NGORONGORO CONSERVATION AREA

OVERVIEW

The pristine wilderness of Ngorongoro Conservation Area is situated 190 Km west of Arusha between Lake Manyara and Serengeti National Park. Spread across an area of 8,292 square kilometers, it is an international biosphere reserve inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. It consists of Ngorongoro crater, Empakai crater, Oldonyo Lengai Mountain, and Olduvai Gorge.

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a pioneering experiment in multi-purpose land use where people, livestock and wildlife coexist and share the same protected habitat. Both craters of Ngorongoro and Empakai are reserved for wildlife, and the rest of the region is shared by wildlife, people, and livestock.

The Maasai are the main inhabitants of Ngorongoro who are pastoralists grazing their herds of cattle, goats, and donkeys in the pasture land of this region. Lately, the Maasai people were encouraged to work on the land to further supplement their diet of milk and meat.

Ngorongoro Crater is the main attraction of this area which is also the largest caldera in the world with its walls intact. 610 meters below the crater rim, there is the Ngorongoro Crater floor with an area of 304 sq Km and a diameter of 19 Km. The overlooking view from the cliff of Ngorongoro Crater is imposing. “It is impossible to give a fair description of the size and beauty of the Crater, for there is nothing with which one can compare it. It is one of the Wonders of the World…” once wrote Professor Bernhard Grzimek.

The crater floor is home to tens of thousands of plains animals, including wildebeest, zebra, gazelles, elands, and a large predator population of lions, hyena and jackal which can all be viewed at close quarters. The rare black rhino can be viewed here, and if you are lucky you can see cheetah and leopard. The rainy season is between November and May. The altitude at the crater rim is about 2286 metres above sea level, and temperatures can get quite chilly in the evening, especially between May to September.

Ndutu Area

Ndutu is located in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, in the southeastern plains of the Serengeti ecosystem. The plains around Ndutu are the main holding ground for migratory animals where vast herds congregate and linger for more than four months, from December to April, before they start moving across the Serengeti in search of greener pastures and water. Ndutu area forms an important part of the Serengeti ecosystem, in particular the short grass plains which provide calving grounds for wildebeest and other migratory animals.