The view across Ngorongoro Crater - about 20 kilometers in diameter and with about 250 square kilometers - is spectacular. The caldera, as this extinct volcano is called in geological terms, is situated within the unique landscape of the crater highlands. On clear days the snow cap of Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain can be seen in the distance.
But Ngorongoro Crater is much more than one of the greatest scenic vistas this planet has to offer. It is filled with life wherever one looks. Nowhere else can one find such a generous abundance of animals and species as in this world famous microcosm of African wildlife.
Elephant, black rhinos, buffaloes, lions and leopards as well as big herds of wildebeests and zebra, not to forget gazelles, hyenas and many other species roam the plains and woodlands of the crater. Altogether about 20,000 ungulates feed on the productive plant-life of this gigantic volcanic arena. In turn up to 500 predators, at times including cheetahs and African wild dogs, hunt amongst the herbivores.
Concentrated in a comparatively small space the sometimes explosive interactions amongst the different animals, especially predators and prey, enliven the scenes of a never ending drama that every day runs its course through new variations of life.s adventures.
After a long, hard dry season the rains have come. New life can be seen everywhere now. The wildebeests are calving, the plains are turning green, the young of many species are born during these favorable times when the Ngorongoro Crater and the Conservation Area are at their best. Now is a great time to see it.
Karibu! Welcome!
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