Ngorongoro Crater Safaris

Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) has been declared as a UNESCO site of world heritage thirty nine years ago. The Northern Safari Circuit in Tanzania includes a safari to the Ngorongoro Crater. It is hailed as a beautiful and natural safari site for experiencing wildlife. It is also marked as a unique place for tourists to interact with the Masai tribe. The Ngorongoro Crater came into being when there was a giant volcano explosion thousands of years ago. The volcanic caldera’s cone collapsed inwards and brought about this exceptional safari park in Tanzania. Many visitors to this place consider it as one of the best safari destinations that are on offer in Africa. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a park which allows habitation of humans within the protected area perimeter of wildlife present here. This Crater Park shares its boundary with the Serengeti National Park and visitors to that park have to drive through this Conservation Area to reach Serengeti. Tourists on safari to the Ngorongoro Crater prefer to stay in hotels on the rim of the park in order to gain access to stunning views of the Park. Some tourists like to stay in Karatu which is a little away from this crater. The reason why they go here is to avoid crowds and accommodation is cheaper as a result of intimate and smaller lodges that provide safari activities like mountain biking and walking tours. Another famous place is the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge but its rates are very expensive, stretching to almost $3,000 per night. It is the best safari for visitors who want to experience the Big Five. You will come across a large population of black rhinoceros and will also see some of the largest tusker elephants in the world at this place. They are the prize attraction in the wildlife on offer here. The crater is home also to leopards, lions, wildebeest, hyenas, buffaloes and zebras. Other wildlife that can be seen here includes sighting of cheetahs, serval cats, jackals, Grant’s gazelles, flamingos and foxes with ears like bats. There are about four hundred species of birds that could be spotted in this Conservation Area. As the wildlife tends to stay all the year round in this crater area, any time of the year is a good time for visiting the place. Lake Magadi helps in making the water levels high in the Crater’s centre and this allows for a big concentration of flamingos. Safari Facts The Ngorongoro Crater offers a breathtaking setting for viewing the Big Five in Africa. This Crater is considered as an amazing natural wonder by the visitors. People like to come here for an overnight stay and some of them stay for a couple of nights. They move on to the Serengeti National Park from here. Depending upon the size of the touring party, it is better to drive to this place from Arusha. It is cheaper to share a four-wheel drive along with a guide and you can be picked up from Kilimanjaro Airport as soon as you land there. It is better to arrive at the gates early enough so that you can avoid the crowds. Safari activities here are restricted to game driving. There are many picnic spots in this area. You can alight from your vehicles only in these limited areas. In the vast Ngorongoro Conservation Area, visitors who have taken the safari tours can expect trekking, walking, excursions to the Olduvai Gorge and visit to the Masai tribal villages. During the game drives, you can expect to see elephants, lions, giraffes, black rhinos and wildebeest against a stunning backdrop of the Crater wall that reaches up to six hundred metres. You can see the Big Five in one day alone. People love to come to the Ngorongoro Crater to experience the dense wildlife concentration in Tanzania with a unique volcanic landscape on offer. Budget safaris to the Ngorongoro Crater allow tourists to reduce their expenses. These safaris offer affordability and ease of access to the national parks. Accommodation, meals and entrance fees to the parks are included in the safari package rates.