A guide to the wider place

Guides

Read guides to Ngorongoro’s crater, highland walks, Olduvai and practical choices for a visit.

Lake Empakaai and its forested caldera slopes (2023-02-25). Photo: Halidtz / Source / CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized; display may crop.

A narrow path through highland vegetation near Empakaai (2018-08-20). Photo: Zenith4237 / Source / CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized; display may crop.

Plan your trip

Planning a Ngorongoro visit

Choose a clear trip focus, compare the complete arrangements and leave room for the practical differences between crater, highlands and history.

The rim and broad basin of Ngorongoro Crater (2018-08-19). Photo: Zenith4237 / Source / CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized; display may crop.

Where to stay

Compare accommodation by the journeys it supports, the setting you want and the practical services included in your stay.

Olduvai Gorge seen from the air looking south (2019-07-05). Photo: Pi3.124 / Source / CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized; display may crop.

Human history

Approach Olduvai through landscape, evidence and interpretation, with time to understand what makes an archaeological context valuable.

Lake Empakaai and its forested caldera slopes (2023-02-25). Photo: Halidtz / Source / CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized; display may crop.

Highland walks

Treat these separate highland craters as distinct outings, with clear arrangements for the route, accompaniment and return journey.

Grasses and water beneath the wall of Ngorongoro Crater (2018-12-16). Photo: Pavel.shyshkouski / Source / CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized; display may crop.

The crater

Use the rim, water and changes in vegetation to understand the crater within the wider Ngorongoro Conservation Area.