Ngorongoro Crater, a vast volcanic amphitheatre of wildlife

Ngorongoro Crater in northern Tanzania is a vast volcanic amphitheatre whose enclosed grassland floor has become one of East Africa’s densest wildlife landscapes. Formed when an ancient volcano collapsed during the late Mesozoic or early Tertiary periods, it lies within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a protected region recognised as a World Heritage Site since 1979.

A colossal caldera in the East African Rift

Ngorongoro Crater is a deeply eroded volcanic feature in the Ngorongoro Volcanic Highlands, part of the Eastern, or Great, Rift Valley that runs through northern Tanzania. The crater is widely described as the largest unflooded and unbroken volcanic caldera in the world, its rim rising high above an enclosed basin of open grassland and patches of woodland.largest unflooded and unbroken caldera The enclosing walls reach an average height of about 610 m (2,000 ft) above the floor, creating a distinctive bowl-like form that is visible in satellite images and from viewpoints along the rim.610 metres deep and enclosed

The caldera’s floor covers roughly 260 square kilometres (100 square miles), a broad plain occupying the interior of the former volcano.floor covers 260 square kilometres Within this space, shallow lakes, seasonal wetlands and short savannah grass provide a mosaic of habitats. The crater sits within a wider chain of volcanic highlands that includes other craters such as Olmoti and Empakaai, whose shared geology links Ngorongoro to the long history of volcanic activity in the East African Rift.part of the eastern Rift Valley

World Heritage landscape of wildlife and Maasai pastoralism

Ngorongoro Crater forms the central feature of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, which extends over thousands of square kilometres on the south-eastern margins of Serengeti National Park.Ngorongoro Conservation Area covers over 8,000 square kilometres The conservation area was formally established in 1959 under Tanzanian law as a multiple land-use region, allowing wildlife conservation, pastoralism and tourism within one administrative framework.designated as a multi-use area in 1959 In recognition of its ecological and cultural significance, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979 for both its outstanding natural features and its long tradition of human use.World Heritage Site since 1979

For centuries Ngorongoro has been home to Maasai pastoralists, whose cattle herds move across the highland slopes and surrounding plains. Research traces pastoral activity in this region back at least 7,000 years, with the Maasai themselves present since the early seventeenth century.pastoralism for at least 7,000 years The legal framework of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area confirms the right of Maasai and other local communities to live there, making the crater basin and its surroundings one of the few African protected landscapes where wildlife, pastoralists and archaeological sites coexist under a single conservation regime.legal right of Maasai to live there

Grassland floor teeming with East African wildlife

The floor of Ngorongoro Crater is predominantly open grassland, punctuated by small swamps, woodland patches and a soda lake that together sustain large concentrations of herbivores and their predators.caldera’s floor is predominantly open grassland The enclosed basin supports elephants, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, warthog and several species of gazelle, creating a rich grazing resource that, in turn, supports lions and other carnivores. Black rhinoceroses find refuge on the crater floor, one of the better known remaining strongholds for this critically endangered species.elephants, black rhinoceroses, and lions

Beyond the crater itself, the wider Ngorongoro Conservation Area lies along the path of the Serengeti migration, during which enormous herds of wildebeest, gazelles and zebra move between seasonal grazing grounds. At certain points in the annual cycle more than a million wildebeest, hundreds of thousands of gazelles and large numbers of zebra pass through or near Ngorongoro’s grasslands, contributing to exceptionally high densities of wildlife.over a million wildebeest The crater thus sits within a much larger ecological system linking the Ngorongoro highlands to the Serengeti plains and the Mara ecosystem in Kenya.Ngorongoro-Serengeti-Mara ecosystem

Visiting Ngorongoro Crater: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• Ngorongoro Crater lies in northern Tanzania within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, south-east of Serengeti National Park, and is reached overland from regional centres such as Arusha by road.
• The terrain combines a high crater rim with a deep enclosed basin; visits typically involve travel along steep, winding roads on the rim and down into open grassland at lower altitude.
• The official language is Swahili and the currency is the Tanzanian shilling.
• Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.

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Frequently asked questions about Ngorongoro Crater

Where is Ngorongoro Crater located?

Ngorongoro Crater lies in northern Tanzania within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, south-east of Serengeti National Park, in the Eastern Rift Valley.

What can visitors expect to see inside the crater?

The crater floor is a broad grassland basin with lakes and swamps that support large numbers of grazing animals, predators such as lions, and species including elephant and black rhinoceros.

What makes Ngorongoro Crater distinctive among African landscapes?

Ngorongoro Crater combines a massive intact volcanic caldera, exceptionally high wildlife densities and longstanding Maasai pastoral presence within a single protected area recognised as a World Heritage Site.