Ngorongoro Crater area

It is located east of the Serengeti and about 160 kilometers west of Arusha. Created in 1959, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. It occupies 180 square kilometers of surface. It is inhabited by the Maasai people. The Ngorongoro Crater, of incredible dimensions (20 kilometers in diameter and 600 meters deep), is the largest intact caldera in the world. A large permanent concentration of wild animals, among them, the big five, because here the black rhinoceros, although very threatened, can be seen since it is found in the enormous and perfect crater. Nearby are the Empakaai crater, with a deep lake, and the active volcano of Oldonyo Lenga. Excavations carried out in the Olduvai Gorge, not far from there, have uncovered one of our most distant ancestors, Homo habilis. The Laitoli site, also within the area, is one of the main areas where hominid footprints are located, dating back to 3.6 million years ago.