Best time to visit Ngorongoro National Park

Best time to visit Ngorongoro National Park is that time of the year when the lands are dry and animals are looking for water at the water sources.

Best time to visit Ngorongoro National Park , Ngorongoro is one of the marvelous places in the world that tourists/adventurers should visit for getting more experience about the wonderful world. In Ngorongoro National Park, all the big 5 are found, also the small five are found and all the special five. Although all these animals are found still they cannot be seen once because each of the animals they have got some characteristics that make them be available at a specific place at a specific time. Animals, birds, sceneries of Ngorongoro, and many other many features that depend on the climatic condition for them to be seen clearly, so it is difficult to see all attractions found in Ngorongoro at once so one need to know the behavior of the place.

High visitor numbers can be expected during the dry season of July to September peak season and again during the December to February calving season that follows the November rains. With this in mind, the main April to May rainy season (lowest season) is often considered the best time to visit the Ngorongoro Crater as there are fewer visitors compared to other seasons and the crater is wonderfully green compared to the dusty dry-season landscape.

When is the best time to visit Ngorongoro?

Having different seasons, Ngorongoro receives tourists highly from May to October and this is dry season also is known as a high season or peak season. Also from November to February the medium number of tourist arrival has been observed and this is called Calvin season, the last season is that from December to May which is rain season also it is called low season/off-season because the number of tourists becomes very low. But if a tourist wants to combine Ngorongoro with other fantastic national parks like Serengeti and others, the best time is from June to October. However, every season has got its slightly features that are very important for a visitor to see them and mainly there are following two season that tourists decide on which season of the year to visit;

Dry season/High season (from June to October): This is the best time to visit Ngorongoro because it is the dry season whereby animals gather at water pools and holes and this makes it easier for people who visit Ngorongoro for game watching. The positive sides of this season are like Top wildlife viewing all year round due to the high concentration of wildlife on water sources, it is exceptionally for spotting predators whereby this is their perfect period of time, the Black Rhino is easily seen compared to the season of the year. Excellent mid-range and luxury lodges on the crater edge because most of the lodges are active this season compare to other seasons, the possibility of getting malaria to become deducted because stagnant water are no longer available in high rate, Staying on the crater edge always provides great views into the crater. Cultural visit to a Masai village is available due to the absence of physical limitation in Ngorongoro such as rainfall. On the other hand, this season has got some negative impacts such as Ngorongoro gets very crowded during this period of the year since most students are on holiday and the climatic condition of European countries becomes extremely cold thus result in bib number of people in Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Another negative impact is when the number increase always the entrance fee to the crater becomes very expensive compared to another season of the year where fees are becoming relatively low. Also, the temperature in Ngorongoro falls during this season hence from morning to evening becomes very cold
Rainy season/ low season (from November to April/May): This season is characterized by having short rain from November to December and heavy rain from February to April. During this season of the year, it is a bit difficult to see wildlife due to grasses and other shrubs that may hinder an activity. Also, animals are not concentrated at common areas as they do during the dry season because water is no longer a problem, also another reason is that during this season water is found everywhere around Ngorongoro so seasonal temporal swamps are available adequately. This season has got some positive impacts as well for example, the entry fees become relatively low because number of people visiting Ngorongoro is smaller than that of high season hence environmental conservation measures on Carrying Capacity Analysis (C.C.A) and Acceptable Limit of Changes (A.L.C) is not that much sensitive during this season due to the capacity of the area to receive minimum number of tourists. Also, Ngorongoro Crater offers excellent wildlife viewing, even in the wet season like this, the scenery is green and beautiful around the Ngorongoro area, bird watching tourism also is the best time to do it because more migratory birds are found in Ngorongoro during this period of time. Also during this season, the number of people who visit the park is lower than that of the peak season hence it is good for tourists who not like crowding during activities in Ngorongoro. But most of the activities in this season are not performed because of weather changes. Some Maasai village cultural activities, walking tours, biking tours, and some others are not conducted on time because of heavy rainfall.

Conclusion

The best time to visit Ngorongoro is during dry season or peak season due to tourists being able to see animals and other attractions clearly, also grasses are dried enough to see animals easily, and also disappearing of rainy seasonal swamps creates another advantage for people to visit Ngorongoro during this season of the year.

Ngorongoro is the best place to visit throughout the year since it has many attractions like a museum and other attractions that their activities do not depend on seasonality of the year that Ngorongoro Conservation Area varies per in a year. So tourists are received in this conservation area all the time of the year regardless of which season is it though high season receives the largest number of tourists than in low season and mid-season.