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Bruce Finocchio
US
Visited:
January 2015
Reviewed: May 12, 2015
Email Bruce Finocchio | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Ngorongoro Crater is a must visit; it a wonder and a marvel to behold. Here we photograph the only young lion cubs we saw. We also saw Serval and Caracal cats here too.
P Nahar
AU
Visited:
June 2014
Reviewed: May 13, 2015
Email P Nahar | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Too crowded for our taste. There were at least 25 vehicles when a Rhino was spotted. Its great for first-timers though.
Pedro Helder
BR
Visited:
February 2014
Reviewed: May 13, 2015
Email Pedro Helder | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Ngorongoro crater is magical! it's known as Noah's arc as it have a collection of species that live balanced in that ecossystem. There I saw lions with black mane and black rhinos, that is an endangered specie. Although I haven't seen, a friend of mine who was in another vehicule saw two leopards by the road when they were driving inbound.
Sabry Mason
Visited:
March 2015
Reviewed: May 21, 2015
Together with the Serengeti park Ngorongoro is a must see for photographers and safari travelers
Ngorongoro crater is truly one of the gems of Africa. Together with the Serengeti National park It is a must see for photographers and safari travelers. It is a large volcanic caldera created by a super volcanic explosion 2.5 million years ago. The original volcano is estimated to have been about 5000 metres (19,000 feet) high. After the explosion it collapsed on itself and the floor of the crater now is 610 metres (2,000 feet) deep. Its floor area is massive covering 260 square kilometres (100 square miles). The crater floor is mostly open grassland with two small wooded areas dominated by Acacia trees. The area became a Unesco world Heritage site in 1979.
The main source of water is rain in the rainy season and numerous springs that
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feed a lake. Because of the variety of animals present, the Ngorongoro Crater is a well known tourist attraction. It is home to a healthy resident population of most species of wildlife. particularly strong cheetah and lion populations. I photographed elephants, hartebeest, hyenas, wildebeest and zebra. Cape Buffalo, eland and Thomson’s gazelle. The buffalo population has increased greatly as well as zebras, waterbucks, black rhinoceros, jackals, hippopotamus, Serval cats. The crater has many species of birds such as flamingoes, eagles, owls, weaver birds, cormorants, ibis and other water birds.I was comfortable in safari vehicles with elevated roofs to allow photography. Accommodation in the crater is widely available on the rim of the crater. Lodges, hotels and tented camps with private facilities dot the rim. They are clean, comfortable; a good service and Western style food is usually provided. The staff, drivers and guides are friendly and always willing to please.
Sabry Mason
US
Visited:
March 2015
Reviewed: May 21, 2015
Email Sabry Mason | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Together with the Serengeti It is a must see for photographers and safari travelers
My last trip was in March 2015, and it was the best. Although it was dry and dusty, the wildlife was plentiful and more variety. The Ndutu lodge was wonderful and the safari vehicles with the guides and drivers were always helpful.
Ngorongoro crater is truly one of the gems of Africa. Together with the Serengeti National park It is a must see for photographers and safari travelers. It is a large volcanic caldera created by a super volcanic explosion 2.5 million years ago. The original volcano is estimated to have been about 5000 metres (19,000 feet) high. After the explosion it collapsed on itself and the floor of the crater now is 610 metres (2,000
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feet) deep. Its floor area is massive covering 260 square kilometres (100 square miles). The crater floor is mostly open grassland with two small wooded areas dominated by Acacia trees. The area became a Unesco world Heritage site in 1979.The main source of water is rain in the rainy season and numerous springs that feed a lake. Last year was unusually dry and dusty but there was a large variety of animals present. The crater was home to a healthy resident population of lions. I photographed elephants, hartebeest, hyenas, wildebeest and zebra. Cape Buffalo, eland and Thomson’s gazelle. The buffalo population has increased greatly as well as zebras, waterbucks, black rhinoceros, jackals, hippopotamus, Serval cats. The crater has many species of birds such as flamingoes, eagles, owls, weaver birds, cormorants, ibis and other water birds.
I was comfortable in safari vehicles with elevated roofs to allow photography. I stabilized the camera with a been bag, supplied by the guides. Accommodation was in a lodge on the rim. I found it clean and comfortable with a beautiful view; a good service and Western style food was provided. The staff, drivers and guides are friendly and always willing to please.
Enrico L.
Visited:
February 2015
Reviewed: May 21, 2015
A wonder of the world
The crater Ngonrongoro is one of those places on Earth that once in your life you must see. It seems to be almost a paradise for animals. In the same pool of water you can see a few meters away hyenass, warthogs, buffalos, elephantss, craness, wildebeests, gazelless, impala and more. Everything in this place is perfect including lodges.
Rick Engel
CA
Visited:
February 2015
Reviewed: May 21, 2015
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Crater is one of the most picturesque, enchanting sites that we have ever encountered.
Our first view of this area was absolutely breath-taking. The whole Ngorongoro Conservation Area is lush and green, but when we 1st saw the Crater, we could not believe how beautiful it was. A few days later, we worked our way down the embankment, & experienced a diverse range of wildlife, fauna and geography. We were also lucky enough to see a wildebeest give birth to a calf. The lodge just outside the Crater was also delightful. My wife and I are extremely glad we saw this site and highly recommend it to anyone else thinking about a safari.
António Mesquita
PT
Visited:
July 2014
Reviewed: May 23, 2015
Email António Mesquita | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A truly magical experience, taking me hundreds of years back in time!
On waking up early the next morning, the whole place was covered in fog. The slow descend from the 2100m peak to the bottom set the pace followed by an increase in my heart beat from emotions and expectations. As the 4WD went down and the mist slowly faded away, a feeling of time travel to the past filled the atmosphere.
Surprisingly, the first animals spotted were cows, taken care by Maasai farmers. As explained by our guide, they manage to live in harmony with the predators in the crater (apparently the Maasai rub the bodies of the cattle with a smelly protective herb in order to keep lions away.) What a surprise to witness cows and wild predators living so close to each other.
As the vehicle drove along the caldera roads, wildlife popped up like popcorns. In fact, this place has one of the highest
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concentrations of wildlife in Africa.Roaming along we came across ostriches, buffalos, wildebeests, zebras, elephants and many different birds. These are cool animals for first time safaris but the interesting game was yet to come.
Lions were resting on the road and along the side of the road like true kings. Probably their last moments in the open before going away to rest for the day.
Lions are nocturnal and sleep up to 20 hours a day. One can tell they are nocturnal because the area below their eyes is white, just like leopards, to reflect moonlight. Cheetahs, on the other hand, hunt during the day and have black stripes to aid their vision.
We saw a lioness guiding her 4 cubs to safety in the tall grass before leaving for a hunt. It was impossible to tell where the cubs were just moments after their mother left them. We didn't follow the hunt and continued roaming in this nostalgic and amazing reserve until after lunch.
A truly magical time travelling experience, the ancient caldera definitely lives up to its name.
A must see.
sunshine051469
US
Visited:
July 2014
Reviewed: May 26, 2015
Email sunshine051469 | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Nature at its finest comes to life
The highlight for me is always the big cats. We were fortunate to see a live kill of a cape buffalo by one of the prides. Visible there were three males, two females and three cubs taking part in the feast. I have photos showing the feast commencing. It is was also interesting
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to note the dynamics among species. For example the it was clear the hyenas were alerting the lions to the fact the vultures were approaching. As a reward the lions allow the hyena to take part in the feast. The jackals had to wait their turn as did the vultures. Seeing a kill on TV is one thing, seeing it in person is entirely different you will not want to look away.The Ngorongoro Crater is an unfilled volcanic caldera. We drove down about 2000 feet to get to the floor of the crater. This takes about 30 mins. There is a salt lake in the center and other tributaries that support the biodiversity in the area. The ride through the park can be rough. For the most part we arrived early in the day so it was overcast but that did not lessen the experience.
Again for me it was about the animals so to share what you will see in order of plenty:
Wildebeest-- many (and you get real close to them)
Zebra-- many (and you get real close to them)
Hippo -- many (and you get real close to them)
Lions -- many (and you get real close to them but from the truck!)
Hyenas -- many
Jackals -- many
Rabbits--many
Cape Buffalo --many
Leopard -- few
Rhino --few
Overall I highly recommend the tour. Do not settle for the 2 hour tour either. It will take you 30 mins down and 30 mins up. Take a day tour wherever possible. It is well worth it.
Khurram Khan
US
Visited:
March 2014
Reviewed: May 29, 2015
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very satisfied
Most people are interested in the wildlife. As far as that is concerned it is a mixed bag. Lions are plenty but depending on where they are in the crater they can be hard to find and photograph. I am not sure if there are leopards or cheetahs in the crater, but we never saw.
There are definitely a lot of grazers and interaction between the predators and prey can be fascinating if it is close to the road otherwise the action may be too far away. You can get very close to Cape Buffalo, Wildebeest, Zebras and of-course African
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Elephants.From a birding perspective be on the look out as you descend the crater early in the morning. There is a vast diversity of avian life form and they are not shy at all. The accommodations surrounding the Crater are truly amazing for the most part. As far as I am concerned every time I go to Tanzania, I always make a stop at the crater.