Ngorongoro Conservation Area, located in northern Tanzania, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Africa’s most iconic wildlife destinations, best known for the Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera. Covering about 8,300 square kilometers, the conservation area is part of the greater Serengeti ecosystem and uniquely combines wildlife conservation with human habitation, including the Maasai people who live and graze their livestock within the area.

The Ngorongoro Crater, at about 610 meters (2,000 feet) deep and 19 kilometers wide, is a natural wildlife sanctuary supporting over 25,000 large animals, including lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, zebras, wildebeest, and the highly endangered black rhinoceros. It is one of the few places in Africa where you can see the “Big Five” in a single day. Beyond the crater, the broader conservation area features highland forests, volcanic peaks, and archaeological sites such as Olduvai Gorge, often called the “Cradle of Mankind”, where some of the earliest human fossils were discovered.