Ngorongoro Crater
Ngorongoro Crater
The Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest collapsed volcano, forming a spectacular bowl of about 265 square kilometers with sides up to 600 meters deep. This natural wonder shelters close to 30.000 animals. Overlook this amphitheater, with an impressive and breathtaking beauty, on a private safari.
All big wildlife
Nearly all the big wild animals can be seen in the Ngorongoro Crater. The crater is the scene for elephants, lions, cheetahs, hippos, wildebeests, monkeys, zebras, flamingos and the rare black rhino. There are however no giraffes in the crater. Their legs prevent these animals from making the steep descent into the crater.
Garden of Eden
The crater floor is mostly open grassland with two small wooded areas. In the center of the crater is a salt lake, Lake Magadi, making it one of the most densely populated wildlife areas in the world. With such a diverse amount of animals in the relatively small space of the crater, with its green grasses and stunning blue water, it is easy to see why the crater is also known as the “Garden of Eden”.
Maasai tribe
The Ngorongoro Crater is part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a unique area where animals and human beings, as the authentic Maasai and Hadza tribes, are living together. Every day the Maasai and their herds of cattle go down in the crater to let them drink water. They are the only ones authorized to go in the crater without being in a vehicle.
Staggering dimensions
Standing on the crest of the panoramic crater, you can see 600 meters below into the giant, pastel-colored, flat bowl which forms the crater floor. It takes time to get used to the staggering dimensions of the crater, with its ever changing clouds, colors, shadows and movement of wildlife. No wonder the Ngorongoro Crater is justifiably one of the continent’s most famous safari destinations.
Ngorongoro lions
Although chances of seeing lions in and outside the Ngorongoro Crater are high, these big cats are critically endangered. Loss of habitat and increasing conflict between the population and wildlife are the main reasons for this. The non-profit organization KopeLion therefore works together with the local communities to protect their livestock as well as to live in harmony with the surrounding lions.
