Article by:
Sarah Faith
Karibu sana. Welcome to the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania’s epic volcanic bowlful of 30,000 animals. This 25km-wide geological marvel is the easiest place in Tanzania to see the Big Five, is firmly established on Tanzania’s northern safari circuit, and it’s not hard to see why.
Formed around three million years ago, when a huge Rift Valley volcano erupted and collapsed, the UNESCO World Heritage listed Ngorongoro Crater is the largest unbroken and unflooded volcanic crater in the world. It’s 260sq km floor is surprisingly diverse with a permanent lake, open savannah and areas of mature woodland. Surrounded by steep, densely forested walls rising over 600m high, the effect is that of a huge natural amphitheatre – with Africa’s classic big game taking centre stage.
The wider Ngorongoro Conservation Area encompasses the crater (and two others), tracts of Serengeti plains, the Olduvai Gorge and highland forest ecosystems. Uniquely, the Ngorongoro’s status as a conservation area rather than a national park means that outside the crater itself, resident Maasai still graze livestock on its grasslands, herds of cattle moving among the herds of zebra. Read the full travel article here.
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