Ngorongoro Crater
Ngorongoro crater is located in the northern circuit of Tanzania and it is where all the tourism in the park takes place. A single visit to Ngorongoro National Park gets you into a real adventure movie in one of the wilderness of Africa. The Ngorongoro is a home to fierce cats of Africa, like lions, cheetahs, and leopards, and a lot of great herbivores like elephants, buffaloes, black rhinos, gazelles, zebras, wildebeests among others, plus, beautiful birds flock in the different ecosystems in the national parks such as the flamingoes paint the shorelines of Lake Eyasi with a pink color.
Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania it the largest caldera in Africa, it is also one of the most beautiful natural sites of wildlife in, not only Tanzania but other parts of East Africa. Ngorongoro crater national park is subscribed under the world heritage sites in Africa. It is believed that before the violent explosion that formed the Ngorongoro caldera, there was a volcanic mountain higher than the highest peak of Africa, Kilimanjaro. The volcanic debris around Ngorongoro crater, perhaps, is the reason for the lustrous vegetation in Ngorongoro national park.
The beauty of Ngorongoro crater national park is attributed to the scenic rim supplemented with a wave of undulating hills which are covered with a blanket of lustrous vegetation. The rim of the Ngorongoro crater raises about 400m and 610m high above the ground level. The crater hides magnificent wildlife such as the black manned lions roam around the grasslands and other predators and herbivores love to graze in the open grasslands of savannah, acacia woods, and swamps. The Ngorongoro crater creates an amazing back drop to a number of the major rich and fertile grazing areas in Africa, such as Tarangire national park, Serengeti National Park, Maasai mara Nationa Reserve land among others.
Attractions in Ngorongoro Conservation Area
There is a lot that you can marvel at the Ngorongoro National Park. The park is supplied with attractions both inside the crater and around the whole ngorongoro national. The major attraction that makes Ngorongoro stand out is the enormous caldera plus, it is part of the vast Serengeti conservation area where the great migration of wildebeests and zebras takes place; mainly the calving of the wildebeests happened when they reach the northern part of Ngorongoro national park.
The wildlife is standing out among the many. Ngorongoro crater national park provides the easiest game drive safaris offering a rewarding time in the African wilderness. Ngorongoro crater national park hides a number of huge mammals including the big five of Africa. The area next to the rim of the crater harbours a lot of black rhinos and huge tusked elephant herds numbering between 200 t0 300 animals. The grassland of savannah holds a number of zebras, gazelles, cheetahs, foxes, serval cats; the leopards and other cats turn the grasslands into a hunting ground for their prey, due to the presence of many herbivores. You will also enjoy an array of beautiful birds flying in the skies of Ngorongoro like the flamingo birds near the soda land and others, about 4000 species of birds.
The vegetation of Ngorongoro is another attraction with in the area. ngorongoro crater national park is blessed with a mix of vegetation cover; the verdant forests mixed with the semi-arid savannah grasslands and woodlands. The savannah woodland is made up of acacia trees like the baobab and other candelabra tree species. The lowlands are covered with swamps as the highlands are forested with distinctive tree species such are the zebrawood near Lake Eyasi.
Avian life in Ngorongoro national park is phenomenal and forms a great attraction to the visitors who travel to the area annually. Ngorongoro is a home for both the permanent and the migratory birds which visit around November from Europe and others Asia. The migratory birds are also present in the national park during the rainy season of May to April, such as the European swallows, Caspian lapwing, European rollers, the montagus harrier among others. Other birds in Ngorongoro crater national park include the ostriches, grey crown cranes, kori bustards, and the secretary birds among other ground birds. The water birds in Ngorongoro crater national park include the water ducks, waders, herons and many flamingoes near the soda lake with in the park’s vicinity.
Ngorongoro crater, from which the protected are of Ngorongoro gets its name, is an attraction in the region and the most sounding one. Ngorongoro crater is the largest caldera in Africa sizing up to 264 square kilometers. A few meters from the main gate to Ngorongoro, you can have a great view of the caldera plus other animals near the crater and the vegetation dotted with different savannah woodland tree species. The crater lakes or the soda lakes with in Ngorongoro crater harbor a lot of animals and birdlife among other interesting features of the crater in Ngorongoro crater national park.
The mountains of the gods also translated locally as the “Gol Mountain” is another interesting feature of Ngorongoro crater national park. Located in the remote northwestern side of Ngorongoro, the Gol Mountains are sacredly respected and feared by the Maasai people who are the human inhabitants of the region. The Gol Mountains have a strong cultural and traditional link to the Maasai community. The gol mountains area is the best cultural part within Tanzania.
The other attractions include the Olduvai museum located on the rim of the historic Olduvai Gorge; it was discovered by Dr. Leakey in 1959, after discovering the oldest remains of the early man. The other attraction within the same region is the laetoli found in the southern part near the Olupai gorge, one of the remotest areas in the region; it is famous for the different footprints that are believed to be for the Australopithecus Afarensis.
Accommodation in Ngorongoro crater national park
There is a wide range of accommodation choices to choose from, basing on your travel budget. Ngorongoro is well supplied with lodges, bandas, hotels and campsites ranging from luxury to affordable campsites. The accommodation for ngorongoro crater national park will give you a different safari experience in Tanzania, through the comfortability, authenticity and the ecological touch the different lodges offer to the visitors.
Ngorongoro crater lodge is one of the up-end accommodation facilities in the Ngorongoro. The lodge is located near the Serengeti national park gate in northern Tanzania. Its accommodation is divided into 3 camps; south camp, north camp, and the tree camp, the different camps vary in prices. The rooms for the Ngorongoro crater lodge provide a spectacular view of the undulating hill and the rim of the crater plus a lot of animals like the lions.
Ngorongoro Serena safari lodge is another accommodation facility situated in the western rim of the ngorongoro crater offering great views of the caldera below. The ngorongoro Serena safari lodge is a relaxing llodge offering accommodation in cottages built with a touch of authenticity with hand paintings bringing out the African culture. The lodge also offers a cozy restaurant near the fire place; it offers extensive meal choices and a relaxing serene.
Ngorongoro sapa lodge is located in the eastern side of the great crater; you can reach the sapa lodge in just an hour and a half drive from Manyara airstrip, it is also about a three and a half hours from Arusha. Ngorongoro sapa lodge offers accommodation in extensive rooms; about 92 decorated with a glass balcony to allow you to have a clear view of the park animals in the far savannah. It also offers a modern lounge with a cozy restaurant, en-suite bathtubs and very spacious rooms to soothe your moods during the stay.
Other accommodation facilities in Ngorongoro crater national park include Ngorongoro wildlife lodge, Kirurumu, lemala Ngorongoro camp among others. The different accommodation facilities in the Ngorongoro conservation area offer spectacular views of the park, relaxing hours; both the lodges within and outside the Ngorongoro crater national park and outside as far as Karatu and Ndutu.
