The Ngorongoro Conservation Area boasts the
finest blend of landscapes, wildlife, people and
archaeological sites in Africa. Often called an
‘African Eden’ and the ‘eighth wonder of the
natural world’, it is also a pioneering
experiment in multiple land use. For Ngorongoro
Conservation Area, the idea of multiple land use
means to allow humans and wildlife to coexist in
a natural setting. Traditional African
pastoralists co-operate with Tanzania’s
government bodies to help preserve the natural
resources of the area and to ensure a fantastic
experience for tourists.
The first view of the Ngorongoro Crater takes
the breath away. Ngorongoro is a huge caldera
(collapsed volcano), 250 sq km in size and 600 m
deep. The crater alone has over 20,000 large
animals including some of Tanzania’s last
remaining black rhino. The rhino emerge from the
forests in the mists of early morning, and their
prehistoric figures make a striking impression,
surrounded by the ancient crater walls. No
fences or boundaries border the crater walls;
animals are free to enter or leave the crater,
but many of them stay for the plentiful water
and grazing available on the crater floor
throughout the year.
Open grassland covers most of the crater floor,
turning yellow with wild flowers in June. The
Makat soda lake is a great attraction for
flamingos and other water birds, while predators
hide in the marsh to ambush animals that come to
drink from the river that feeds the lake. Also
on the crater floor are swamps, providing water
and habitat for elephant and hippo as well as
numerous smaller creatures such as frogs, snakes
and serval cats. Game viewing around Lake Makat
is especially rewarding – large antelope like
zebra and gazelle come to drink, while herds of
hippos sun themselves in the thick lakeshore
mud.
The Lerai Forest on the crater floor gets its
name from the Maasai word for the elegant
yellow-barked acacia tree. Elephants often graze
in the forest shade during midday, emerging into
the open plains during the early hours of
morning and in the evening, as the midday heat
abates. The small forest patches on the crater
floor are home to leopard, monkey, baboon and
antelope such as waterbuck and bushbuck.
Humans and their distant ancestors have been
part of Ngorongoro’s landscape for millions of
years. The earliest signs of mankind in the
Conservation Area are at Laetoli, where hominid
footprints are preserved in volcanic rock 3.6
million years old. The story continues at
Olduvai Gorge, a river canyon cut 100 m deep
through the volcanic soil of the Serengeti
Plains. Buried in the layers are the remains of
animals and hominids that lived and died around
a shallow lake amid grassy plains and woodlands.
These remains date from two million years ago.
Visitors can learn more details of this
fascinating story by visiting the site, where
guides give a fascinating on-site interpretation
of the gorge.
The most numerous and recent inhabitants of the
Ngorongoro Area are the Maasai, who arrived
about 200 years ago. Their strong insistence on
traditional custom and costume interests many
visitors. As of today, there are approximately
42,000 Maasai pastoralists living in Ngorongoro
with their cattle, goats and sheep. Their
presence is the main difference between the
Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Tanzania’s
national parks, which do not allow human
habitation. Cultural ‘bomas’, or Maasai
villages, give visitors the chance to meet
Maasai people on their own terms and learn more
about this complex and interesting culture
