Ngorongoro Crater
A collapsed volcano with about 25,000 animals and your best chance of the Big Five in one day.
What makes it special
The Ngorongoro Crater is about 600 metres deep and around 260 km² across its floor, inside a UNESCO World Heritage conservation area. Lions, elephants, buffalo, hippos and one of Tanzania's last populations of black rhino live on the crater floor, all within a single day's game drive.
- Black rhino on the open grassland
- Old elephant bulls with huge tusks
- Picnic lunch by the hippo pool
- Flamingos on the soda lake
- Views from the crater rim lodges
- Size
- About 260 km² crater floor
- Best time
- All year. Go down early for the quietest hours
- Known for
- Black rhino, big-tusked elephants, lions, flamingos
- Time needed
- One full day on the crater floor
Our itineraries with Ngorongoro
Classic Safari6 Days Classic Safari in Tanzania
The essential northern circuit in under a week: Tarangire, the Ngorongoro Crater and two nights in the Serengeti, flying out from the plains.
Classic Safari5 Days Tanzania's Treasure Safari
A short, rich loop through Tarangire's elephants, Lake Manyara's tree-climbing lions and a full day in the Ngorongoro Crater.
Classic Safari7 Days Ultimate Tanzania Safari
Tarangire, Lake Manyara, two nights in the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater – the complete northern circuit at a comfortable pace.
Migration Safari8 Days Best of the Great Migration
Fly straight to Kogatende in the northern Serengeti for the river-crossing season, then Central Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater.
Classic Safari8 Days Best of Tanzania Safari
Five parks plus a morning with the Hadzabe bushmen at Lake Eyasi – wildlife and culture in one well-paced week.
Adventure Safari10 Days Taste of Northern Tanzania
Lake Natron's flamingos and Ol Doinyo Lengai, the northern Serengeti migration, the crater, the Hadzabe and a coffee farm.
Plan your safari to Ngorongoro.
Tell us your dates and we will suggest the best route and lodges.
- Share dates, travellers and the feeling you want the journey to hold.
- We shape an itinerary with routing logic, lodge fit and a calmer sense of luxury.
- You receive a clear proposal with prices per person, inclusions and lodge options.
Your Tanzania journey, planned around you.
Bespoke Tanzania journeys with stronger pacing, warmer guidance and a more thoughtful sense of luxury, from first enquiry to return flight.