Safari to Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

Ngorongoro Crater is a stunningly beautiful place and the best place in East Africa to see the Big Five. It’s a great way to start your African safari adventure. But being one of the most amazing and famous natural wonders in the world, Ngorongoro Crater is busy and sometimes very crowded. We recommend staying here for 2 nights as it is busy.

Then continue to the Serengeti for a more peaceful and private safari experience. A safari in northern Tanzania ideally includes a visit to Ngorongoro Crater. This is one of the most beautiful nature safari spots in the world and a special place to interact with the Maasai people.

The Ngorongoro Crater and the surrounding highlands are among the most beautiful regions in Africa. Volcanic craters provide a beautiful backdrop to some of Africa’s most fertile and rich agricultural land. The most famous crater of this type is undoubtedly Ngorongoro. Ngorongoro is the largest intact volcanic caldera in the world and is home to the densest megafauna in Africa. Unsurprisingly, Ngorongoro is one of the continent’s most popular safari destinations.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

How to get to the Ngorongoro crater | From Arusha to Ngorongoro

Driving from Arusha.

Depending on the size of your party, it may be cheaper to share a private vehicle and guide from the moment you board your international flight at Kilimanjaro Airport until you leave the Ngorongoro area. If you are driving, it is essential to spend the night on either side of the crater’s descent to the camp on the crater rim or a 20-minute drive to the Ngorongoro Plateau. This means you can get to the gate early to avoid congestion!

Fly from Arusha.

If you are staying in a “fly-in” camp, ie your guide and vehicle will be provided by your camper, not the Arusha Grand Handler. You can fly to the Lake Manyara airstrip and pick up your RV. This can be a good idea if the number of people in the group is small. This makes it cheaper to fly from Arusha than to drive a private car. It is also essential for the usually more luxurious campsites owned by premium safari companies such as Nomad’s Entamanu and The Highlands Asila.

Ngorongoro crater weather:

when to go Wild animals reside practically in burrows all year round, so there are no good or bad times to visit. However, the garage floor is full of cars, so you may want to visit it out of season. The higher the water level in Lake Magadi (the center of the crater), the greater the concentration of flamingos. A visit to Ngorongoro guarantees a wonderful safari. The beauty of Ngorongoro Safari is due to its unique microclimate, which can be enjoyed all year round.

How was the Ngorongoro crater formed?

Ngorongoro Crater is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site when a huge volcano erupted and collapsed about 3 million years ago. The volcanic cone of the caldera collapsed inland, creating what we know today as one of the most unique safari parks in Africa and, in fact, the world. A unique safari destination is full of life. Follow the link to the blog post for more Ngorongoro Crater facts and explanations.

Ngorongoro is a destination known for the difficulty of working on logistics, but 20 years of experience planning such trips can point you in the right direction. Please contact us for various options. Scroll down to see everything you need to know about Ngorongoro Crater Safari.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Ngorongoro Crater Safari | Frequently Asked Questions

Ngorongoro Safari | The animals

Ngorongoro Crater is the perfect place to see the “Big Five” in Tanzania. A healthy population of black Sais and some of the largest elephant dogs left in Africa today are the prize points, but the craters include wildebeest, leopards, hyenas, as well as lions, and leopards.

There is also a healthy population of hyenas. Other wildlife include cats, cheetahs, jackals, Grant and Thompson deer, flamingos, bat foxes, and nearly 400 bird species. The Ngorongoro Safari is action-packed, to say the least. In smaller parks, nature is more concentrated than anywhere else in Africa.

Ngorongoro Safari | Activities

The activities of the Ngorongoro crater itself are limited to game drives. There are two picnic areas in the park, but the exit is strictly limited to these areas. However, a variety of activities are available in the Ngorongoro Great Conservation Area, such as walking, trekking, trekking to the Olduvai Gorge, and visiting the Masai and other tribes.

Where will you stay in Ngorongoro Crater?

The option is to stay in a hotel on the crater rim with great views, or a short distance from the nearby Karatu crater. In any case, your location does not influence the quality of the Ngorongoro Safari. The perks of Karatu include a relatively low crowd and better value for money, smaller, more intimate lodges that offer a variety of activities like hiking and mountain biking.

Ngorongoro crater loggia

Best luxury hotel ever, perfect for a honeymoon in Tanzania, certainly world class but for around $ 3000 a night it probably should! Serena and Sopa both have great views of the crater floor and more affordable options, but they’re large and somewhat dated hotels.

Away from the rim of the Karatu crater, near the highlands, there are several small coffee plantations and guesthouses. At the same price as Serena and Sopa, they are more attractive and unique but lack the breathtaking view of Ngorongoro. The best are the plantation lodges, the farms, and Gibbs’s manners.

The detailed lesson on Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

Provided you want to combine Ngorongoro Crater Safari with other parks in Tanzania, we recommend that you visit Serengeti National Park or Tarangire National Park (or both, if possible). Both contain an abundance of flora and fauna and are ideal for the African Safari experience.

We strive to make our website as comprehensive as possible, but if you need more background information, please read Tanzania and Zanzibar Cadogan Guide-Ngorongoro Branch, written by one of our managers, Annabel. The latest version was released in 2005, so some might be a little out of date, but overall it’s just as comprehensive.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Call an expert!

Reading our website is a good place to start, but Ngorongoro Crater is logistically a difficult place to move. It sounds ridiculous because it’s relatively small, but accommodation types vary widely in style and location, and depending on the size of the party, you’ll know if it’s best to travel or drive. In case you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us. Our expert offices in Ngorongoro and Tanzania are happy to assist you.