A World Heritage Site, the Ngorongoro Crater is probably the most spectacular game haunt in Africa and it is also the world's largest volcanic caldera. The crater floor is 610m below the rim and 19.2 km in diameter and it is home to over 30,000 animals, almost half being wildebeest and zebra, and all of the 'Big Five' may be seen including the black rhino. Among the notable birds are Lammergeyer, Verreaux's Eagle and Egyptian Vulture which make their homes in the high cliffs of the crater wall.

Olduvai Gorge and Laetoli
Also located within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is Olduvai Gorge - another of Tanzania's eight World Heritage Sites. This archaeological site, also known as "The Cradle of Mankind", is a steep-sided ravine in the Great Rift Valley that stretches through eastern Africa. It is about 48 km (30 miles) long and located 45 km from the Laetoli archaeological site, dated to the Plio-Pleistocene and famous for its hominin footprints, preserved in volcanic ash. Olduvai Gorge is one of the most important prehistoric sites in the world and has been instrumental in furthering the understanding of early human evolution. It is believed that this site was occupied by Homo Habilis approximately 1.9 million years ago, Paranthropus Boisei 1.8 million years ago, and Homo Erectus 1.2 million years ago. Homo Sapiens are dated to have occupied the site 17,000 years ago.

Related Links

Ngorongoro Conservation Area Website

Wikipedia - Ngorongoro Conservation Area

UNESCO - Ngorongoro Conservation Area