The Ngorongoro Conservation Area stretches from the Karatu Highlands to the Serengeti and covers an area of around 8300 sq km. Formed by the same immense geological upheavals as the Great Rift Valley, Ngorongoro was once a mountain as high as Kilimanjaro. About 3 million years ago, it blew up, covering the Serengeti in ash. The crater floor sank leaving the rim to form a natural enclosure 2,285 metres high.

While on a Ngorongoro Safari the most amazing experience is viewing the crater for the first time. As your vehicle slowly ascends through mountain forests you will feel it getting colder and colder. Eventually you reach the rim, and dropping sharply off in front of you is Ngorongoro Crater.

Ngorongoro Crater is the best self-contained safari destination in the world. The world’s largest unbroken caldera, it is often referred to as the ‘Garden of Eden’. The rich pasture and permanent water of the crater floor shelters a large population of animals. In fact, the crater floor is one of the most densely crowded game areas in the world and is home to about 30,000 animals. The open grassland makes it easy to police, so it is also a stronghold for endangered species like black rhino and cheetah