The Ngorongoro Crater is the collapsed caldera of an ancient volcano, its floor around 600 metres below the rim. Grassland, a soda lake, swamps and forest support wildlife that rarely needs to leave, including lion, elephant, buffalo and hyena, and one of the best chances of seeing black rhino in northern Tanzania.
Time on the crater floor is restricted each day, so a good guide gets you down early. The crater sits between Arusha and the Serengeti, which makes it an easy addition on the way in or out. As everywhere in Tanzania, your guide here is one of Dexter’s trusted local partners.
Resident species you can expect most months, alongside anything seasonal.
Short grass and easy viewing; cold mornings on the rim.
Greener, with calving in the wider area early in the year.
Wet and quiet; crater roads can be slippery.
8 days The classic northern Tanzania circuit, timed to the migration: Tarangire's baobabs and elephants, a day inside the Ngorongoro Crater, then three nights in the Serengeti wherever the herds are that month.
11 days Tarangire, the Ngorongoro Crater and three nights in the Serengeti, then a light aircraft to Zanzibar for spice-scented Stone Town and three days on white sand. Northern Tanzania's classic safari-and-beach pairing.
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