Ngorongoro Crater in February

At a Glance:

Where is Ngorongoro Crater?:  The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is located 110 miles west of Arusha City in northern Tanzania. 

Why visit the Ngorongoro Crater?: Offering an incredible diversity of species and landscapes in a compact area the Ngorongoro is often referred to as a ‘garden of Eden’. The crater is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

When to visit the Ngorongoro Crater?: In between the short and long rains February offers beautiful green scenery, dry weather, and an abundance of wildlife on the crater floor including many newborn animals.

The three-million-year-old Ngorongoro Crater in northern Tanzania, which was once a massive volcano, is the world’s largest intact caldera. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of a few sites on the planet that offers such a diverse range of landscapes in such a small area. The iconic 2000-foot-deep crater serves as the focal point of this vast highland landscape. As you enter the park, your first sight of the crater will leave you awestruck. Discover a seemingly lost world, as you descend from the rim to the crater floor.

The crater’s flat surface is comprised of grasslands, acacia forests, lakes and freshwater springs, offering sustenance and shelter to thousands of species, including the Big Five, in one of the most spectacular wildlife havens on the planet.  The Ngorongoro Crater has rainy and dry seasons, rather than drastic changes in temperature. The ‘short rains’ end by late November or early December. This brief, rainy interlude brings new life to the crater, including an explosion of newborn animals, making January and February a particularly wonderful time to visit.