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Areas of Interest: Ngorongoro Crater, Oldeani Mountain, Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Lake Manyara, Great Rift Valley, Crater Highlands, Ngorongoro Village

Activity: Game Drive, Game and Bird Watching, Camping, Scenery, Culture, Ethnic, Photography, Exploring on Foot

Country: Tanzania

The Crater Highlands consist of an elevated range of volcanoes and collapsed volcanoes, which rise from the side of the Great Rift Valley and run along the Eastern edge of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.  The peaks include Oldeani, Lemagrut, Olmoti, Loolmalasin, Empakaai, Ngorongoro and the active Ol Doinyo Lengai. They all have a number of impressive peaks - with steep escarpments, crater lakes, dense forests and grassy ridges, streams and waterfalls.  The area is secluded and rarely visited but offers some of Tanzania’s most jagged and extraordinary scenery and some of the finest trekking.  Most walking is done at around the 3000m mark though there are more routes available to the more adventurous.

Day 1 - Ngorongoro Crater
We depart Arusha town in the morning and drive via Lake Manyara National Park for lunch and an afternoon game viewing before proceeding o­n to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.  Overnight at the Simba campsite o­n the crater rim.     

The Lake Manyara National park is serene and beautiful with main attractions of a rich bird life, tree-climbing lions, its elephants, and hippos that you can see at closer range than most other places.  Lake Manyara is an alkaline lake and at certain times of the year hosts thousands of flamingos and a diversity of other bird life.  Although it is one of the smallest parks, its vegetation is so diverse enabling it to host a variety of wildlife habitats.

The Ngorongoro crater is the world’s biggest whole volcanic caldera at 8300 sq km and is frequently described as one of the wonders of the world, not only because of its geological magnificence, but also because it serves as an extraordinary natural sanctuary for some of Africa’s largest populations of large mammals.  Ngorongoro and other freestanding mountains are volcanic in origin, formed during the fracturing process that created the Rift valley 15 to 20 million years ago. 

Day 2 - Oldeani Mountain
Departing the campsite after breakfast we drive up to Ngorongoro Village o­n the northern slopes of Oldeani (‘Bamboo’ in Maasai) Mountain.  The large dome-shaped peak overlooks the village with an ascent of about 1000m, mainly across open grassland, although there are also a few patches of bamboo. Reaching the summit (3188m) takes between 4 - 5 hours at a moderate walking pace.  From the peak you can look northeast across Ngorongoro and the whole Crater Highlands range, with excellent views all the way to Ol Doinyo Lengai if the weather is clear. To the northwest are Oldeani’s neighbouring peaks of Lemagrut and Sadiman. Overnight back at the Ngorongoro crater rim campsite.

Day 3 - Ngorongoro crater tour, Arusha
After breakfast we descend into the Ngorongoro Crater with our vehicle for the half-day crater Tour.  After lunch we break camp and depart back to Arusha town where you will be dropped off at your hotel.    

Ngorongoro Crater is one of Africa’s best-known wildlife viewing areas and one of Tanzania’s most visited.  Within its walls are a variety of animals and vegetation, including grasslands, swamps, forests, saltpans and a fresh water lake.  You are likely to see lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo, and many of the plains herbivores such as wildebeest, Thomson’s gazelle, zebra, reedbuck, as well as thousands of flamingos wading in the shallows of Lake Magadi – the soda lake at the craters base.