An Adventurous Journey through Ngorongoro Crater

An Adventurous Journey through Ngorongoro Crater : One of the thrilling destinations in Tanzania, is the Ngorongoro Crater, a masterpiece of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. This spectacular tourist hotspot is endowed with diverse dazzling wildlife, natural features as well as massive bird species. In honouring the significance Ngorongoro Conservation Area represents, UNESCO recognized it as a World Heritage Site in 1979. Along with Serengeti and Mount Kilimanjaro, Ngorongoro Crater is among three iconic natural features among the Seven Wonders of Africa. Wondrously, all these wonders are found in Tanzania, a fabulous East African country where the magical attractions await you.

Before you know more about the iconic Ngorongoro Crater, it is important to know how you can access. Ngorongoro Conservation Area is located at 120 kilometres in the west of Arusha. It is accessible by air, railway and road. It is a 2-hours’ drive from Arusha and a 25 minutes’ flight from Arusha Airport (ARK). The best time for visiting this iconic caldera is from June to October for wildlife safaris and from November to April for birding safaris.

As a matter of fact, Ngorongoro Crater is largest intact caldera in the world. This caldera is 20 kilometres across, 600 meters deep and 300 square kilometres in area, a breath-taking crater which plays home to a dense population of wildlife in Africa. It was formed about 2 million years ago after the eruption and collapse of Ngorongoro Mountains range. Ngorongoro Mountains were tallest mountain in Africa, even taller than the mighty Mount Kilimanjaro before it erupted and collapsed leaving behind a superb unbroken caldera in the world. Volcanic eruptions made Ngorongoro Crater a fertile land for growth of plants thus supporting a large ecosystem of plants and animals.

Now, if you want to have an adventurous safari in this tremendous crater, you are in the right place. Thousands of visitors have found this place interesting and remarkable beyond their narrow expectations thus rating it with five stars. Now, let’s explore some remarkable attractions for your adventurous journey through Ngorongoro Crater.

Enjoy the views of wildlife; Unlike the animals of the great Serengeti, animals inside the Ngorongoro Crater are less migratory. This sensational crater is endowed with nearly everything that is needed by wild animals to survive. Water supply is constantly present in the crater floor throughout the season. A game ride through the crater floor will rewards you with scenic views of stunning animals. The wild bulls, buffalos are usually spotted in open grasslands and woodlands. Ngorongoro Crater is home to over 700 wildebeests, 3000 elands, 3000 gazelles, 4000 zebras, over 90 elephants and about 26 black rhinos. Other animals that can sighted in this enormous crater include striped hyenas, cheetahs, jackals, foxes, waterbucks, reedbucks, impalas, wild dogs, warthogs and various species of antelopes.

In this iconic caldera, you all the guts to view the Big Five animals, of course the toughest ones to hunt down. These include elephant, lion, leopard, black rhino and buffalo. Elephants, the largest and heaviest land animals in the world; they are usually encountered in woodlands and in tall grasslands on game drive. They live in small groups of up to fifteen individuals. Lions are usually called as the kings of the jungle and are frequently spotted in short grasslands in the pride of up to ten lions. If you are lucky you will witness the excellent kills being done by the lioness. In the short grasslands especially close to water sources, you can sight the wild bulls grazing in large groups of up to 100 individuals. When in groups, buffalos are polite but very dangerous when they charge. The most dangerous are isolated bulls. They isolate from the large herds after being defeated and may harm anything due to self-defence instincts.

Leopard, the clever predator is frequently spotted in both grasslands and woodlands. Their habitats are usually close to the pasture. Their favourite preys are antelopes and impalas. They rarely predate on large herbivores like wildebeests, zebras and warthogs unless it is a self-defence. They live in small groups of three to four individual headed by the female parent. The black rhino is less social animal. The chance of finding it in crowded places is very small. You have to drive past shrubs and scrubs where it like to camouflage. You should be carefully if you are on a nature walk, because this animal is brutal when annoyed.

Visiting Lake Magadi; This is a shallow soda lake in the southwest of the crater. Its name (Magadi) come from a Maasai language for salt. The common characteristics of soda lakes is that; they are homes to beautiful flamingos especially lesser flamingos. This is because Soda Lake hosts blue-green algae which are the source of food of these awesome birds. Your visit to this amazing lake will make you capture a clear photo of lesser flamingos resting on the shallow shores of this lake.

The main sources of water for Lake Magadi are the streams the drain water from the crater rim into this magnificent lake. Ngoitokitok spring is another source of water for Lake Magadi. You can take a walk to this breathtakingly marvellous spring and enjoy this nature as well as the sightings of hippos in the Gerigor swamp.

During the dry season, Lake Magadi dries up leaving large pans of salt. As a matter fact, these pans are extracted by the Maasai for cooking purposes. Hyenas and jackals use these pans to supplement their foods.

Witnessing sunrise and sunset inside the crater; watching the sun rising from the rim of this majestic crater is an unforgettable experience you would ever have done in your safaris. The sun gets bigger and finally rise while its morning rays shines the ever green ecosystem of Ngorongoro Crater. You can watch the sunrise while enjoying a cup of coffee with friends or family made from Tanzanian produced coffee, An Adventurous Journey through Ngorongoro Crater.

Sunset is superb especially when you watch it from Lake Magadi. The magical lights from the sun makes the trees and animals look beautiful. The waters of lake Magadi reflects the light rays from the sunset create a marvellous scene.

Go for a nature walk in the wild; Stepping on this mighty crater is unappalled experience worth a picture or short video for posting in your social media or sharing it with your friends. To keep you safe, an armed ranger will accompany you on this gorgeous safari. Both short walks and long walks are conducted in the Ngorongoro Crater. You will encounter herds of wild animals like buffalos, zebras, wildebeests, antelopes as well as animals like elephants, black rhino and elands. Different plants species like Euphorbia trees, can be observed well on a walking safari.

Birdlife; You don’t have to be an ornithologist to enjoy the scenic views of colourful birds. Your eyes will convince you to keep staring at superb birds like the Ashy starling, secretary birds and lesser flamingos. Hosting over 500 bird species, Ngorongoro Crater is a spectacular destination for birders. If your primary interest is birding safari in this gracious crater, you are advised to visit Ngorongoro in between November and March when the migratory European and Asian species are settled for breeding. Some frequently encountered bird species in the Ngorongoro Crater include White-eyed flycatcher, black kite, African spoonbill, lesser flamingo, grey crowned crane, Kori bustard, Black-winged lapwing, living turaco, Egyptian vulture, Hartlaubs turaco, Verreauxs eagle, Hildebrandt’s spurfowl, ostrich, secretary bird, Red and yellow barbet, Jacksons widowbird, Namaqua dove Rufous-tailed weaver, Rosy-throated long claw among others.

There are some few things you need know about before you plan your trip to this glorious caldera in the world. The entrance fee for Ngorongoro Crater is not similar to that of national parks. This is because it is not managed by the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA). Here is the entrance or conservation fee;

East African citizens of or above the age of 16 years are charged a fee of 11,800 Tanzanian Shillings while children aged between 5 and 15 years are charged conservation fee of 2360 Tanzania Shillings. Children below 5 years are not charged entrance fees for safaris in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Non East African citizens are charged entrance fee of 70.8 USD for those above the age of 16 years while an entrance fee for children aged between 5 and 15 years is 23.6 USD and children below 5 years are not charged, An Adventurous Journey through Ngorongoro Crater.

Residents or expatriates of or above the age of 16 years are charged an entrance fee of 35.4 USD while children aged between 5 and 15 years are charged an entrance of 11.8 USD and children below 5 years are not charged anything.

Note that; Entrance fees are payable per entry per head and are valid in 24 hours. Entry permits issued are valid for one entry, a half day experience at Ngorongoro Crater.

Planning a trip to Ngorongoro Crater is one of the way of being satisfied with the fascinating views of this iconic crater. You will be left open mouth with the real features that Ngorongoro Crater has to offer to you.