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 Ngorongoro Crater
 The Ngorongoro Crater is
often called ‘Africa’s Eden’ and the ‘8th Natural Wonder
of the World,’ a visit to the crater is a main drawcard
for tourists coming to Tanzania and a definite
world-class attraction. Within the crater rim, large
herds of zebra and wildebeest graze nearby while
sleeping lions laze in the sun. At dawn, the endangered
black rhino returns to the thick cover of the crater
forests after grazing on dew-laden grass in the morning
mist. Just outside the crater’s ridge, tall Masaai herd
their cattle and goats over green pastures through the
highland slopes, living alongside the wildlife as they
have for centuries.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area
includes its eponymous famous crater, Olduvai Gorge, and
huge expanses of highland plains, scrub bush, and
forests that cover approximately 8300 square kilometres.
A protected area, only indigenous tribes such as the
Masaai are allowed to live within its borders. Lake
Ndutu and Masek, both alkaline soda lakes are home to
rich game populations, as well as a series of peaks and
volcanoes and make the Conservation Area a unique and
beautiful landscape. Of course, the crater itself,
actually a type of collapsed volcano called a caldera,
is the main attraction. Accommodation is located on its
ridges and after a beautiful descent down the crater
rim, passing lush rain forest and thick vegetation, the
flora opens to grassy plains throughout the crater
floor. The game viewing is truly incredible, and the
topography and views of the surrounding Crater
Highlands out of this world.
This truly
magical place is home to Olduvai Gorge, where the
Leakeys discovered the hominoid remains of a 1.8 million
year old skeleton of Australopithecus boisei, one of the
distinct links of the human evolutionary chain. In a
small canyon just north of the crater, the Leakeys and
their team of international archaeologists unearthed the
ruins of at least three distinct hominoid species, and
also came upon a complete series of hominoid footprints
estimated to be over 3.7 million years old. Evacuated
fossils show that the area is one of the oldest sites of
hominoid habitation in the world.
The Ngorongoro
Crater and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area are without
a doubt some of the most beautiful parts of Tanzania,
steeped in history and teeming with wildlife. Besides
vehicle safaris to Ngorongoro Crater, Olduvai Gorge, and
surrounding attractions, hiking treks through the
Ngorongoro Conservation Area are becoming increasingly
popular options. Either way you choose to visit, the
Crater Highlands are an unforgettable part of the
Tanzanian experience.
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