The natural amphitheatre at Ngorongoro Crater

The natural amphitheatre at Ngorongoro Crater

Published by Alawi

The Ngorongoro Crater is a natural amphitheatre created about 2 million years ago when the cone of a volcano collapsed into itself, leaving a 100 square mile caldron-like cavity. This caldera, protected by a circular unbroken 2,000-foot high rim (610-metres), contains everything necessary for Africa’s wildlife to exist and thrive.

Ngorongoro is on Tanzania’s northern safari circuit, and receives a good number of visitors who stay in lodges around the crater. Game viewing vehicles descend the steep crater wall every morning and spend the day on grass plains that are teeming with animals. However, the dark of night belongs to the animals, and all vehicles must leave the crater floor by sunset.

The lost world of Ngorongoro was home to pigs the size of a hippopotamus, sheep-like beasts with 6-foot (3 metre) horns and three-toed horses. Nowadays is inhabited by about 30,000 animals, of which half are zebra and wildebeest. This is the perfect situation for predators and spotted hyenas and lions lord over this domain. There are also some leopards, cheetahs and three species of jackals. Tanzania’s few remaining black rhino are regularly sighted in the crater, as are large herds of buffalo.

In summer enormous numbers of Serengeti migrants pass through the plains of the reserve, including 1.7 million wildebeest, 260,000 zebra and 470,000 gazelles. Waterbuck mainly occur mainly near Lerai Forest; servals occur widely in the crater and on the plains to the west. Common in the reserve are lion, hartebeest, spotted hyena and jackal. Cheetah, though common in the reserve, are scarce in the crater itself. Wild dog has recently disappeared from the crater and may have declined elsewhere in the Conservation Area as well.

Aside from herds of zebra, gazelle and wildebeest, the crater is home to the “big five” of rhinoceros, lion, leopard, elephant and buffalo. The crater plays host to almost every individual specicies of wildlife in East Africa, and there are an estimated 25,000 animals within the crater. Lake Magadi in the centre of the crater is, like many in the rift valley, a soda lake supporting flocks of flamingo.

Archeologists will be interested in Olduvai Gorge which is in the Conservation Area and where it is possible to see the famous discoveries of remains of early Man by Mary and Louis Leakey. However most of the activity is within the crater which is popular for bird watching, photography, walking safaris, and game viewing from a vehicle (4 wheel drive).

There are a number of lodges and camps to stay at on the rim of the Crater. Lodges: Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge, Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge and Ngorongoro Serena. Camps: Most campers stay atSimba site.

Ngorongoro Crater