Ngorongoro Crater

Long Views and Unique Landscape

What makes the Ngorongoro caldera (technically it's not really a crater) stand out most from other safari parks in Tanzania that we visited (Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti) is the landscape. Because the park is mostly inside a gigantic collapsed volcano with sides over 1,000 feet high, it's different than other parks that simply "begin" somewhere with a set of gates. Climbing into the caldera, you go climb up through a cloud forest with very limited visibility (at least in late May, when we went.) Rising up over the rim, the clouds suddenly give way to sweeping views across the caldera, which is breath-taking. You can't help but try to picture what the explosion 1.5 million years ago must have been like, throwing chunks of granite the size of office buildings as far away as Kenya. Once on the caldera floor, there are only trees around the edges, so your views are flat and clear for miles, which has its advantages and disadvantages. Animals are all visible from far away, but so are the other trucks. rarely did it feel crowded (again, late May is very early in the season, and we were told that in high season it would be much, much worse). At that time of year, we saw only a few lions and at a great distance. Tarangire and the Serengeti had many more lions, often in the more abundant trees that are missing from Ngorongoro, so the caldera wasn't the place for big cats. Your best photo opportunities in the caldera will be for wide landscapes, or for very long animal shots, if you have the lens for it (600mm would've been nice). Zebras and wildebeests are often right alongside the road, but the few rhinos or lions you might find will often be a half mile away or more. All caldera roads were dirt, there were no private vehicles leaving the roads, and there is a very nice, albeit popular, scenic lunch spot by a hippo lake, with rest rooms. The caldera is probably a must-see place, but only in combination with another park that has denser trees and more big cats, like Tarangire.

Ngorongoro Crater was one of my favorite places to be in Tanzania. We stayed on the rim in the Serena Lodge and the stars at night were brilliant and I was lucky enough to have a full moon night while there too. The amount of wildlife in the crater was almost mind boggling with scenes looking like the garden of eden with many species of animals all gathered together.

One of the seven natural wonders of Africa. The crater is amazing and a must see when you are in Tanzania.

Excelent, excelent, excelent but a little bit expensive.

Ngorongoro Crater is one of the most unique places I have ever seen. You literally are deep inside of an extinct volcano crater that is so massive you could fit three Washington, DC's inside of it. The best place in the world to see Black Rhinos in the wild. It was almost like being in a natural theme park. An incredible place that must be given two days minumum to enjoy. So much to see and the animals have little movement so they are easy to find. But the rhinos are scarce even in the crater. I could have spent a week here and still wanted more. An incredible experience.

A relatively small area with quite concentrated wildlife populations. This is your only realistic chance of seeing a rhino! If you like your birds you will see a lot of kori and black kites. We also saw lots of lions and even a serval cat here!

Just spectacular.

Beautiful park and the chance to see rhinos. Amazing sunsets, and wonderful accommodations.

Very satisfied

Well I am sure a lot has been written about Ngorongoro and the safari trips within the crater. It is hard to imagine that such a vast wildlife sanctuary exists so close to human settlements. Once you descend into the crater all signs of human life are left behind except for the local people. It is truly a breath taking site once you are descending the crater and actually within the boundary. I am going to write this review from a photographic perspective.
Most people are interested in the wildlife. As far as that is concerned it is a mixed bag. Lions are plenty but depending on where they are in the crater they can be hard to find and photograph. I am not sure if there are leopards or cheetahs in the crater, but we never saw.
There are definitely a lot of grazers and interaction between the predators and prey can be fascinating if it is close to the road otherwise the action may be too far away. You can get very close to Cape Buffalo, Wildebeest, Zebras and of-course African Elephants.
From a birding perspective be on the look out as you descend the crater early in the morning. There is a vast diversity of avian life form and they are not shy at all. The accommodations surrounding the Crater are truly amazing for the most part. As far as I am concerned every time I go to Tanzania, I always make a stop at the crater.

Nature at its finest comes to life

The Ngorongoro Crater is truly a magical place. Our guide called it the eighth wonder of the world and he was correct. Having come off of a five day safari in the Serengeti the crater was our last visit. It was by far in my opinion the best. The animals are plentiful for sure. There is about 9 lion prides in the crater along with their neighbors hyenas, jackals, vultures, zebras, wildebeests, cape buffalo, hippo. leopard and the ever elusive rhino, etc... the crater is one of the few places you will have the opportunity to view a rhino in the wild. The guide indicated there were at least 16 in the park. We got the chance to only see one in person. This rounded out the big 5 in Tanzania for our tour.

The highlight for me is always the big cats. We were fortunate to see a live kill of a cape buffalo by one of the prides. Visible there were three males, two females and three cubs taking part in the feast. I have photos showing the feast commencing. It is was also interesting to note the dynamics among species. For example the it was clear the hyenas were alerting the lions to the fact the vultures were approaching. As a reward the lions allow the hyena to take part in the feast. The jackals had to wait their turn as did the vultures. Seeing a kill on TV is one thing, seeing it in person is entirely different you will not want to look away.

The Ngorongoro Crater is an unfilled volcanic caldera. We drove down about 2000 feet to get to the floor of the crater. This takes about 30 mins. There is a salt lake in the center and other tributaries that support the biodiversity in the area. The ride through the park can be rough. For the most part we arrived early in the day so it was overcast but that did not lessen the experience.

Again for me it was about the animals so to share what you will see in order of plenty:
Wildebeest-- many (and you get real close to them)
Zebra-- many (and you get real close to them)
Hippo -- many (and you get real close to them)
Lions -- many (and you get real close to them but from the truck!)
Hyenas -- many
Jackals -- many
Rabbits--many
Cape Buffalo --many
Leopard -- few
Rhino --few

Overall I highly recommend the tour. Do not settle for the 2 hour tour either. It will take you 30 mins down and 30 mins up. Take a day tour wherever possible. It is well worth it.