Northern Circuit · Conservation Area · UNESCO World Heritage Site

Ngorongoro Crater

The world’s largest intact caldera, alive with the Big Five.

  • Year-round; June–October is driest and greenest views come November–May
  • Conservation Area approx. 8,290 km²; crater floor approx. 260 km²
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Ngorongoro Crater
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Type
Conservation Area · UNESCO World Heritage Site
Region
Northern Circuit
Area
Conservation Area approx. 8,290 km²; crater floor approx. 260 km²
Established
1959
Best time
Year-round; June–October is driest and greenest views come November–May
Access
3–4 h by road from Arusha
Overview

Descend some 600 metres into a collapsed volcano where around 25,000 large animals share one extraordinary amphitheatre.

Often called the eighth wonder of the world, the Ngorongoro Crater is a vast, unbroken caldera whose walls enclose grassland, swamp, forest and the shallow soda lake of Magadi. Its permanent water and grazing support one of the densest concentrations of wildlife in Africa, including black rhino — making it one of the best places to see the Big Five in a single day.

The crater sits within the wider Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where Maasai pastoralists live alongside wildlife. Flamingos colour the lake shore, hippos wallow in the pools, and the picnic sites on the crater floor make for one of the most memorable lunches of any safari.

Highlights

Wildlife & things to do

  • Black rhino
  • Lion
  • Elephant
  • Buffalo
  • Hippo
  • Wildebeest & zebra
  • Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelles
  • Flamingo
  • Grey crowned crane
  • Fischer’s lovebird

Things to do

  • Full-day crater floor game drive
  • Picnic lunch inside the crater
  • Maasai cultural visit
  • Olduvai Gorge & the Shifting Sands
  • Crater-rim viewpoints
When to go

Best time to visit

Year-round; June–October is driest and greenest views come November–May

  1. JanBest
  2. FebBest
  3. MarGood
  4. AprGood
  5. MayGood
  6. JunBest
  7. JulBest
  8. AugBest
  9. SepBest
  10. OctBest
  11. NovGood
  12. DecBest
  • Best
  • Good
  • Fair
Photo gallery

Through the lens

Landscape ngorongoro crater herds herbivores tanzania africaZebras against mountains clouds safari ngorongoro crater national park tanzania wild natureElephant near crater ngorongoroGrey crowned crane walking in the grassRhinoceros standing fieldMeeting two elephants communicate crater ngorongoro tanzaniaAfrica tanzania masai women colorful clothes perform ritual dance
On the map

Where in Tanzania

Indicative route — exact roads and camps depend on season and availability.

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