The Ngorongoro Conservation Area includes the phenomenal Ngorongoro Crater, the world's largest intact caldera with a bowl of about 265 kms square and sides up to 600m high, and the Crater Highlands where local tribes maintain their traditional lifestyles in as natural an environment as possible. This extraordinary volcanic landscape is rich and fertile, with stunning craters and lakes and a high altitude, malaria-free micro-climate.
At any given time in the Ngorongoro Crater there are between 20,000 and 30,000 wild animals. The fertile and verdant environment and the availability of water encourage both grazers and predators to remain here throughout the year.
Ngorongoro Crater is also one of the most likely areas in Tanzania to see the endangered Black Rhino. A small Black Rhino population thrive in this idyllic environment, one of a few areas where they still breed in the wild. The crater rim (2,200m) touches swathes of clouds for most days of the year. Other than the high dry season of December to January, the highlands wake up to mornings of misty fog, adding an eerie veneer to an already spectacular environment.
