The Ngorongoro crater is pretty incredible in many ways. Just descending down the dirt path from the crater's edge for one. The old elephants with their incredibly long tusks for another. The occasional rhino if you're super lucky.

The thing is, I think it's best if you see the Norongoro Crater first before the Serengeti. It's really a compact taste. I went to the Serengeti first before the crater, and while I was impressed with what I did see, it just couldn't compare in sheer grandeur, variety of wildlife, and sense of being out in the wilderness. So I guess I was a bit let down.

That said though, it's like nothing I've ever seen before, so definitely worth a visit.

The Ngorongoro Crater is home to some of the greatest concentrations of wildlife in the world. Some of the many highlights include elephants, leopards, and zebras. The zebras made for some interesting sights as they blocked the road ahead of us. There are even some rare black rhinos in the park, although you need to be a bit lucky to get close to one. They like to stop moving far from the vehicle paths. On the downside, the crater can get quite crowded with other safari vehicles, so you lose some of the "in the wild" feel. As well, the animals tend to be a bit more acclimatized to humans than the Serengeti.

Awesome concentration of wild life in this amazing place. It is definitely worth checking out just for the sheer variety off animals seen in one safari. The only thing that was very dissappointing was the large number of vehicles allowed in to the park at one time and the seemingly scant regard for keeping a respectful distance from wild life. For example, we were lucky enough to be one of the first vehicles to happen apon a pride of lions stalking wilderbeast. We made sure our driver stayed back so not to interfere. Unfortunately, news got around and within 10 minutes there were 20+ vehicles in the area trying to get as close as possible. So much so, the lions gave up their stalking as it was impossible with so many vehicles going off road to get close. We were so disgusted, we left! Very disappointing this was allowed.

We actually camped in a Bush Camp on the crater rim the night before we drove into the crater. It was freezing cold because the rim is quite a way up. The wildlife within the Ngorongoro is extraordinary! So concentrated yet so diverse! We spotted an elephant that our guide estimated to be 75 years old! Our group went to the Serengeti first for 2 nights in Bush camps before visiting Ngorongoro and I must say, I saw more animals outside the Serengeti than inside. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (and Crater, od course) was teeming with wildlife and it seemed to stop as soon as we passed the Serengeti's Gate. When you see Ngorongoro (so called because of the Massai goat's bells that make a sound like ngoro ngoro when they move) it is hard to imagine that it used to be a massive volcano, roughly the size of Kilimanjaro!

Absolutely incredible! I loved my visit to the crater, and had an amazing night camping on the rim high above the night before our visit. The animal concentration was amazing, and we seemed to be there at the right time - all of the zebras and wildebeest were returning from migration and there were dozens of babies in tow! We saw lions, elephants, rhinos, wildebeest and zebras in hoardes, and thousands of flamingos! The only thing you won't see in the crater are giraffes, because the hill is too steep for them to walk down into the crater...we saw an elephant slowly making his way down from the rim, and it looked a little harrowing for the big guy! Definitely a spot not to miss on a trip to Tanzania!