Ngorongoro Crater: Experience the Garden of Eden

What really fascinates me about the Ngorongoro crater is how it was formed about three million years ago. To imagine that it was once a mountain as high as the Kilimanjaro and that it blew up to cover the Serengeti in ash and then the crater floor sank leaving the rim to form a natural enclosure 2,285 metres high, is in itself mind boggling. It’s an amazing kaleidoscope into the formation of one of our planet’s most incredible wonders. This article will look at Ngorongoro as the best self-contained safari destination in the world; how it came into being and what you can expect to see.

The stalking ground of anywhere from twenty to thirty thousand wild animals, the Ngorongoro  has an ecological environment that includes grasslands, swamps, forests and central soda lake Makat – filled by Munge river – is an idyllic location for wildlife to drink, wallow, graze, hide or climb. The crater rim is over two thousand meters high and what makes it all the more majestic and imposing is it touches swathes of clouds for most days of the year.

Your choice of accommodation ranges from the luxurious top end hotel on the rim of the crater, like the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge; to the more crowded type of set up at the Ngorongoro Serena Lodge; to the best tented camp in the area – the Lemala Ngorongoro – much more atmospheric than the Serena. And there’s Gibbs Farm in an absolutely great setting and boasts a famous reputation to boot. Plantation Lodge, located in the highlands, is away from the action on the rim of the crater but offers superb value and atmosphere. At the top end of the scale is The Manor, a fairly new and extremely luxurious hotel whose staff -- as it happens, have a genuine passion for hospitality. All things considered, the Ngorongoro, has a breathtaking landscape, incredible game viewing opportunities and a history of its creation still as vivid as it may have been 3 million years ago -- after its dramatic irruption.

Summary: The wondrous mysteries of our beautiful planet and how some of the wonders of the world like the Ngorongoro came to being is fascinating. The Ngorongoro, formerly as high as the Kilimanjaro 3 million years ago, blew up to form the crater we know today, home to thousands of wild animals AND the endangered Black Rhino who continue to breed in the wild. With a rim that’s over 2,000 meters high and swathing the clouds most days of the year, it offers the animals a vast self-contained enclave with an ecological environment that includes grasslands, swamps, forests and a lake in which to drink, wallow, graze, hide or climb. There is limited accommodation to be found in the area. However, the choice of staying in a hotel, lodge, or tented camp to suit your budget is available to the holidaymaker. Just make sure you plan your Ngorongoro safari ahead of time. Your tour operator will be able to help you sort out your travel plans according to your budget and interest, so that you will get to experience the best this Garden of Eden has to offer.

About the Author: Anthony J. Namata is a creative travel writer who blogs at Blockbuster-Articles.com, and writes exclusively for tour operators on safari destination Tanzania.