Ngorongoro Crater

Great, but a little crowded

The Ngorongoro Crater has some fantastic wildlife and because of the enclosed nature of the crater, good sighting are almost guaranteed. We saw lots of Africa's large animals including lions and hyenas; however this inevitably brings in large numbers of people. This meant there was a slight safari park feel to the experience that took the edge off slightly. Also we went in October because we want to climb Kilimanjaro, which I don't think is the best time to see the park. Everything was quite dry and dusty. Despite this, the feeling of being the crater is incredible and not something I have experienced anywhere else in the world.

It was FANTASTIC.

We came from Lake Manyara and the Serengeti. It was overwhelming. And now we met as a bonus the hippo's with a baby (from 10 meters) and the rino. Fantastic scenery, all that animals walking in the crater. Excellent hotel (Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge).

Incredible view while entering the Ngorongoro crater

Ngorongoro crater is a speciale place to visit. You can enter early in the morning and stay just a few hours but it's a unique place, full of animals and with a very special environment and scenic surrounding mountains.

Amazing scenery!

Just driving around the rim of the crater was amazing. Once down in the actual crater we saw a lot of animals ranging from rhinos and lions to monkeys and birds. The Ngorongoro national park is definitely a place wort to visit!

Best Wildlife Worldwide like Serengeti

Since 1978 I have been at least 10 times to Ngorongoro Crater because I love the place. Always traveling on our own. Weather can be tricky depending on which time of year, but remember Ngorongoro is on high elevation and mornings can be really cold. Lots of hotels but no budgets only more expensive ones today however campsites are available. Road is now fine from Arusha but inside the Crater it can be bad. Scenery is breathtaking from the rim.

My safari in Tanzania was awesome, we had the big five in three days and saw incredible wildlife

The Ngorongoro crater is truly one of the world wonders. The year round water supply means there is huge density of wildlife in the crater all year round. Most wildlife is used to the cars and tourists and it is possible to see most images up close. For enthousiast photographers it means that you can have a once in a lifetime experience. Lots of opportunities for photographing wildlife up close, but also with the typical surrounding landscape of the crater rim. Due to the fact that it is a very well known and popular destination, I would advise to go into the crater as early as possible to avoid the crowds. That is the only downside of this wonderful destination, it can be very crowded later in the morning and midday, but early mornings and late afternoons are wonderful. And the view from the crater rim on the crater floor is a once in a lifetime experience, especially with sundown and the enjoy of a sundowner.

Ngorongoro Crater is a microcosm of African Wildlife in all its beauty and wonder.

I have visited Ngorongoro Crater twice in my life - thirty years ago in 1985 and then again in 2014. It was beyond my expectations both times, although this past year I took a big long lens and had the time of my life photographing all the magnificent wildlife. It was beyond spectacular with lions stalking zebra, cheetah at the rim, a rhino in the distance, Elephants blocking our path. Our guides - Cheeseman Ecological Safari could not have been more accommodating. I came home with thousands of photographs and self published a book entitled "Tanzania". I would go back to Ngorongoro Crater in a minute.

One of the World's Special places

Ngorongoro is unique. As the world's largest unbroken caldera it is a spectacular geological formation but it is a great haven for wildlife and gives the opportunity to see game at close quarters, with lots of lions and a good chance of seeing the elusive black rhino. The scenery is superb and the crater rim offers a great background for your photographs. You can only enter the crater after sunrise and have to leave by a different route to that you entered. It's steep going down so you have to be in a 4x4 . Lodges are nearby some at the crater rim have a great view.

Ngorongoro Crater today makes you contemplate what all of Africa was like 100 years ago.

The wildlife viewing opportunities in the Crater were simply amazing. It was the only park where we viewed Black Rhino's as well as old, bull elephants with 100-lb tusks. We also saw many lions, groups of Cape Buffalo, Spotted Hyenas, and a multitude of antelopes and wildebeest, both in terms of numbers and species. We saw hippos up close in the ponds, many wart hogs, Grant's and Thompson's gazelles, and Masai calmly tending cattle and goats within a stone's throw of lions and other wildlife. The Crater is beautiful in and of itself - the rim surrounding the crater is fabulous! Perhaps one of the best-kept secrets of the Crater is the wonderful birding there. We viewed species of birds in the Crater that we did not see elsewhere, and many were so close that a big, wallet-killing, shoulder-crunching telephoto lens was unnecessary. Raptors were common, and close! What a wonderful place!

Absolutely a MUST SEE. Very unique landscape and so many wild animals. Unforgettable!