Country Gees

Ngogongoro includes a complex of natural sites located near the Great African Rift in northeastern Tanzania, near the border with Kenya.

Once part of the huge Serengeti reserve, now a huge crater in Tanzania on the edge of the savannah, which arose as a result of the collapse of a large volcano, is an independent natural attraction and is called the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. This giant tropical park is listed as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site due to its unique habitat. Enclosed in the picturesque natural cage of the crater, the animal world of Ngorongoro is diverse and amazing. In addition to the caldera, the area includes the Olduvai Gorge, plateaus, mountains, highland forests, and lakes. Check liuxers for customs and traditions of Tanzania.

How to get there

To Arusha by plane, train or bus. From Arusha – by light aircraft (journey time 1 hour). Or by car – travel time 4 hours, 180 km.

Directly on the territory of Ngorongoro there are two landing sites: on the southeastern edge of the crater near Serena and Crater Logde and near the Serengeti National Park at Ndutu Lodge.

Only 4WD cars are allowed to enter the park. Cars must be equipped with a viewing roof, as getting out of the car and opening windows is prohibited.

The entrance fee to Ngorongoro is $200 per car plus $50 per person. If you exceed a 6-hour stay in the park, you will have to pay the cost of another day upon departure.

2 things to do in Ngorongoro

1. Do not miss the opportunity to see “white” and “black” rhinos in the crater, which are an endangered species in the world, in Ngorongoro their number is about 17 individuals.
2. On the way to the crest of the crater, look at the stone pyramid – a grave monument to the talented scientist Mikhail Grzimek, who devoted many years of his life to the study of African nature.

Rules of behavior

The entrance to the Ngorongoro Reservation is through a high stone arch lined with shops and ticket offices. Here you should beware of impudent baboons, unceremoniously stealing handbags and food. Moreover, feeding monkeys in the reserve is strictly prohibited. Also, you can’t get out of cars in national parks, you can do this only strictly in certain places and on viewing platforms. To reach the bottom of the caldera and admire the herds of a wide variety of animals, you need to drive along the ridge for about 25 kilometers.

Entertainment and attractions in Ngorongoro

The Ngorongoro Crater is the main feature located in the southeastern part of the territory. The diameter of the crater reaches 21 km. Also interesting: Olmoti and Empakaai craters, Olduvai Gorge, Serengeti and Sale plateaus, Ndutu and Masek lakes.

In addition to the Empakaya crater, filled with water, pink from flocks of flamingos, there is also an active volcano, Aldonio Lenga. Magami Lake is also home to a huge population of flamingos and a bathing area for elephants, buffaloes and hippos. Dikdiks can be found among the stones, wildebeest, zebras and gazelles, foxes, two types of jackals, cane goats, large antelopes can be found in the plains, impalas, kongoni and Bush Boki, warthogs, lions, hyenas, cheetahs and leopards are found in the forests.

Another feature of the park is the ubiquitous Maasai. It was thanks to the efforts of this warlike tribe, the ancient inhabitants of this region, that Ngorongoro became an independent protected area. Having become an integral part of the heritage of the crater, the Maasai enthusiastically accepted the duties of entrepreneurs, developing a noisy trade in national ornaments, handicrafts with tourists.

Olduvai Gorge

To visit the place where such relics as prehistoric elephants, giant sheep and ostriches were found, it is worth going to the Olduvai Gorge, which is located in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, 180 km from the Ngorongoro National Park. There is also a rock Nazara Rock 100 meters high, on which traces of human presence in the prehistoric period were found. Ancient drawings belong to the ancestors of the current Maasai.

As a result of archaeological excavations in the Olduvai Gorge, the area was recognized as the “cradle” of human civilization.