Ngorongoro Crater

Ngorongoro - lot of animals on small territory

We were in Ngorongoro crater just half of the day but it was great half of the day! We start early in the morning. Just we reach the bottom of crater we saw elephants, the two black rhinos, after we stop to count because there is really a lot of animals. But you should understand if you want to see some episodes from wild life (hunting, eating, etc.) you should come in the morning, early. Sometimes it happens in another time of the day but more rare.
In Ngorongoro you can find savanna, river, swamp, trees...

My only regret is that I didn't spend more time there. A huge bull elephant, a hyena chasing a jackal with a bone in its mouth, a black rhino and calf, and Cape buffalo just outside my door at Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge come to mind. The sunsets from the crater rim are exceptional. A complimentary Ngorongoro Crater sunset cocktail of gin, cognac, and passion fruit juice enjoyed by the pool at the end of the day was a great way to unwind.

ngorongoro is the best wild life safari.....very gud weather and wild life experience is great ...

wildlife is excellent .....scenery and weather was very gud also .....we made bookings with 7 wonders safari tours...there arrangements,food,accomodation,transportation car land cruiser and guide was perfect .....and there charges are very reasonable also ....we( the group of 12 adults) really enjoyed our safari with 7 wonders tours .......thanks to eveleen (the owner of 7 wonders) to make our trip very comfortable and enjoyable .....

I had read that November was not the best time to visit most parks in Tanzania but was pleasantly surprised. I saw pretty much every animal i had been told I could see at this park in reasonable numbers. The weather was dry and sunny with a cool breeze during drives. The guide was amazing, the staff at the company Sandland Tours were an example in superuior customer service even in the most basic conditions and I wished I could be on safari forever.

Lots of animals in a small space

Ngorongoro was the start of my safari vacation, and I'm glad it was at the start. Pretty much all the animals you're looking for are there, and you can see them in less than a full day.

However, it felt really over-crowded to me in an almost sickening way. There was one point where a female lion was sitting by the side of the road, and literally 30 safari cars pulled beside her to look. Because of all the cars, she lost track of her cubs and was crying out for them over and over. It was hot, the middle of the day, and she was scared. I was very sad.

Undoubtedly the most impressive safari park I've been so far! The scenery is outstanding and the enormous crater is full of wild animals. We've seen a lion hiding to attack a huge herd of zebras, lions walking near to our safari jeep, foxes, ostriches, kori bustards, hippopotamuses, African buffaloes, elephants, waterbucks, flamingoes, etc. If you like nature and wildlife and you're in Tanzania, this is a must do!

Lovely area, fantastic views, plenty of big cats.

Amazing but also abit like Disney land, its almost too good to be true! You'll see the big 5 within an hour and the landscape is very dramatic. But its quite poor for birding and also feels abit enclosed and claustrophobic compared to other parks.

Beautiful separate wild world in our world.

I will never forget early morning cloud fall into the crater. The clearest view of wild animals in plains I saw on this Kenya-Tanzania trip. And finally, I saw real Simba at the end of my trip in Ngora Ngora crater (9th day). Highly recommending for wild life photographers.
...and of course, cup of hot tea in the hotel balcony in the sunset with all crater before you.

A Completely Different Safari Experience

We visited Ngorongoro crater as the 4th step on our 9 day Tanzania safari. We had previously visited lake Manyara, Seronara region of the Serengeti and Ndutu lake, we had seen lions, cheetah, leopard, elephant, giraffe and an abundance of antelope. Plus, plentiful migrating wildebeest and zebra. What was left to see in the crater, black rhino?
We stayed at the Lemala so it was a short ride down into the crater and as soon as we reached the crater floor we spotted a pair of old lions, brothers. Next there were a group of four brothers being intimidated by a herd of buffalo. They caught scent of the two brothers and started stalking them, roaring as they went. A bat-eared fox popped his head up to see what was going on. Continuing into the crater, we saw more lions including a pride of two mothers with six cubs, a secretary bird, grey-crowned cranes, elephants, and all the usual others. All these against the backdrop of the forested rim of the crater. What marks Ngorongoro out against the other regions we visited, apart from the density of wildlife, was its verdant nature. Being higher, it gets more rainfall so is green year round. We were warned against the number of safari vehicles but this was no more a problem than the other regions, possibly less so.
And we spotted two black rhino.