Ngorongoro Crater

The area is located between the Serengeti and Lake Manyara. The area covers about 8.300 kms including Olduvai Gorge, Lake Ntutu and Masek and a series of volcanoes most of which are inactive. It is home to the famous volcanic Ngorongoro crater which is the largest unbroken caldera in the world. The crater, 610 metres deep and 260 kms is a microcosm of East African scenery and game and is usually visited on the way back from the Serengeti to Arusha. Scenic grandeur and stunning views are the hallmark of this wonder of the world. Lake Natron is an alkaline lake known for the high population of flamingoes that gather here at the end of the rain season.

Species. The park is teaming with stunning wildlife – it is thought that over 3 million large mammals roam the plains in search of fresh grassland. In May or early June you can witness the annual migration of millions of zebras and wildebeests in search of water and forage as the seasons change.

Large herds of antelopes of all sorts including: Patterson’s eland, Klipspringer, Dikdik, impala, gazelles, waterbuck, bushbuck and reedbuck, topi, kongoni, cotton’s oribi, grey bush duiker, roan antelope buffalo and wildebeests (the estimate is above one million of these animals). Carnivores mammals include lions, leopards, cheetah, hyena, bat eared fox, hunting dog and jackal. Smaller mammals: spring hare, porcupine, warthog, hyraxes, baboon, vervet monkey, Colobus monkey, patas monkey, and mongooses..

Larger mammals include herds of giraffes, then rhinos, elephants, hippos. There are recorded about 500 species of bird, including vultures, storks, flamingoes, martial and fish eagles and ostrich. Reptiles include crocodiles, a number of species of snakes and lizards.

Activities

Serengeti offers amongst the most exciting game viewing safaris. You can also do bird watching tours and Balloon safaris, which normally follow the Grumeti River. One of the main attractions is the annual migration of wildebeest herds during the dry season, from the Serengeti northwards in the Masai Mara, where they remain between July to October. Therefore the concentration of wildlife is greater between December and June.