The weather condition of the Ngorongoro crater

The weather condition of the Ngorongoro crater

The weather condition of the Ngorongoro crater : The world’s largest inactive caldera that was formed due to the gigantic volcanic eruptions and located on the northern part of Tanzania is the most beautiful tourism attraction. The Ngorongoro crater is about 600m deep, 16km across and 265 kilometer in area and the park is managed by the Ngorongoro conservation Area Authority located in the village of Oloirobi. The landscape is dessert like areas swamps land and the green oasis that is covered by the wide range of wildlife. As one of the most remarkable wild life destination, the Ngorongoro crater is home of many different wildlife that will be spotted down the crater floor.

Different weather conditions are experienced at the Ngorongoro crater due to the difference in the altitude, higher up at the crater is quite cold especially during the night while down the crater at the floor during the night is quite warm. As one goes up to the crater the altitude is lower and it’s normally around 5600 feet’s and this makes it warmer during the day than any other place in the crater during the day as the temperature increases by almost 3-4 degrees Celsius. At the floor of the crater there are several lakes like lake Magadi and lake Embagai which is located on the  North-East of lake Magadi which are habited by the thousands of the flamingos that looks beautiful and has the best scenery especially during the evening. The Ngorongoro is located at the tropical hence the variation is not much at the park.

The Dry season June to September and December to February.

 During these period it’s normally dry and hence the roads are not slippery. During the seasons the weather during the day is quit warm and the average temperature is about 16 degree Celsius and normally drops during the night to the average of about 13 degrees Celsius.  Both warm  clothes and light clothes can be worn during these seasons, the warm clothes are important for the morning game drive and the night game drive, the morning guided nature walks on the rims of the crater requires some warm clothes. The light clothes can be worn during the day as one needs to relax and also the temperature during the day is quit warm hence some really simple clothes will be best during this times.

The weather condition of the Ngorongoro crater
The weather condition of the Ngorongoro crater

These times are normally the best for spotting the wildlife as most of the grasses are short hence a clear view of the wildlife is at the peak.  During the dry seasons the water levels are lower these times of the year are not the best for the bird watching activities at the crater.  The sun clears the blue skies and looks beautiful watching the sunset at the Ngorongoro crater is one of the most unforgettable moments during this times as the sky is clear the beautiful orange-yellow figure can be viewed clearly and with the most spectacular view as it fades away under the land. This is also the best time to watch the nature event, famous as the great migration as the magnificent wildebeest migrate towards the Ngorongoro national park and conservation area.  It is normally the busiest times of the year as there are a lot of tourist visit the park during these times of the year. The vegetation is nit thick and most of the animals gather around the water season, this is another eye catching moment since there is the best scenery as most of the wildlife will be in one place.

 The chances of getting malaria at these times is minimal because there are few mosquitoes at these seasons, there are very few rain or none at all.

The wet season in November to May.

These times is normally the green Ngorongoro, as the grass is very green and the vegetation is looking healthy and greener due to the rainfall. As the vegetation grows and the grass becomes greener the view of the wildlife is not the best as the vegetation is high also most of the animals spends their time at their shelters due to the rainfall.  The water levels increases on the Lake Magadi and Lake Embagai hence there is a perfect view of the flamingos and other bird species at the park.

The average temperature is around 23 degrees Celsius during the day on the floor of the crater while the temperature during the night is the average of about 6 degrees Celsius. Having the warm clothes during these times is perfect because most of the time is wet and cold with a lot of rain. During the day at this times is common to have the frequent shower and thunder storm during the day, the lush and green scenery are breathtaking moments not to be missed thus The weather condition of the Ngorongoro crater.

January and February are particularly the wet seasons, the bird watching at this month is perfect, these is also the best time for breading as you will see the baby zebras, baby wildebeest, and many other newly born babies. This months are normally not that bad hence the crater is also a little busy at this times although is not as busy as during the dry season.

March and April are the wettest month with heavy rainfall and the wet season is at the peak, to get to the park is expensive and time consuming since the roads are slippery and sometimes it can be hard to use the roads due to the rainfall. These times you might not be able to experience what you have expected since the rainfall can make most of the visit challenging. On this times the view of the wildlife is minimum and hardly, most of the wild animals will be at their shelter away from the rainfall.

The best part of visiting in March and April is that the place is not busy and the green scenery is amazing, the landscape is not dusty and dry as that at the dry season, the park is quite and at peace since there are fewer people visiting it. The best game viewing activities is during this wet season as they have the most beautiful green scenery and landscape.

The weather at the Ngorongoro crater and that at the Ngorongoro conservation area is different, most people tend to visit the Ngorongoro crater than the conservation area. The Ngorongoro conservation area has the moderate temperature as in the afternoon is about 19 degrees Celsius during the day on the dry season, it normally gets cold during the night and even freeze at the edge of the crater.

On wet season at the Ngorongoro conservation area the days are warmer than those on the dry season, however the morning are normally cold. The average temperature can be about 23 degrees Celsius at the bottom of the crater and drops up to 6 degrees Celsius at the edge of the crater.

The Ngorongoro crater is favorable and can be visit throughout the year, the best time to visit depend on once preferences , there are some who want the peaceful environment and with less people hence the wet season are the best for them, some will like bird watching hence the wet maybe be best. But for the once who really wants the experience the wildlife adventure the best times will be on the dry season as there are plenty of animals and the vegetation is less thick, the best scenery can be obtained at this moments. The best moment to visit Ngorongoro is all time and all the seasons, it’s just the matter of someone choice to visit what time of the year with preference at hand.

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