NGORONGORO CRATER HIGHLANDS

ATTRACTIONS IN THE NGORONGORO CRATER HIGHLANDS.

NDUTU WOODLANDS: Acacia trees, resident giraffes, impala and elephants  in the dry season.

MOUNT OLDEANI: Forested crater.

LAKE EYASI :The largest soda lake in Tanzania, with diverse cultures settled around the area. Explore the real Bushmen, the Hadzabe and the Datoga tribe.

LAKE NATRON:Engaresero river gorge, breeding flamingos in the soda lake and rift cliffs.

EMPAKAAI CRATER: No roads and no humans inhabitants, a crater which contains forests and deep lake, where flocks of flamingos can be spotted. The caldera is six kilometers wide and the lake occupies nearly half of its floor. The scenery is spectacular at every point. From the northern and eastern side you can look out to the dramatic cone of Oldonyo Lengai,the Great Rift valley and Lake Natron.On the valleys eastern side you might see the snowcapped peak of Kilimanjaro. It is possible to camp on the rim and hike into the crater with an armed ranger.

OLMOTI CRATER: This shallow grassy crater is the source of the Munge river,which pours through a north in the rim iin a spectacular waterfall on its way to Ngorongoro crater. Participate in a pleasant walk from Nainokanoka ranger post, through the forest up to the top of the waterfall.

OLDONYO LENGAI:An active volcano, with the possibility of climbing to the very  top of the crater.Adventurous visitors sometimes struggle up its steep slopes to visit the steaming ,bubbling crater,but most prefer to view its symmetrical cone from a distance.Oldonyo Lengai is the Masai language for “Mountain of God”.

LERAI FOREST:”Lerai” is a Maasai word for yellow barked acacia or fever tree. The small forest patches on the crater floor,are homes to Monkeys,baboons,bushbucks,waterbucks,elephants and rhinos.A picninc site with ablution facilities is located in this forest.

LAKE MAKAT:This soda lake is filled by the Munge river.It is a great attractions for Flamingoes and other water birds which come to feed here.Predators hide in the Marsh to ambush the large animals that come to drink from the pools andriver.In the severe dry season the lake often dries up completely.

OLKARIEN GORGE: The dramatic cliffs of this narrow gorge in the Gol mountains are the breeding site for hundreds of Rupp ell’s Griffon Vulture during the rains. In the dry season, the Maasai bring their cattle into the gorge to drink.