This astounding conservation area and Unesco World Heritage Site encompasses the Ngorongoro Crater, Oldupai Gorge and much of the Crater Highlands. It can be experienced in many ways – from a vehicle safari to the floor of the wildlife-packed Ngorongoro Crater to a rugged trek in the Crater Highlands to a foray into the past at Oldupai Gorge. However you choose to visit, it's an essential part of any Northern Tanzania journey.
©Axel Haudiquet/500px
Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Top choice in Northern Tanzania
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
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Lake-filled Empakaai Crater, 23km northeast of Olmoti Crater, may not be as famous as Ngorongoro, but many travellers consider it to be its match in…
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At 19km wide and with a surface of 264 sq km, Ngorongoro is one of the largest unbroken calderas in the world that isn’t a lake. Its steep walls soar 400m…
29.52 MILES
Some places are so far off well-travelled routes that there are no tracks other than those left by wildlife and traditional herders. The remote and rarely…
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The small Oldupai Museum on the rim of Oldupai Gorge stands on one of the most significant archaeological sites on earth. It was here in 1959 that Mary…
22.91 MILES
About 45km south of Oldupai Gorge at remote Laetoli is a 27m-long trail of 3.7-million-year-old hominid footprints, probably made by Australopithecus…
12.3 MILES
Though lacking the drama of Ngorongoro and Empakaai, Olmoti Crater, 13km north of the Lemala ascent-descent road, is worth visiting on your way north into…
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Ghorofani, Lake Eyasi's main village, lies a few kilometres from the lake’s northeastern end. Its mnada (market), held on the fifth day of the month,…
Nearby Northern Tanzania attractions
7.75 MILES
At 19km wide and with a surface of 264 sq km, Ngorongoro is one of the largest unbroken calderas in the world that isn’t a lake. Its steep walls soar 400m…
12.3 MILES
Though lacking the drama of Ngorongoro and Empakaai, Olmoti Crater, 13km north of the Lemala ascent-descent road, is worth visiting on your way north into…
12.89 MILES
The small Oldupai Museum on the rim of Oldupai Gorge stands on one of the most significant archaeological sites on earth. It was here in 1959 that Mary…
22.91 MILES
About 45km south of Oldupai Gorge at remote Laetoli is a 27m-long trail of 3.7-million-year-old hominid footprints, probably made by Australopithecus…
26.06 MILES
Lake-filled Empakaai Crater, 23km northeast of Olmoti Crater, may not be as famous as Ngorongoro, but many travellers consider it to be its match in…
29.32 MILES
Ghorofani, Lake Eyasi's main village, lies a few kilometres from the lake’s northeastern end. Its mnada (market), held on the fifth day of the month,…
29.52 MILES
Some places are so far off well-travelled routes that there are no tracks other than those left by wildlife and traditional herders. The remote and rarely…