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Ngorongoro is the largest intact caldera in the world. Some scientists maintain that before it erupted, would have been higher than Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest point in Africa. Covering a mere 260 square kilometres, the 600 metre deep Crater is home to a permanent population of more than 30 000 animals. One has a good chance of seeing the "Big Five" (lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino and elephant) during the course of a game-drive. On the bird side we will be looking for Red-cheeked Cordon blue, Yellow-necked Spurfowl, Long-tailed Fiscal Shrike, Black-faced Go-away Bird, D'Arnaud's Barbet, White-headed Barbet, Chestnut Sparrow, Northern Pied Babbler and the Tanzanian endemic Rufous-tailed Weaver. The Maasai have permission to graze their cattle on the Crater floor, and it is not unusual to see Maasai cattle and buffalo grazing together with lion mere metres away. There are around 1000 lions in the Crater, approximately 20 black rhino, and the spectacular Lerai Forest is one of the best places in Africa to spot leopard.

Within the crater rim, large herds of zebra and wildebeest graze nearby while sleeping lions laze in the sun. At dawn, the endangered black rhino returns to the thick cover of the crater forests after grazing on dew-laden grass in the morning mist. Just outside the crater's ridge, tall Masaai herd their cattle and goats over green pastures through the highland slopes. Ngorongoro Conservation Area includes its eponymous famous crater, Olduvai Gorge, and huge expanses of highland plains, scrub bush, and forests that cover approximately 8300 square kilometres. A protected area, only indigenous tribes such as the Masaai are allowed to live within its borders. Of course, the crater itself, actually a type of collapsed volcano called a caldera, is the main attraction.

4 hours drive from Arusha and 2 hours from Lake Manyara. Avoid the rainy season, April, May and November.

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