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The Ngorongoro Crater

The crater is often described as being like some kind of Noahs Ark, even though the animals can freely wander in and out of the area. It is believed to have the highest density of large wild mammals in the world, one of the reasons for which is because fresh water can be found here all year round. The water comes from a number of springs along the edge of the crater, the largest of which has its source in the neighbouring mountain Olmoti´s crater. This constant supply of water feed a couple of large areas of swamp with freshwater, before it flows into lake Magadi, which is actually extremely salty. This is because the only way that water can leave the lake is through evaporation, a process that leaves behind the salts leached form the soils by the water.

In addition to the so-called ”Big Five” – lion, leopard, elephant, black rhinoceros and buffalo – here you can find many other species of animal, amongst which zebra, wildebeest and gazelles are particularly common. The crater is one of the absolutely best places in East Africa to see black rhinos, while cheetahs are also often seen on the flat, open floor of the crater. However, giraffes are not seen on the crater floor, but they are common west of the crater on the way to the Serengeti.

Remarkably, when it comes to elephants, only the males are ever seen down in the crater, the family groups with the females and young stay up on the rim of the crater. Ngorongoro, despite its name, is not actually really a crater but it is infact a caldera, which is a crater like feature that is formed when a volcano empties itself, then collapses after a large eruption. Ngorongoro is however the largest caldera in the world that has not been flooded. It is 600 meters deep, 18-20 km. in diameter and the flat floor of the caldera covers an area of some 260 km2 . The caldera, the rim of which is 2,200-2,300 meters above sea level,is a part of the much larger Ngorongoro Conservation Area, which spreads out to the north and west. The difference between a conservation area and a national park is that the original inhabitants have the right to stay in a conservation area, but must move out of a national park.

The people of the Ngorongoro are predominantly members of the best known tribe in East Africa, the Masai – a people who are famous for living beside large wild animals. Just to the west of the Ngorongoro highlands lies the Oldupai Gorge (often called Olduvai). Here you can find an interesting little museum that tells the story of early human evolution, as many of the most important and oldest finds in this field have been made near here. The western part of the park consists of flat savannah, covered with short, nutritious grasses. This areas is often considered as part of the plains of the Serengeti and plays an important part in the Great Migration, as it is typically here that the zebras and wildebeest give birth to their young in the winter months. The edge of the crater itself is circa 170 km from Arusha, of this the last 10 km is along steep but well made gravel tracks, while the rest is along excellent tarmac roads.

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