The Ngorongoro
Conservation Area of 6,475sq km (2,500sq miles) was
established in 1959. Previously, most of
 the area and
the famous Ngorongoro Crater had formed part of the now
contiguous Serengeti National Park. The dual purpose of
the Conservation Area is to conserve the region’s
natural resources and also to safeguard the interests of
the indigenous Masai inhabitants, who continue to
reside there with their herds of cattle. The Ngorongoro Crater is
one of the most spectacular game haunts in Africa: it is
also one of the biggest craters or more correctly
calderas in the world, over 14.5km (9 miles) across,
610-760m (2,000-2,500ft) deep and covering 264sq km (102
sq miles). The approach road at 2,286m(7,500 ft) skirts
the rim of the crater affording many breathtaking scenic
views over the crater floor thousands of feet below.
Entry into the crater is
by way of the Lerai descent, an extremely steep and
winding road down the slopes of the crater
wall-negotiable only by four-wheel-drive vehicles. The
caldera's bottom is mainly open grassy plains with
alternating fresh and brackish-water lakes, swamps and
two patches of dense acacia woodlands called the Lerai
and Laindi Forests.
 Game animals and birds are
abundant inside the crater. All of the so-called ``Big
Five’ may be seen-Elephant, Lion, Black Rhinoceros,
Hippopotamus and Buffalo. Other species encountered are
Cheetah, Eland, Grant’s and Thompson’s Gazelles, Common
Zebra, Wildebeest, a super-abundance of Spotted Hyaena,
Hunting Dog, and, if one is lucky, Leopard.
Among the notable birds
are Lammergeyer, Verreaux’s Eagle and Egyptian Vulture,
which make their home in the highest cliffs of the
crater wall; the beautiful Rosy-breasted Long claw,
which appears on the plains after rains; and flocks of
Greater and Lesser Flamingos which are spasmodic
visitors to the crater lakes. The European Black Stork
is sometimes seen; usually one or two winter in the
crater.
In the highland forest on
the crater rim two sunbirds are specially noticeable,
the long-tailed Golden-winged Sunbird and the smaller
Eastern Double-collared Sunbird. At dusk the Abyssinian
Nightjar is often seen or heard-the call is a long-drawn
out `Pee-oo-wee’.
From Arusha the distance
to the Crater Lodge is 180km (112 miles); the road
passes the entrance to Lake Manyara National Park,
thence on to the Mbulu Plateau, through the farming
country of Keratu and Oldeani and into the highland
forest to the rim of the crater. From Seronera,
headquarters of the Serengeti
 National Park, to the
crater is 140km (87 miles), first over miles of open
plains and light acacia woodlands and then into the hill
country west of the crater. This road passes famous Olduvai Gorge, where remains of prehistoric man were
discovered.
Accommodation is available
at the two Ngorongoro Crater Lodges, situated at nearly
2,670m (8,000ft) on the crater rim, near the Lerai
entrance road, and the Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge. Other
accommodation includes Ngorongoro Forest Hotel,
Ngorongoro Safari Lodge at Keratu 40km (25 miles)
eastwards towards Manyara National Park, three camp
sites in the crater and one on the crater rim.
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