Experience the Ngorongoro Crater

If you’re looking for guaranteed wildlife sightings, add UNESCO-listed Ngorongoro Crater to your Tanzania itinerary. Considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa, this prehistoric basin was formed by a volcanic collapse almost three million years ago and has steep, 600-metre-high walls. This acts as a giant bowl where over 30,000 animals – including members of the Big Five – roam. Game drives here are an exciting journey through grasslands and forests to huge lakes, surrounded by all the African wildlife you can imagine.

Explore from a safari camp or lodge set around the crater rim. Some are perched right on the precipice, offering balcony views of bull elephants on the crater floor. Early-morning game drives will take you straight down into the heart of the action, where you might be lucky enough to watch predators hunting game on the plains, vultures circling above. Your guide will point out everything from Thompson’s gazelle and wildebeest to cheetahs and spotted jackals. The star attraction though is Ngorongoro’s population of endangered black rhino – this is one of the best places in Tanzania to catch a glimpse of these iconic animals.

Love birds? Then Ngorongoro Crater won’t disappoint either. There are around 500 different species to spot, many clustered around the shores of Lake Magadi, a vast soda lake that attracts flocks of flamingos, storks, herons and pelicans. This is a great place to park up for a picnic on the crater floor after a long morning game drive and watch bird displays and hippos wallowing in the shallows. For a more lavish experience, some lodges can even arrange a full BBQ in a private picnic site on the crater floor.