27 places with verified coordinates · 12 with photo
Day trip from Arusha · 11 hours · GetYourGuide
Full-day safari to the Ngorongoro Crater from Arusha ↗Hotel pick-up in Arusha.
Three-day safari from Arusha · small group · GetYourGuide
3-day Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater camping safari from Arusha ↗Pick-up between 6 and 7 in the morning at accommodation in Arusha; drop-off between 17:30 and 18:30 at your accommodation or Arusha Airport.
Viator
From Arusha: Ngorongoro Crater day trip with picnic ↗Pick-up within 7 to 10 km (4.3 to 6.2 mi) of central Arusha; further away for a surcharge.Day trip from Karatu · private · GetYourGuide
From Arusha/Karatu: Ngorongoro Crater Day Trip with Lunch ↗Hotel pick-up in Karatu, at Lake Manyara Airport or at Arusha Airport; drop-off at any of the three.
Walk with a ranger · authority · Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA)
Walks with an authority ranger: Empakaai, Olmoti and the crater rim ↗Starting points depend on the destination: Nainokanoka for Olmoti, the rim of Empakaai, the crater rim; book in advance through the authority or your tour operator.
Balloon · Ndutu launch · sunrise · Viator
Balloon Safari & Bush Breakfast, Ndutu launch option ↗Start on the mapAd · partner links: we may earn a commission if you book. Offer details checked 2 Oct 2026; dates and prices with the provider.
Lake NdutuCalving area of the migration, December to March
Ngoitokitok SpringsPicnic site in the crater, hippos
Shifting SandsMigrating ash dune
Surroundings · Town before the gate, lodges, NCAA office
The last town before the conservation area, 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from Loduare Gate, with an information office of the authority beside the road to the crater. Many lodges and farmhouses for your visit are here, outside the fee zone.
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-3.33866, 35.67335
Nature · Nearest airstrip, 74 km (46 mi)
The authority names the airstrip at Lake Manyara as the nearest local airport, 74 kilometres (46 mi) from the conservation area; Kilimanjaro International Airport is 227 kilometres (141 mi) away, Arusha Airport 174 (108 mi).
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-3.37543, 35.81842
Arrival · Main gate, 6:00 to 18:00
The main entrance, with a reception centre, information and customer service. Almost all the main attractions are reached from here. You are asked to pay online in advance; the gate opens at 6:00 and closes at 18:00.
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-3.29869, 35.59237
Viewpoint · First view into the crater
The viewpoint on the southern rim where almost every tour stops: 600 metres (1,969 ft) below lies the crater floor with Lake Magadi, and the northern wall rises opposite.
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-3.26437, 35.57386
Where to stay · Lodge on the southern rim
One of the eleven lodges in the conservation area, in the forest behind the crater rim. For lodges inside the NCA, the authority charges a concession fee per person per night.
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-3.25691, 35.52497
Where to stay · Lodge on the rim, at the Lerai ascent
Right on the crater rim above the Lerai Ascent Road, with a view over the whole basin.
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-3.24417, 35.51150
Mountains & rock · Road up out of the crater
The classic way out of the crater in the south, from Lerai Forest up to the rim. Every vehicle must have left the crater floor by 18:00.
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-3.24471, 35.51567
Arrival · Old authority headquarters, information, fuel station
The authority's old headquarters on the crater rim, with an information point and a fuel station; the police station and a dispensary are nearby.
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-3.24501, 35.48766
Where to stay · Only public campsite, 200 people
The only public campsite in the conservation area, 19 kilometres (11.8 mi) from Loduare Gate, a good 600 metres from the airstrip on the rim, for more than 200 people a night. US$35.40 per person per night for visitors from outside East Africa.
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-3.22842, 35.49040
SurroundingsWhere to stay · Lodge on the western rim
On the western rim near the Seneto descent; according to the authority, five of the six large lodges stand on the crater rim.
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-3.20954, 35.47817
Mountains & rock · Road down into the crater, gate 6:00 to 16:00
The descent on the western side. The gates to the crater floor open at 6:00 and close at 16:00; no entry is possible after that.
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-3.16717, 35.48429
Surroundings · Designated Maasai village
One of the official cultural bomas where visits and photos are allowed; entry according to the tariff list is US$20 per vehicle. Outside these villages, photographing residents is prohibited.
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-3.15039, 35.47463
Water · Soda lake on the crater floor, flamingos
The shallow salt lake in the south-west of the crater floor, often with thousands of lesser flamingos and other waterbirds.
A shallow salt lake in the south-west of the floor, often fringed with pink.
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-3.19364, 35.54045
Nature · Fever tree forest, elephants
The fever tree forest on the southern edge of the floor, between Lake Magadi and the Lerai ascent. This is where the crater's old elephant bulls stand.
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-3.21991, 35.51928
Mountains & rock · Picnic site in the crater, hippos
The spring-fed pool in the east of the floor, home to hippos, is the usual lunch stop on day trips. Picnics at designated sites are free; hot served meals need a permit per vehicle.
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-3.21031, 35.60120
Water · River from Olmoti into the crater
The Munge comes down from the Olmoti Crater over a waterfall and feeds the swamps of the crater floor.
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-3.13125, 35.64183
Where to stay · Lodge on the eastern rim, Lemala road
On the eastern rim by the Lemala road, the only road used both as a descent and as an ascent.
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-3.15404, 35.67630
Surroundings · Maasai village, starting point for Olmoti
The village at the foot of the Olmoti Crater, with a dispensary. From here the trail leads, with a ranger, to the rim of Olmoti.
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-3.02902, 35.69129
Mountains & rock · Shallow grassy crater, 6.5 km (4 mi), 3,080 m (10,105 ft)
A shallow, grass-covered basin north of the Ngorongoro, named after the Maasai word for cooking pot. Only on foot with an armed ranger, with a view of Lolmalasin, the third-highest mountain in Tanzania.
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-3.01154, 35.64968
Water · Crater lake with flamingos, rim up to 3,200 m (10,499 ft)
Eight kilometres (5 mi) across, half covered by a deep soda lake, with forested walls 300 metres (984 ft) high. The descent to the lake is a walk with a ranger; on clear days you can see Ol Doinyo Lengai from the rim.
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-2.90919, 35.82795
Surroundings · Active volcano outside the area, geopark
The Maasai's “Mountain of God” lies outside the conservation area but is part of the Ngorongoro-Lengai Geopark; its ash builds the Shifting Sands.
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-2.75955, 35.91409
Nature · Key site of human origins
The gorge where Mary and Louis Leakey found Zinjanthropus, Homo habilis and Homo erectus from the 1930s onwards. World Heritage Site since 1979; a visit costs US$35.40 per person.
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-2.97644, 35.33789
History · New museum on the gorge rim
Six kilometres (3.7 mi) from the main road, where the main and side gorges meet: the museum opened in 2019, with fossils, tools and the history of the excavations.
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-2.99618, 35.35235
Mountains & rock · Migrating ash dune
A crescent-shaped black dune of Lengai ash, five metres high, which moves 15 to 29 metres (49 to 95 ft) west every year. Twelve kilometres (7.5 mi) north-west of the museum.
The west of the conservation area holds the reason why it has also been cultural heritage since 2010.
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-2.94504, 35.31460
Mountains & rock · Calving area of the migration, December to March
The Ndutu plains on the edge of the Serengeti are the calving ground of the wildebeest migration; the authority names late December to March as the best time. A lodge, two tented camps and the second airstrip are here.
Guided from here · Ad
Partner links: we may earn a commission if you book. Dates and prices with the provider.
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-3.00326, 34.99701
Arrival · Border with the Serengeti, Naabi Gate
Naabi Hill is the site of the gate between the conservation area and Serengeti National Park; if you pass through, you pay for both areas.
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-2.83307, 34.99791
Surroundings · Hospital in the conservation area
Endulen Hospital is the clinic inside the NCA; for emergencies the authority provides an ambulance to larger clinics outside.
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-3.21938, 35.26944
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