The descent into the Ngorongoro Crater is one of the great moments of any Tanzania safari. The road drops 600 metres through forest to a floor where elephant, lion, hyena, buffalo and black rhino live in a space you can see across.
Crater permits allow six hours on the floor, so we enter as early as the gate allows, while the lions are still hunting and before the day visitors arrive. Lunch is at the Ngoitokitok picnic site beside a hippo pool.
Our crater tips article explains what to wear, where to picnic and how to find rhino.
