Ngorongoro Crater

A truly magical experience, taking me hundreds of years back in time!

Ngorongoro crater is a truly special and unique place. I arrived at Ngorongoro close to sunset, pitched the tent and rested for the exciting day to come. 

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 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.

The large number of lions here saw here was second to none in East Africa. We also saw a few chowing down on a zebra!

Male lions, Rhino's, Hyenas Galore!

The drive to the crater is beautiful. Once inside, its not a scenic, but the wildlife is plenteous! I've been on a few safaris', and have never had male & female lions (hyenas, etc) walk up to our safari vehicles as they do in Ngorongoro. We could practically pet the lions! They look soo peaceful! If we hadn't seen a kill the day earlier, the lions' beautiful expressions and calm demeanor would have lulled us into a sense of naitivity!

Summer months are good - as the animals have to return to the parks and conservation areas for water (because the rainy season has ended). Weather is also stellar.

Picking a good tour operator is important. Ngorongoro crater is pretty open, so its easier to see safari vehicles conglomerate together. But if you're in the other parks, an experienced safari driver is highly recommended. Within 3 hours of one park, by God's grace (and we attribute this to prayer!), we say 2 sets of lions eating zebra, wiildebeast, and saw a lionness kill another wildebeast! We met a group that evening that didn't see any lions! We highly recommend Kilidove Tours. His team is not only highly knowledgeable (and they teach you their wisdom!), the owner grew up as an orphan and supports 4 - 5 orphans in their schooling! So you're not only getting the best tour company, but supporting a great organization. Its important, and you'll see this, that the operator understands the animals habits and how to maximize your photography experience.

Ngorongoro Extraordinarily Beautiful

Africa is already a unique place. When you to Tanzania, it is even better. Ngorongoro is the upmost. Imagine a wildlife park inside a extinct volcano crater, maybe with 20 or 30 km diameter, with all the animals living in perfect harmony: lions, zebras, hippopotamus, elephants, baboons, wild beasts, rhinos, hyena, flamingos, etc., etc.. The weather is unique as well, altitude atmosphere. The hotels are located in the edge of the crater with a awesome view to the park. There are good hotels, good food and accomodations. It is a lifetime experience!! Ngorongoro Extraordinarily Beautiful!!

Excellent place if you want to see the Big 5.

Simply stunning, especially the very many Flamingos at the lake

We came during the long rainy season. Good thing about it is that prices are lower and the crowds are smaller. We saw many animals at close range including lions and nice and strange birds like the marabou stork. The scenery is so beautiful it feels like heaven on earth

The landscapes are wonderful. The drive down and drive up were fun to experience with the top open.

Yet, it feels like a zoo. If you have been on other safaris, I would recommend skipping it and just do the lookout at the rim.

a lot of wildlife in a relatively small area. from rhinos to lions. really beautiful views. almost guarantee to see a lot of wildlife. all in all great.

(automatic translation from Dutch)

Stunning, one of the highlights of this microsome