Approximately 40,000 Maasai people live in the conservation area, this is the reason why Ngorongoro is not a national park.  Instead, it is a conservation area they share the land with an incredible amount of wildlife. Ngorongoro Crater has around 30,000 animals ranging from leopard, cheetah, elephant, zebra, buffalo, wildebeest, and hyena to warthog and impala. It’s also one of the best places to see the endangered black rhino and black-manned male lions. You can’t find any giraffes in the crater.

It’s thought they can’t enter as the sides are too steep for them to walk down. However, you still able to find them around the crater.  The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is one of the most important prehistoric sites in the world. The fossils discovered there are said to be the earliest known evidence of the human species. Ngorongoro Crater is also referred to as ‘the Garden of Eden’ due to its dazzling beauty and a paradise for animals.

The Empakai Crater is an ancient volcano caldera with a lush forest, with birds of every feather flitting between the strangler figs and bushbucks lurking in the thicket. The endless Tanzania plains, the snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro, and Tanzania’s most recently active volcano can all be seen from the crater’s edge. You can see Oldonio Lengai, Mount Kilimanjaro, and the Great Rift Valley from the Crater’s rim. Walking down the crater you can also have a magnificent view of Mount Lengai. The Crater’s rim offers two special campsites. The Empakaai Crater and the Olmoti Crater have similar vegetation and birdlife. The Empakaai Crater is marvelous for wildlife. Among the animals living in this area are. The Bearded Vulture, the Augur Buzzard, blue Monkeys, Bushbuck, waterbucks, and buffaloes.

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is one of the world’s most significant prehistoric sites. Within the conservation area, Dr. Leaky found the remains of the handyman, a skeleton indicating their early stages of evolution. The fossils discovered there are said to be the earliest known evidence of the human species’ origin in Africa. The smart new museum overlooking the Gorge, which opened in October 2017, is the highlight of an Olduvai Gorge tour. You will also have the opportunity to listen to a brief presentation by a resident guide while you are here. Explore the museum’s numerous parts to learn about the site’s past and the various fossils that can be found there. See a replica of the nearby Laetoli Footprints, which provide some of the earliest signs of bipedalism. Learn about the local hominines and prehistoric mammals, and speak with a resident specialist about the area’s importance as well as the current research

Those who want to make a day of it should visit the Shifting Sands, which are located north of Olduvai Gorge. Under the influence of the region’s unidirectional wind. A crescent-shaped dune of fine black ash travels gradually across the plain at a rate of approximately 55 feet/ 17 meters per year. The Maasai claim the ash originated on Ol Doinyo Lengai Mountain, a holy site whose name translates to “Mountain of God” in English. This impressive cone-shaped mountain sees in the distance from Olduvai Gorge on a clear day.