Ngorongoro Crater

Unsullied, unmissable, unforgettable

Despite all the articles and reviews we'd read of the Ngorongoro crater, we were still overwhelmed by what we saw when we went there. For us it was the most wonderful introduction to an East African safari. In a single day, we saw elephants, lions, rhino, hippos and countless other animals, but as exciting as it was to see these big beasts, we were just as happy to see the beautiful birds and trees. The landscape of the crater is more varied than we expected, it's by no means just flat plain.
Arriving at the end of March, we were lucky with the weather. We expected rain, but it all fell overnight. Days were quite overcast, which kept the temperature down (but beware of UV nonetheless, I got sunburned even through the cloud!). Probably the best thing about going at this time of year is that others don't. Our guide (the excellent James from Tanzania Serengeti Adventure) told us that at peak times there can be 3 or 4 times as many vehicles in the park, which might well make it a wee bit claustrophobic.

What else is there ? The night before we entered Ngorongoro, we really enjoyed our stay at the Kirurumu Tented Lodge; these are the definitely the tents for us - concrete floor, walls in the bathroom and a thatched roof. Only the sides were canvas. Real luxury living, and the most fabulous view over the rift valley. The Rhino Lodge, our overnight home when we came out of the crater isn't quite so inspiring, but nonetheless, it was a pleasant experience. In fact all the accommodation on our safari was well above what we're used to, and hence what we expected.
All in all, a fabulous experience I would recommend to anyone.

The crater is a really beautiful natural sight. From the rim but also inside the crater. We saw lots of Lions, Elephants, Buffallo's, Zebras, Giraffes, Wildebeest and many other animals. It was a bit disappointing the Rhino and its calf were so far away though. But then the spoiled me is talking. It was great and everybody should go there if you have the chance!

Amazing animals and scenery

Approaching Ngorongoro Crater one travels up the rim through lush rainforest. The view from the rim is breathtaking. The crater is vast and at first glance appears to be devoid of everything. The descent into the crater proves all of that wrong. There are animals everywhere in the crater. Your safari guides are experts in spotting animals and birds and getting you right up close to them. We saw everything, including the big five - even the black rhino! The safari ended with an adventure driving up and out of the crater. What a fabulous couple of days!

Beautiful, although you had to stay on road-tracks the animals were very close scenery awesome

Loved the crater top and bottom
Animals plenty came very close to vehicles

Good, but very crowded with other jeeps. Didn't feel as 'wild' as the serengeti. This park was nice but didn't quite live up to our expectations.

The density of wildlife is unbelievable, it's almost overwhelming how much you see in such a short span of time. These were the most up-close and intense wildlife safari experiences.

Ngorongoro is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. You will see every type of wildlife. I wish I had spent more time there.

Amazing place

Ngorongoro park is one of the most amazing places in the world. You can see s lot of animald in a while. Sight inside the crater are beautiful. Wet weather compores to the rest of the country. You feel there in the middle of wildlife.

There is no place like it on earth. We saw 3 Black Rhino, albeit from a distance. The animals are used to the vehicles so I captured some great warthog shots (previously most warthog shots were of rear ends disappearing with their tails erect). It is busy in the morning with vehicles. However, many groups travel distances to get to and from the crater so they leave by 1 or 2 pm. Several great lion shots, hyenas, zebras etc. Not many species of birds due to the lack of trees.

The crater is spectacular! I have not seen a comparison yet. The beauty of the park is unparalleled. We saw the rare Black Rhinos in the morning and everything. The animals are habitually close to vehicles so the trucks can get very close without spooking them.