A Safari in Tanzania - Part 3 Ngorongoro Crater

ranhyn
Jul 4
2 min read

The third and last part of our safari in Tanzania, October 2025.

Our visit to the Ngorongoro Crater was another highlight of our time in Tanzania. Over the years, the name has come up in conversation many, many times, and we were especially looking forward to this part of the safari.

The first impression was from the rim, where you could look down and see the different parts of the crater laid out below: the lake, woodland, open grassland, and marshier ground.

The Crater is vast: roughly 20 kilometres across, with a floor area of about 260 square kilometres, and a descent of around 600 metres from the rim to the crater floor.

The long descent to the crater floor gives a real sense of scale. Once at the bottom, those features are no longer just part of a distant view — you become immersed in them. The different habitats feel quite distinct as you move from one area to another, and this variety is a large part of what makes the crater so interesting.

Although you know you are inside a crater, it is so big that it does not feel enclosed in any obvious way. It feels more like a wide natural plain, with the crater walls forming the distant backdrop.

The wildlife viewing was excellent. In a relatively accessible area, we saw a remarkable variety of animals, including large herds, predators and abundant birdlife. What made the visit memorable was the combination of wildlife, scenery and the unusual setting. We even had our own private stampede as there were no other vehicles in the area at the time!

Ngorongoro is a well-known and popular destination, and deservedly so. For us, it lived up to its reputation and was a very memorable part of our safari.