Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Ngorongoro Crater (a world heritage site) is the largest unflooded intact caldera in the world. Its status as a conservation area allows the Maasai people to continue to live here with their cattle in harmony with the wildlife, yet ensuring that this unique ecosystem is conserved and preserved.

Game viewing starts at the crater rim, even before descending the dizzying 2,000 feet (600m) to the plains below. Even up here it is not uncommon to encounter a lone elephant on the roadside ahead. A surreal experience is to look down into the caldera from high on the rim, to see elephants and other large mammals scattered across the crater floor like ants. Lodges are built high up on the rim to escape the heat within the crater and provide the traveler with breathtaking views into and over the caldera. Imagine savoring the spectacle of an African sunset, shadows lengthening across the crater floor below, with cocktail in hand and the ambiance of Africa all around.

At least half of the 25,000 animals resident in Ngorongoro Crater are wildebeest and zebra but it is also one of the best places in Tanzania to see black rhino and magnificent black-maned male lions.

Ngorongoro’s wildlife and birdlife
The wildlife of Ngorongoro can freely move into and out of the crater, but the harsher seasonal challenges beyond the rim make it an attractive wildlife Eden and the animals tend to remain. Wildlife is therefore abundant all year round.

An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 wild animals roam the crater floor at any time, making it the most densely populated region of wild animals in Africa. It is home to every species of Tanzania plains mammal except for impala, topi and giraffe. The abundance and density of herbivores also makes it the most densely populated predator environment in Africa. Conservationists are not sure why topi and impala don’t appear in Ngorongoro but they believe giraffe may find the descent into the crater difficult and there are too few acacia trees on the crater floor to provide sufficient nourishment. If the giraffe found the descent too much to handle then the many hippos residing in Ngorongoro’s lake and swamps are a puzzle. Perhaps they just rolled on in, down the steep slopes!

The high soda content of Lake Magadi and the swamps on the crater floor is carried in by streams that flow down the volcanic walls of the crater, attracting pink flamingoes and other water birds. More than 100 species of bird not found in the Serengeti have been found within the crater.

Large lone bull elephants make up most of the elephant population inside the crater. These gentle giants survived the ivory trade of the 80’s and display large impressive tusks. Matriarchal elephant herds are noticeably absent from the crater floor because the cows and calves tend to prefer the forested highlands. They sometimes appear at the crater rim but only rarely venture down into the grasslands.

The ideal and protective conditions of the crater floor have created a sanctuary for the highly endangered black rhino which are often seen to the east of the Lerai forest in the southwestern section of the crater. Ngorongoro is one of the few areas where they still breed in the wild.

Other wildlife found within the crater includes leopard, cheetah, hyena, warthog, jackal, impala, buffalo, hartebeest, eland and many other antelope and smaller mammals.

Olduvai Gorge
Paleontologists believe that early man flourished at Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge in the eastern Serengeti Plains, not far from Ngorongoro Crater. Olduvai is world famous for the discoveries made there by Dr. Louis and Mary Leakey. In 1960, Mary Leakey discovered the 1.75 million-year fossilized remains of Homo habilis (nicknamed 'The Handyman' for his tool making skills). Then in 1978 at Laetoli, 3.6 million-year-old fossil footprints of an extinct human ancestor were discovered during an expedition led by Dr. Mary Leakey. The footprints are unmistakably human in appearance and scientific and public attention was immense. The Natural History Museum in New York City features an exhibit of how this may have looked in prehistoric times.
Note: The tracks have since been covered over with soil to help preserve them from exposure to the elements, for future study.

There is a small museum at Olduvai with displays showing the evolution of man's ancestors, the development and refinement of his tools, and the animals that shared this environment during the different periods. Guides are available to take visitors into the gorge.

The Maasai people
When visiting Ngorongoro Crater and Olduvai, take time out to visit a Maasai Boma and learn about the proud and fascinating culture of these colorful people. The Maasai people live within the conservation area around the crater. They are a nomadic people, living in temporary villages. They wear bright red robes, and the younger men adorn themselves with red ocher mud and develop ornate hairstyles to enhance their appearance. The Maasai have a proud history as warriors, and their cattle are of fundamental importance for sustenance and as symbols of wealth and culture. They have grazing rights in the Ngorongoro Crater. It is not unusual to see Maasai cattle and buffalo grazing together, with a lion kill just a few hundred yards away.