Things to do in Ngorongoro Crater - (All activities & attractions)
Things to do in Ngorongoro Crater/ Attractions for Tourists at Ngorongoro Conservation Area: The Ngorongoro Crater is a must-see for safaris in northern Tanzania. When it comes to East African safari parks, the Ngorongoro Crater is second to none, second only in fame to Africa’s Serengeti National Park. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area encompasses not just this crater but also two others, the Serengeti plains, the Olduvai Gorge, and ecosystems of highland forests. The Maasai people still use the grasslands around the crater as a grazing ground for cattle and zebra because Ngorongoro is more of a conservation area than a national park. You can plan a safari vacation there and get more than you expected, making it one of the rare African destinations that offers this.
Undoubtedly, the Ngorongoro crater is the main attraction for the millions of tourists who flock to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area every year. You may find some of the best Big Five sightings in Tanzania in this volcanic basin, which is 25 kilometers wide. Along with zebras, wildebeests, enormous bull elephants and elusive leopards, this area is home to Africa’s highest population of lions and one of the best chances to see endangered black rhinos. Because it offers everything a safari traveler might want—attractions, activities, and lodging—the Ngorongoro conservation area safari is unrivaled in quality. Visiting Ngorongoro for three or more days is, without a question, an essential component of any safari visit to Africa. While on safari in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Region, be sure to stop by these popular sites.
Visit Lake Majadi
There are a plethora of amazing places to see in Tanzania on a nature vacation. Within the Ngorongoro Crater lies Lake Magadi, a small, blue lake bordered by hundreds of long-legged pink flamingos. Smaller flamingos, most of which have dark red bills, subsist on blue-green spirulina algae. To aid in the process of filtering crustaceans from the rich bottom muck, certain larger flamingos possess slightly bent beaks that are pink with black tips. Those interested in birds, in particular, should be sure to visit this beautiful spot during their Ngorongoro Tanzania safari.
Jackals, hyenas, and other animals use the thick, crystalline salt pans as licks to supplement their nourishment when the lake drastically falls during the dry season. While in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, your Tanzania Focus East Africa Tour Expedition would be remiss if it didn’t stop at numerous other fascinating locations outside the Ngorongoro Crater.
Explore Ngorongoro crater's
The main feature and tourist attraction of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is the Ngorongoro Crater, the largest dormant, undamaged, and unfilled volcano crater in the world. It covers 260 square kilometers inside the crater, which is 2,000 feet deep (610 meters). Two to three million years ago, it took shape as a result of the collapse of a huge volcano. An initial height estimate placed the ancient volcano somewhere between 14,800 and 19,00 feet (4,500 and 5,800 meters). A height of 1,800 meters (5,900 feet) above sea level is the base of the crater. The crater was recognized as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa in February 2013.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area's Must-See attractions
Crater of Ngorongoro Volcanic eruptions, like the one that created Ngorongoro Crater, are prevalent in Tanzania. This is due to the fact that similar collapses have happened at Olmoti and Empakai, although on a much lesser scale and with significantly less consequence. To make your safari or tour truly unforgettable, you must explore both of the Ngorongoro craters, two of the most famous and spectacular natural wonders in the world.
Visit Lerai Fever Tree Forest
The tall, slender yellow-barked acacias that make up the Lerai Fever Tree Forest create a light, lace-canopied paradise of glades, and hundreds of birds, rhinos, eland, bushbuck, and hyrax are regulars there. This is the kind of vegetation that the rare black rhinoceros likes, but the old forest isn’t getting back to its original state since elephants rip off entire branches instead of just nibbling on them. Gorigor Swamps provide a haven for hippopotamuses, wading birds, and hundreds of ungulates during the dry season, but saplings are making their way through them. While on safari in the Ngorongoro conservation area, be sure to stop by this fascinating tourist site.
Olduvai Gorge and Laetoli
Along the same migratory route, you can find Lake Masek and Lake Ndutu in the Rift Valley. These lakes are relatively close to Olduvai Gorge, the site where early humans made their first tools and built their first homes. The sedimentary rock at Laetoli dates back 3.7 million years, and it contains the footprints of our genetic ancestors and relatives. No Tanzanian safari is complete without visiting Olduvai, a small paleoanthropological museum and excavation site where visitors can see evolutionary fossils and take guided tours of the site.
Visit Shifting Sands
For those who find the idea of shifting sand to be enchanting, but who also think it’s physically impossible for a larger mass of sand to do so, we suggest taking your time and planning a safari to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to see this once-impossible phenomenon for yourself. The Endless Sands The magnificent black dune is slowly making its way westward across the plains, with an annual rate of about 17 meters. It is largely composed of volcanic ash from Oldonyo Lengai. It winds its way north of Olduvai Gorge, measuring nine meters in height and one hundred meters in length. Guests on safari or holiday in Tanzania should make time to see this intriguing site.
The Olmoti Crater and the Empakai Crater
There are innumerable thrilling options on the Ngorongoro safari with Focus East Africa Tours. On easy, guided hikes, you may reach two other nearby craters. Olmoti Crater is a picturesque and serene shallow grassy depression where rare buffalo, eland, bushbuck, and reedbuck graze with Maasai cattle. Before emptying into Lake Magadi in the Ngorongoro crater, the Munge stream creates a picturesque waterfall on the southern rim of the caldera.
They are another crater in the Ngorongoro conservation area worth visiting on your Tanzania safari, especially if you desire to avoid the hordes of safari vehicles in the main Ngorongoro crater. You can stare across a spectacular landscape of volcanic craters and depressions towards Ol Doinyo Lengai, the Great African Rift Valley, and even see snow on Kilimanjaro’s distant Uhuru peak in fine weather.
Gol Mountains
In the Serengeti’s southeastern sector in northern Tanzania, you’ll find the Gol Mountains, a prime spot for wildlife viewing. The Maasai people of the Gol Mountains have preserved their ancient, cashless way of life. It will make your holiday in Ngorongoro one you will never forget, and it is the greatest tourist destination in the park for cultural and animal safaris.
Explore Nasera Rock
Mountaineering klipspringers, baboons, and a variety of birds call Nasera Rock, an 80-meter peak in the foothills of the Gol Mountains, home. Tourist Attractions in Ngorongoro Conservation Area is also the site where a prehistoric human dwelling was found by the Leakey family.
Oldeani Ski Resort
The Oldeani Mountain, which is covered with bamboo, is located southwest of the Ngorongoro crater. It is this mountain that supplies water to the Lerai Forest, and the seasonal Lake Eyasi is an archaeological and cultural treasure trove in East Africa.
Hadzabe tribe
Near Lake Eyasi, close to Ngorongoro, still reside the Hadzabe Bushmen of East Africa. These people subsist only on the land and communicate using whistles and clicks. The pastoral and farming Mbulu and Datoga people, who were driven out of the areas now inhabited by the Maasai many years ago, have now made their homes there. Near the Ngorongoro conservation area, there is a beautiful community that welcomes visitors on cultural safaris who are interested in learning about local traditions, like as traditional cuisine and dance. It is one of the must-see attractions that will add magic to your safari.
Lake Natron, Hadzabe, Ol Doinyo Lengai, and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area: Popular Destinations for Tourists
Spreading its conical shadow across the lowlands near the Kenyan border, Ol Doinyo Lengai rises from the verge of the Great African Rift Valley escarpment. Last seen erupting in 2007, it is still very much in motion. “The Mountain of God” is how the Maasai call it. Another popular site on the Ngorongoro, this hike will put your fitness to the test as you get ready for your trekking safari to the top of Africa, where you can see Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru, the five largest mountains in the continent.
You may finish your tour of Tanzania with a safari that includes Ngorongoro, the Serengeti, Kilimanjaro, Lake Manyara, Tarangire, and Zanzibar, all of which are popular safari sites in Africa. If you want your safari in Tanzania to be really remarkable, the best option is to visit all of these parks at once. By doing so, you will easily cover at least 70% of the country’s attractions. To ensure that your safari is memorable and unforgettable, Focus East Africa Tour is prepared to go above and beyond by offering extra information, taking your booking, and organizing your safari in a way that is both easy and enjoyable.