Introduction |
Northern Circuit |
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Coastal Circuit |
Western Circuit
Please select the National Park or Game Reserve from the list below:
Northern Circuit
Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA)
The Ngorongoro Conservation
Area is both a fantastic game-viewing
destination and a significant archaeological
treasure. Often called an 'African Eden' and
the 'Eighth Wonder of the Natural World'. The
terrain embraces several distinct habitats from
open grasslands to mountain
forest, and from scrub bushland to highland
heath. Around 25,000 animals live in the Crater
thoughout the year, whilst in the NCA, as a whole,
the numbers can swell to more than 2.5 million,
depending on the season.
It is also a pioneering experiment in multiple
land use. For Ngorongoro Conservation
Area, the idea of multiple land use
means to allow humans and Wildlife
to co-exist in natural setting. The relationship
between the Maasai tribe and the Ngorongoro
eco-system is impressive. The Maasai
herd their cattle into and out of the crater
daily for water, leading
their cattle to water alongside the "Big
5".
However, the crater is just a small
part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. It
is a huge caldera (collapsed volcano) 300
square km in size, 19.2 km in diameter and 600
meters deep. It is home to one of the world's largest
inactive and unflooded volcanic calderas
with a rich diversity of wildlife
(including some of Tanzania's last remaining black rhino),
and the famous paleontological site of Oldovai
Gorge nearby.
Location:
4 hours drive from Arusha on
the way to the Serengeti.
Things to Do:
Game-Drives,
Hiking,
Nature
Walk, Visit a Maasai Boma, Visit
Oldovai Gorge.
Time to visit:
1 half-day is usually enough to see the crater,
not more than 2 half- days.
Animals:
One of the few places you have a chance to spot
rhinos. The Crater support a large resident population
of wildlife pre-dominantly grazing animals.
These include Wildebeest, Buffalo,
Zebra, Giraffe, Gazelle,
Eland, and Warthog. The swamps
and forests provide additional resources for
Hippo, Elephant, Waterbuck,
Reedbuck and Bushbuck, Baboons
and vervet monkeys. Jackals
thrive in the Crater and bat-eared foxes
live in the short grass. Predatory animals: Lion,
Leopard and Cheetah, several
cats and large packs of Hyena
roam the Crater, making their own kills and scavenging
from others.
More than 100 species of birds
not found in the Serengeti have
been spotted here. Countless Flamingos form a
pink blanket over the soda lakes. Distinctive
grassland birds- Ostrich, Koribustareds
and Crowned Crains seen in abandances.
Oldovai Gorge
Olduvai Gorge is known as the cradle
of mankind. Layer upon layer of volcanic
deposits were laid down in orderly sequence
over a period of almost two million years, making
Olduvai Gorge a remarkable site that documents
ancient life. It is here that Louis
and Mary Leakey discovered the first human
skull of Zinjanthropus, commonly known
as 'Nutcracker Man' after nearly 30 years of
excavation.Now renamed Australopithecus boisei,
this creature had a massive skull with huge teeth that suggested
a diet of coarse vegetable food, and lived 1.75 million
years ago. Nearby are the Laetoli footprints
of walking adult and young aged
3 million years. The remains
of pre-historic Elephants, giant-horned
Sheep and enormous ostriches have been
unearthed here.
Location:
Olduvai Gorge is conveniently located between
Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti.
Although there is an unimpressive museum with
a lot of information, it is usually worth a quick stop even for
those who are only slightly interested in history
and/or archeology.
Activity Duration:
1-2 hours
Ol Doinyo Lengai:
Ol Doinyo Lengai is also known as the "Mountain
of God" by the Maasai. They believe
that the mountain increases fertility
and they advise women who have difficulty conceiving
to visit. The trek up to the crater
is an exceptionally demanding climb of around
1700m (5600 ft). The trek starts
at midnight or shortly after
so you can walk during the cool
hours and reach the summit by dawn.
This is the only active volcano in the area and
the world's only natrocarbonate
volcano, having erupted in 1966
and 1983. The most recent erruption
occured around July 2007 - 2008. It's a truly
unusual destination for those who really want
to get off the beaten path.
Location:
It is located just outside the NCA,
to the north-east near Lake Natron.
For safari packages,
please visit Northern
Circuit Safaris section on Packages page
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