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Ngorongoro Crater Safari Tours & Holidays

4.6/5  –  546 Ngorongoro Crater Safari Reviews

A Ngorongoro Crater tour is usually combined with a safari in neighboring Serengeti National Park. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area protects the volcanically formed Crater Highlands, which are dotted with deep volcanic craters. The best known, Ngorongoro is the world’s largest intact caldera and a natural wildlife reserve with few peers. Ngorongoro safari tours offer your best chance in Tanzania of spotting all the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and black rhino) in one game drive. The crater is also notable for the spectacularly scenic combination of the verdant plains of the lake-studded crater floor and imposing 600m-/1,968ft-high cliffs that enclose it on all sides.

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8 Questions About Ngorongoro Safaris

1. When is the best time to visit Ngorongoro?
2. What opportunities are there to meet local Maasai people?
3. Is there accommodation inside the crater?
4. What animals can I see as part of a Ngorongoro safari?
5. How long is the drive to the crater?
6. Does it get cold while camping on the crater rim?
7. How is Ngorongoro different from other parks?
8. What lodges or camps do you recommend for a Ngorongoro safari?
 
 

8 Questions About Ngorongoro Safaris

Answered by Philip Briggs

When is the best time to visit Ngorongoro?

“It’s worth booking Ngorongoro safari packages for any time of year. June to October is the Dry season, which offers good visibility and wildlife viewing, but the crater is at its most beautiful in the wetter months of November to May. This period broadly coincides with the arrival of large numbers of migrant waterbirds from the northern hemisphere. Most of the crater’s more charismatic wildlife (elephants, rhinos, lions) are more or less resident. Migrant grazers, such as wildebeest and gazelle, tend to be higher in numbers in the rainy season. April and May are the low season, but it’s actually a great time for Ngorongoro holidays due to the relatively low tourist numbers. Safari prices may also drop over April to June as lodges offer discounted rates to attract more business.”

› More about Ngorongoro's best time to visit 1

What opportunities are there to meet local Maasai people?

“Ngorongoro Conservation Area is not a national park but a biosphere reserve where a diversity of wildlife lives alongside the iconic Maasai. These traditional pastoralists are recognizable by their trademark toga-like red checkered shuka cloths and fondness for elaborate beadwork jewelry. You won’t need to spend long in Ngorongoro before you encounter Maasai cattle herders walking alongside the road. But if you want to interact with Maasai people, and especially to photograph them, it’s customary to visit one of several manyattas (groups of huts within an enclosure) that now welcome tourists for a fixed fee. Sadly, many visitors tend to disparage these manyattas as touristy, but this assessment is way off the mark. In most cases, the Maasai manyattas visited by tourists are long-standing pastoral settlements. Their inhabitants still live a traditional lifestyle but are very poor by any measure other than cattle ownership, and they make a large portion of their living from tourist visits.”

2

Is there accommodation inside the crater?

“No. It is forbidden to overnight on the crater floor. The best base for Ngorongoro safari tours is the crater rim. Options here range from simple campsites through to mainstream Sopa and Serena lodges, a few exclusive tented camps and the legendary ‘bush baroque’ of the unique &Beyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge. Alternatively, an ever-growing cluster of lodges and hotels can be found just outside Ngorongoro in the pretty hills around Karatu. Accommodation on the rim is typically more scenically located (the views over the crater are amazing) and better positioned for game drives, but the premier location means they tend to charge a lot more than lodges around Karatu.”

3

What animals can I see as part of a Ngorongoro safari?

“In a word, lots. There are few places where you can so reliably see such large numbers of wildlife, including all the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and black rhino), with a bit of luck, all year. The crater floor credibly claims to support the densest concentration of predators in Africa, with lions and spotted hyenas being particularly plentiful. Leopards are also seen regularly, but require a bit more luck. The fever-tree-covered Lerai Forest and adjoining Gorigor Swamp are the main haunt of the crater’s elephant population, which is dominated by old male tuskers. Ngorongoro is the one place in Tanzania where black rhinos are easily seen, usually in the vicinity of Lake Magadi. The open grassland that covers most of the crater floor also supports large herds of wildebeest and zebra, and smaller numbers of buffalo, Coke’s hartebeest, and Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelle. Lake Magadi normally harbors large flocks of flamingos, while other less-salty bodies of water are home to plentiful hippos.”

› More about the wildlife of the Ngorongoro Crater 4

How long is the drive to the crater?

“The 150km/93mi road from Arusha to the main gate of Ngorongoro Conservation Area is surfaced in its entirety and can be covered in two hours or less. The short ascent to the crater rim and associated lodges is unsurfaced but in reasonably good condition. Allow 30 minutes to an hour from the gate, depending on the location of your lodge. The descent and ascent roads to the crater floor are short but very poorly maintained. They require a 4WD and some caution behind the wheel. Many people break up the drive from Arusha with a night or two in the vicinity of Lake Manyara National Park, which makes a great addition to Ngorongoro safari trips.”

5

Does it get cold while camping on the crater rim?

“Yes. Despite the equatorial location, most of the camps and lodges on the crater rim stand at an altitude of around 2,300m/7,545ft and can be very cold at night. You’ll feel it most if you are camping or staying in a tented camp. However, most accommodation on the crater rim comprises built-up lodges and fires are lit at night to keep it warm and cozy. Still, don’t forget to pack some warm clothing.”

6

How is Ngorongoro different from other parks?

“The park’s wildlife-viewing showpiece is the Ngorongoro Crater. The world’s largest intact volcanic caldera, it encompasses 260km²/100mi² of moist savannah hemmed in by sheer 600m-/1,968ft-high walls topped by a cover of dense montane forest. Even without the wildlife, the crater would rank among the world’s most stunning natural wonders. But it also doubles as a unique sanctuary within a sanctuary whose prolific wildlife and immense scenic scale regularly draws comparisons to the biblical Garden of Eden. There is nowhere else in Africa quite like it.”

7

What lodges or camps do you recommend for a Ngorongoro safari?

“If your budget stretches to it, try to stay on the rim. It is better placed for game drives and offers a more immersive Ngorongoro experience than staying outside the conservation area. Of the built-up lodges, I tend to favor the Sopa as a base for Ngorongoro safaris. This is not because it is inherently better than its competitors, but because it lies very close to a combined descent and ascent road that is convenient for early morning game drives. If you prefer to sleep under canvas, Lemala Ngorongoro stands close to the same road and has a wonderful location in a stand of lichen-stained flat-topped red-thorn acacias. For unrestrained all-inclusive luxury (including excellent guided activities), &Beyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge is hard to beat. Of the many (mostly cheaper) lodges outside the park, personal favorites include the upmarket Gibb’s Farm, the mid-range Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge, the more affordable Eileen’s Trees Inn and the few-frills but very budget-friendly Karatu Forest Tented Camp.”

8

Ngorongoro Crater Safari Reviews

4.6/5 546 Reviews
Expert
Stuart Butler  –  
United Kingdom UK

Stuart is a travel writer and author of numerous Lonely Planet guidebooks, including 'Kenya', 'Rwanda' and 'Tanzania'.

More than a Crater
4/5

This world renowned extinct volcanic crater covers a simply enormous 260km sq and is the largest intact volcanic caldera on the planet, but visitors don’t come here merely for the geology (although first views of this crater, from one of...

Full Review

Expert
Lizzie Williams  –  
South Africa ZA

Lizzie is a reputed guidebook writer and author of the Footprint guides to South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

A Spectacular Wildlife Extravaganza in the Densely Packed Ngorongoro Crater
5/5

Ngorongoro is everything you would expect, and there’s a staggering amount of game, which is so used to the army of vehicles with camera-toting tourists poking out the top, they practically stand to attention. I’ve had some amazing...

Full Review

Laura & Marc  –  
Germany DE
Reviewed: Dec 10, 2024
5/5

The Ngorongoro Crater felt like stepping into another world. The stunning scenery, combined with the high density of wildlife within the crater, made this stop truly special. We loved spotting rhinos, a rare sight on safari, as well as...

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Rik  –  
Netherlands NL
Reviewed: Nov 30, 2024
5/5

Its an amazing place. 600m down on the crater floor it is so rich with animals its unbelievable. On 17 x 19km all animals live together and have there own system. Its magical seeing it. But because it is small that means also its easier to...

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Antal Bekefi  –  
Hungary HU
Reviewed: Nov 13, 2024
5/5

Probably the most unique, natural beauty, compact size and high density of animals. Feels a bit crowded due to its relatively smaller size and popularity. Lots of animals, hyenas, lions, buffalos, hypos, zebras, wildebeests, antelopes,...

Full Review

Paul Grimaldi  –  
United Kingdom UK
Reviewed: Nov 3, 2024
5/5

From the rim of the crater it is hard to understand just how vast this are is. One may spot a few dots that may be animals but it can look pretty empty. Then, once down into the crater one sees that it is teeming with life. Wildebeest and...

Full Review

All 546 Ngorongoro Crater Safari Reviews