger and hippo to me. But... 

Lesser Masked Weaver - I so like them

Lesser Masked Weaver - I so like them, Ngorongoro

 Penelope4 Says:  So we were having lunch at the picnic ground...the hippos were just loving the water and won't show themselves up. I was about to become impatient and then came these yellowish birds. SLLiew recognized this bird as Lesser Masked Weaver. 

Wildebeest - so many of them

Wildebeest - so many of them, Ngorongoro

 Penelope4 Says:  They look so kind. Lions eat them. I actually saw a fresh kill and on our way back from the game-drive I saw its remains. Apparently, the lion comes back to eat some more of the flesh and when it has enough, the hyaenas finish the wildebeest totally. 

Pumba

Pumba, Ngorongoro

 fishandchips Says:  The diminuative worthog is alive and well in the crater and can be seen often. With its small tusks and quick stepping it is one of the more interesting animals to view. Pumba lives in the longer grass and tries to blend in and out of the notice of the hungry predators. 

See the heartbeat of East Africa

See the heartbeat of East Africa, Ngorongoro

 fishandchips Says:  The movement of the Wildebeest is the heartbeat of the Serengeti and surrounds. Each migration includes the movement of the Wildebeests predators as they follow their food supply. From the Serengeti to the Maasai Mara over 1.4 million wildebeest migrate in a clockwise... 

Go on a Game Drive

Go on a Game Drive, Ngorongoro

 fishandchips Says:  The only way to see animals in the crater is via Jeep. Most are purpose built with open tops so that you can stand and take your photos. Drives start from your camp site and go down into the crater via the guard post at the entrance. As the crater is reputed to have over... 

Big Bird

Big Bird, Ngorongoro

 fishandchips Says:  The Ostrich is the largest living bird in the world with only the extinct Giant Moa (up to 3.7M) and Elephant Bird (up to 3M) taller. Famed for many things, including being Zola Buds training buddy, the Ostrich can be seen running about the Crater area in search of a quick... 

Olduvai Gorge

Olduvai Gorge, Ngorongoro

 fishandchips Says:  Not part of the Crater but in the Ngorongoro Conservation area, Olduvai Gorge is a place to visit and is situated in the plains area. The gorge is named after the Maasai word for the wild sisal plant you see growing around the gorge, called Oldupai. The story goes that the... 

Elephant Watching

Elephant Watching, Ngorongoro

 fishandchips Says:  Apparently all Elephants in the Crater are male due to the difficulty of walking up and down the steep sides! The Elephants we saw on our drive were all rather large with one massive beast having a meeting with an elderly male Lion - fantastic stuff!! 

Spot a Lion in the grass

Spot a Lion in the grass, Ngorongoro

 fishandchips Says:  As with other places like the Serengeti and Maasai Mara, the Ngorongoro Crater has quite a few lions. During the daylight hours they are either hunting, eating or sleeping and can normally be found quietly hiding in the long grass that cover a lot of the Crater's floor. 

The Black Rhino

The Black Rhino, Ngorongoro

 easterntrekker Says:  The highlight for us was seeing the endangered black Rhino. They were quite far off but we had a pretty good look with binoculars. They are the reason many come to the crater. At the beginning of the 20th century their numbers in Africa were estimated to be in the hundreds... 

During the Drought

During the Drought, Ngorongoro

 easterntrekker Says:  We then drove for quite a while without seeing much of anything. This surprised us as we wrongly assumed animals would always be here in large numbers, but the crater is huge and during the time of drought the animals rest out of the hot sun. When we reach a jungle area we... 

Restaurants  

..: Picnic by the lake

..: Picnic by the lake, Ngorongoro

 toonsarah Says:  For our day out exploring all the wonders of the Ngorongoro Crater, the Serena Hotel provided packed lunches for us and for Reginald. We ate these on the shores of the large soda lake in the centre of the crater, Lake Magadi, where it’s considered safe enough to get out of... 

Local Customs  

The Maasai

The Maasai, Ngorongoro

 toonsarah Says:  One morning Reginald asked if we would be interested in visiting some typical Maasai homes, to which the answer was most definitely “yes”. We headed away from the Crater to one of the upland areas where the Maasai herd their cattle. The home or boma which we visited was one... 

Warnings Or Dangers  

Keep an eye on your Lunch!

Keep an eye on your Lunch!, Ngorongoro

 fishandchips Says:  The lunch stop site in the crater is beside a small lake and has toilet and cooking facilities. As there is a constant stream of visitors coming through there is also a plentiful food supply for enterprising and brave birds (Kites). The Kites will dive down and try to grab... 

What to Pack  

Comfort in the Crater

Comfort in the Crater, Ngorongoro

 fishandchips Says:  To carry your gear you'll need a main pack of approx 70L and a day bag big enough for food and water during game drives. My day bag is only 22L and it was easy big enough for both the Serengeti and Kilimanjaro. As you are at 2500M when camping at Simba A, it will be rather... 

Favorites  

Camp Fire

Camp Fire, Ngorongoro

 fishandchips Says:  Having your group around a camp fire at night is fantastic. As it gets very chilly at night (you're over 2500 above sea level here) a fire is a great way to both warm up and bond with your fellow travellors. If you have things sorted out then you may even have a few snarlers... 

View from the Edge

View from the Edge, Ngorongoro

 fishandchips Says:  The view from the top is breath taking with the soda lake in the distance and the floor of the crater stretching out for miles. The bottom of the crater is so far below that no animals can be seen (with my eyes!!) unless you have some powerful binoculars.? 

The Place

Plan a Ngorongoro vacation with reviews, tips and photos posted by real travelers and Ngorongoro locals

Experience Ngorongoro
  •   173 Tips and Reviews
  •  480 Photos
  •  2 Videos
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The People

 
Our Members Say
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 The Lion is the number one tourist attraction in all of Africa. I think just about every tourist wants to see a lion chasing a hapless animal to eat!This is... 

 

Questions and Answers

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Q:  Hi! I'm travelling in Sept./Oct. to Tanzania with husband, 5 year old and 8 year old and am curious as to drive times between... 

Myndo profile photo

A: You will have a great time in Tanzania, thats for sure. I was there 2002. (see tips on my pages). As for the driving time you need, I cannot give you the time, because... 

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Top Ngorongoro Writers

1

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

fishandchips profile photo

 Ngorongoro crater is a volcanic crater. It's the largest unflooded and unbroken caldera in the world. It's about 20kms across, 600 metres deep and 300 sq kms in area. The Crater is supports over... 

2

Ngorongoro Crater - Eighth Wonder of the World?!!

jackfruit profile photo

 The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) covers some 8,300 square kilometers in northern Tanzania. It boasts of the finest blend of landscapes, wildlife, people and archaeological sites in Africa. It is... 

3

Ngorongoro Crater - oh, oh, oh!

Penelope4 profile photo

 The main gate. Here, your tour guide will have to process some papers. If you need to go to the loo, they are clean, go ahead. Inside, you will find a shop which sells some postcards - good ones at... 

4

A Garden of Eden?

toonsarah profile photo

  This was my favourite of the three safari locations we visited in Tanzania. It had everything going for it – a fantastic luxury lodge in a spectacular setting, plenty of wildlife to photograph and... 

5

Ngorongoro - Open Air Zoo

Myndo profile photo

 Not a crater, but a caldera. This means: the ground of this area broke in due to vulcanic activity. It is the 6th biggest Caldera in the world. The rim lies on 2280-2440 m.ü.m. (meters over sea... 

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