"A Garden of Eden?" Top 5 Page for this destination Ngorongoro by toonsarah

Ngorongoro Travel Guide: 173 reviews and 480 photos

Maasai herders in the Ngorongoro Crater

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 the opportunity to see something of local culture by visiting a Maasai village.

The Ngorongoro Crater is the world's largest unbroken, unflooded volcanic caldera – 610 metres deep, 20 kilometres across and 260 square kilometres in area. It was formed when a giant volcano exploded and collapsed on itself some two to three million years ago.

The crater plays host to almost every individual species of wildlife in East Africa, with an estimated 25,000 animals within the crater, and the protected environment and plentiful water and food available on the Crater floor throughout the year means that many of them never leave (resulting in serious in-breeding among the lions, for instance). This “captive” wildlife means that great sightings are guaranteed year round.

Warthog

We spent one whole day driving in the crater and during that time saw:
~ hippos
~ rhinos (a mother and baby)
~ lions (a pride of five asleep under a tree)
~ cheetah family (parents and three cubs)
~ gazelles (both Grants and Thompsons)
~ zebra
~ wildebeest
~ buffalo
~ hyena
~ warthogs

~~~o~~~

Maasai women

Birds seen included:
~ flamingos
~ crested cranes
~ bustard
~ black kites
~ sacred ibis
~ marabou stork
~ ostrich

You can read about the other destinations we visited on this trip on my Tanzania, Tarangire and Zanzibar pages.

Pros and Cons

In a nutshell:A paradise for humans and wildlife (except perhaps for the inbred lions)

Last visit to Ngorongoro: Oct 1999
Intro Updated Dec 24, 2011
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Reviews (7)

The Maasai Local Customs (1)

One morning Reginald asked if we would be interested in visiting some typical Maasai homes, to which the answer was... more travel advice

Ngorongoro Crater from above (by Chris) - Ngorongoro

About the crater Favorites (1)

Ngorongoro Crater is not in fact a crater, but a caldera. A volcano’s crater is the vent through which it erupted,... more travel advice

Birds of the Ngorongoro Things to Do (3)

Flamingos are very common on the large lake in the centre of the crater, Lake Magadi, because of its saline nature.... more travel advice

Other animals Things to Do (3)

As well as the big cats, we saw plenty of other animals during our drive in the crater: zebra, wildebeest, gazelles,... more travel advice

Restaurants (1)
Picnic by the lake

Hotels (1)
Stunning location

Comments (12)

Penelope4 Jan 26, 2010 at 7:18 AM Report Abuse

Sarah, thanks for posting this hotel tip and the hint when (and how to book it). I hope to stay there in the 2nd week of February.
Nemorino Jul 19, 2009 at 8:53 AM Report Abuse

Very interesting tips about animal and bird-spotting, and your visit to the Maasai. Thanks for explaining about craters and calderas.
richiecdisc May 4, 2009 at 2:38 PM Report Abuse

Sounds like a fascinating place, Sarah. Love the Jungle Pub but fear I'd not be able to afford all the beer I'd like. Ah, the price of being a jungle king. ;)
robertgaz Apr 21, 2009 at 4:45 PM Report Abuse

I'm reading Assegai at the moment which is filled with these landscapes and people :)
kyoub Apr 12, 2009 at 12:26 PM Report Abuse

What an amazing area to visit. I see what you mean about the lodge and it's location. Beautiful!
Trekki Apr 11, 2009 at 11:40 PM Report Abuse

How beautiful this is, Sarah :-)) I never imagined how serene and magic Ngorogoro caldera (learnt something) would be! Oh, I remember Serena hotels, and this one is exceptional in its setting :-)
Kuznetsov_Sergey Apr 8, 2009 at 10:01 AM Report Abuse

What a wonderful animal-watching and birdwatching trip! The name of Ngorongoro sounds so attractive since childhood... Good of you, Sarah!
sourbugger Apr 7, 2009 at 3:54 PM Report Abuse

genuinely interesting stuff here. enjoyed the read. ta.
sachara Apr 7, 2009 at 1:15 PM Report Abuse

Yes, I agree with Sonja, Ngorongoro is amazing ! I visited this place in 1994. I think we camped on a campsite not far from the Serena hotel.
yumyum Apr 7, 2009 at 11:45 AM Report Abuse

Ngorongoro is an amazing place! I was lucky to visit in 1989. We were camping on the rim near a fancy hotel and had problems with an ant invasion.