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Ngorongoro Crater
The Ngorongoro Crater is often called ‘Africa’s Eden’ and the ‘8th
Natural Wonder of the World,’ a visit to the crater is a main
drawcard for tourists coming to Tanzania and a definite world-class
attraction. Within the crater rim, large herds of zebra and
wildebeest graze nearby while sleeping lions laze in the sun. At
dawn, the endangered black rhino returns to the thick cover of the
crater forests after grazing on dew-laden grass in the morning mist.
Just outside the crater’s ridge, tall Masaai herd their cattle and
goats over green pastures through the highland slopes, living
alongside the wildlife as they have for centuries.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area includes its eponymous famous crater,
Olduvai Gorge, and huge expanses of highland plains, scrub bush, and
forests that cover approximately 8300 square kilometres. A protected
area, only indigenous tribes such as the Masaai are allowed to live
within its borders. Lake Ndutu and Masek, both alkaline soda lakes
are home to rich game populations, as well as a series of peaks and
volcanoes and make the Conservation Area a unique and beautiful
landscape. Of course, the crater itself, actually a type of
collapsed volcano called a caldera, is the main attraction.
Accommodation is located on its ridges and after a beautiful descent
down the crater rim, passing lush rain forest and thick vegetation,
the flora opens to grassy plains throughout the crater floor. The
game viewing is truly incredible, and the topography and views of
the surrounding Crater Highlands out of this world.
This truly magical place is home to Olduvai Gorge, where the Leakeys
discovered the hominoid remains of a 1.8 million year old skeleton
of Australopithecus boisei, one of the distinct links of the human
evolutionary chain. In a small canyon just north of the crater, the
Leakeys and their team of international archaeologists unearthed the
ruins of at least three distinct hominoid species, and also came
upon a complete series of hominoid footprints estimated to be over
3.7 million years old. Evacuated fossils show that the area is one
of the oldest sites of hominoid habitation in the world.
The Ngorongoro Crater and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area are
without a doubt some of the most beautiful parts of Tanzania,
steeped in history and teeming with wildlife. Besides vehicle
safaris to Ngorongoro Crater, Olduvai Gorge, and surrounding
attractions, hiking treks through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area
are becoming increasingly popular options. Either way you choose to
visit, the Crater Highlands are an unforgettable part of the
Tanzanian experience.
Ngorongoro Safari
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area stretches from the Karatu Highlands
to the Serengeti and covers an area of around 8300 sq km. Formed by
the same immense geological upheavals as the Great Rift Valley,
Ngorongoro was once a mountain as high as Kilimanjaro. About 3
million years ago, it blew up, covering the Serengeti in ash. The
crater floor sank leaving the rim to form a natural enclosure 2,285
metres high.
While on a Ngorongoro Safari the most amazing experience is viewing
the crater for the first time. As your vehicle slowly ascends
through mountain forests you will feel it getting colder and colder.
Eventually you reach the rim, and dropping sharply off in front of
you is Ngorongoro Crater.
Ngorongoro Crater is the best self-contained safari destination in
the world. The world's largest unbroken caldera, it is often
referred to as the 'Garden of Eden'. The rich pasture and permanent
water of the crater floor shelters a large population of animals. In
fact, the crater floor is one of the most densely crowded game areas
in the world and is home to about 30,000 animals. The open grassland
makes it easy to police, so it is also a stronghold for endangered
species like black rhino and cheetah.
Accommodations in Ngorongoro and Lodge Hotels
Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge
The Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge is the only tourist development on the
eastern rim of the crater and thus offers you unique and spectacular
views down into the crater floor and of the sunsets from the west.
Ngorongoro Crater Lodge
High on the southwestern rim of Ngorongoro Crater, stands Ngorongoro
Crater Lodge. With commanding views of the Crater, the lodge offers
you three adjacent camps with 30 suites perched on stilts on the
crater rim.
Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge
The Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge is built into the rim of the
Ngorongoro Crater, which allows the plant and ivy-covered native
stone to blend masterfully with its surroundings. Gibbs Farm
At the entrance to the Highlands, midway between Lake Manyara and
the Ngorongoro Crater, five kilometres from the village of Karatu,
is Gibb's Farm.
Ngorongoro Crater Lodge
One of the most romantic options, with an inspirational and stylish
design. The lodge is divided into three distinct 'camps', to ensure
the utmost in personal service; retire to your own sitting room for
cocktails among the branches of an ancient baobab, bathe with
awesome views and dine under the stars - by the light of flaming
braziers.
Gibbs Farm - Ngorongoro Highlands
Gibbs Farm is a remarkable hideaway between National Parks and
conservation areas, a surprisingly English country garden tucked
high on a wide African hillside between fields of maize, beans and
coffee. A series of bungalow rooms under trailing flower laden eaves
set around the old colonial farmhouse. The surrounding gardens are
rich with fruit, home-grown vegetables and flowers.
Plantation Lodge - Ngorongoro Highlands
As with Gibbs Farm this lodge is in the highlands and not at the
Crater like the Sopa, Serena and Crater Lodge. The Plantation Lodge
is surrounded by coffee plantations. Replete with charm and comfort
the Lodge is hidden in the heart of the African bush. Swimming Pool
and only 16 rooms
Kisima Ngida
This small, tented camp is a great example of a well-run,
owner-operated camp. It's set in the shade of a grove of doum palms,
on the eastern shore of Lake Eyasi. Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge
Perched on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater at 2,286 meters above
sea level (with a 600 m sheer drop down to the crater floor), the
Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge affords one of the greatest views of the
crater.
Ngorongoro Farmhouse
A lodge facing the Oldeani Volcano, in Ololdukan, a 500 acre coffee
farm located only 4 kms. from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Lolduare gate. Ndutu Safari Lodge
Ndutu Safari Lodge is situated in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
The lodge nestles under a canopy of giant acacias overlooking a soda
lake, Lake Ndutu, and offers a superb base from which to explore the
Serengeti.
Ngorongoro safari tours Tanzania safari
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