As for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area central to its 8,000 sq km is the Ngorongoro Crater, a 20 km wide depression teeming with abundant and unique wildlife. This is one of the few areas in Africa where the Big Five (buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion, and rhinoceros) can all be seen together. So don’t miss it! Take in too the ancient volcanoes and the Olduavi Gorge with its fossils (including the 1.75 million year-old zinjathropus skull and the 3.5 million year-old Laetoli footprints) as well as the Ndutu and Meseli lakes.
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.
Best time to visit: All the Year round
Getting there: A 4-hour drive from Arusha or 1 hour charter flight.
Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge has 80 spacious guestrooms, all of them affording fabulous views over the crater. Exquisitely decorated, offering a serene atmosphere of elegancy, the modern rooms are all ensuite, with central heating systems and mosquito netting over the air vents.
The 80 rooms include twin rooms, double rooms (with one double bed), one Presidential suite and three Junior suites. There are also interconnecting rooms, specially designed for families. The Presidential suite has been host to world renowned personalities who have enjoyed the magical experience of wildlife from the top location that Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge enjoys, being the first Lodge built on the Ngorongoro Crater.
Facilities
Comfort and security at its best to make your safari experience unforgettable… The stunning Rhino Lounge Bar affords from its wide terrace and panoramic windows breathtaking views over the volcanic Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest unbroken caldera; giant binoculars are strategically placed along the balcony edge, through which it is possible to view game way down on the floor of the crater.
Guests can acquire in the exclusive Boutique memories to take home with them (clothing, films, carvings, etc.) and ideal gifts for their beloved people…In the TV lounge with DSTV, one can stay informed on events in the rest of the world; also, in the TV lounge videos are displayed with informative explanations of the amazing natural spectacle that our privileged guests are directly living!
In the well–stocked library there is complete information about the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, its natural landscape, archaeological sites and tribal groups. The landing airstrip for domestic airlines in only 20 minutes from the Lodge, making trips to these lands of huge dimensions easy and comfortable. A professional nurse is available in the Lodge for medical assistance. The endless services of the Lodge include full housekeeping services, such as laundry and babysitting (on request), as well as communication facilities like telephone and radio. There is a currency exchange service, and major credit cards are accepted.
Facing the always magnificent sunsets to the west, and located at the highest point on Ngorongoro crater’s entire rim, Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge stands well over half a kilometre above the crater floor and offers unparalleled views across this enormous caldera.
Themed around traditionally circular African houses with conical roofs, and decorated with examples of Africa’s rich tapestry of artistic traditions by way of rich woodcarvings and sculptures, the lodge harmonizes perfectly with its dramatic surroundings. But the drama does not just stop with the great outdoors: it also flows through the split level interiors of the main building which all offer an unsurpassed generosity of space while somehow managing to combine an almost magically welcoming ambience of both warmth and cosiness.
Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge regularly voted one of the best hotels in the world, this unique lodge clings to the rim of the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater, the largest and most perfect volcanic crater on Earth. Long and low, the lodge is built from local river stone and camouflaged with indigenous vines. Designed to blend completely into the landscape, it is entirely invisible from the floor of the Crater 600 metres below.
Known as ‘the eighth wonder of the world’ the Ngorongoro Crater is one of Africa’s best-known wildlife arenas. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it offers a unique biosphere, which has remained virtually unchanged since the dawn of time. Deep within the Crater, enclosed by towering walls, some 25,000 large mammals wander the plains, lakes and forests of ‘the land that time forgot’, dominated by enormous bull elephants, rhinos and lions.
Hugging the contours of the jagged Crater rim, the lodge takes its inspiration from the so-called ‘Cradle of Mankind’, the prehistoric site of Olduvai Gorge, which lies close by. Linked by arched stone passages and timbered decks, its walls are decorated with stylized prehistoric cave paintings and lit by flaring torches. At the stone heart of the lodge burns a glowing fire, which is kept constantly alight. Decorated with cave paintings, the rooms are strung around the Crater rim. Each has its own rock- enclosed balcony, and all enjoy completely uninterrupted views of the volcanic amphitheatre far below.
Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge Facilities
