Entamanu Ngorongoro

AREA & ACTIVITIES

Habitat & Wildlife
The Ngorongoro Highlands sit on the western edge of the Great Rift Valley as it curves south-westwards from the desolate Lake Natron past Lake Manyara to the remote Lake Eyasi. These highlands are the remnants of an ancient chain of volcanoes, most of which are now entirely dormant. The only active volcano here now is Oldoinyo L’Engai, to the north of the Ngorongoro itself and at the southern end of Lake Natron. The upper highlands are home to Maasai pastoralists who live a traditional lifestyle, co-existing with the resident game.

The Ngorongoro Crater lies within the 8,000 sq. km Ngorongoro Conservation Area and is one of the natural scenic wonders of the world. The magnificent crater is a ‘caldera’ or collapsed crater which is 16-19 km in diameter with an unbroken rim. The altitude of the crater rim is around 2,250 metres, with the crater floor some 650 metres below.

The crater contains a large animal population throughout the year, including lion, leopard, cheetah (sporadic), elephant, black rhino, buffalo, hippo, hyaena, eland, zebra, giraffe, gazelle, ostrich, golden jackal, serval, African wild cat and wildebeest (wildebeest calving occurs around January). The birdlife is prolific too, with flocks of flamingos Lake Magadi.

The Crater floor has a number of habitats – the southern side includes a number of ‘crater lakes’ and an extensive acacia woodland known as Lerai Forest, whereas to the northern side the habitat is one of open grassland. Thick montane forests cover the steep sides and rim.

Perhaps because the Ngorongoro Crater is so special, it receives a very high number of visitors and the crater floor can be subject to overcrowding particularly in the busier tourist months from July to September and at Christmas/New Year. No off-road driving is allowed and the crater is only accessible during daylight hours. There are a number of tourist lodges along the crater rim and in the surrounding highlands.

Activities
Activities focus on game drives within the Ngorongoro Crater whilst walking and village visits are available in the surrounding highlands. A two night stay would be normal, with most of your full day spent in the crater, which means an early start, and one of your afternoons available for a local walk. A longer stay would allow more than one excursion in to the crater or more in depth exploration of the local highlands on foot. Entamanu offer shared game drives into the crater for fly-in guests. If you arrive with your own private guide and vehicle then you have total flexibility on game drives into the crater, but can still opt to join local walks as required.

Seasons
Entamanu is open all year round, though it is best to visit the Ngorongoro Highlands between December and March, or from June to October.