This is a protected area that allows people to see “the unparalleled beauty of one of the world’s most unchanged wildlife sanctuaries”. The conservation area is located 180km from Arusha and covers 8,292 sqkm.
It is named after Ngorongoro Crater, a large volcanic caldera within the area. The name emanated from the cow bell (“Ngoro Ngoro” in Maasai native language) from the herds of domestic animals the Maasai (pastoralists) rear.
Ngorongoro Crater
This is the main feature of the conservation area, which is also the world’s largest in active, intact and unfilled volcanic caldera. The crater is 2,000 feet deep, and its floor covers 260 sqkm. at 1,800 masl.
Olduvai Gorge
Situated in the plains area, the conservation area also hosts this steep-sided ravine. The ravine stretches along Eastern Africa and is approximately 50 km long. It is the driest part of the Ngorongoro highlands and is named after ‘Oldupaai,’ the Maasai word for the wild sisal plant, sanserieria ehrenbergii. This is one of the most pre-historic sites in the world and assists in farther understanding of human evolution.
