The Ngorongoro volcano was formed during the tumultuous birth of the Great Rift Valley 2 to 3 million years ago.

Probably taller than Kilimanjaro, Ngorongoro today, is a caldera (collapsed volcano), and a wildlife haven sheltering black rhino, black maned lions, flamingoes & giant tusked elephants.

Ngorongoro means 'a cold place' in Maasai and the great cedar, olive & pillar trees found in the evergreen temperate forest around the crater, are often wreathed in veils of swirling mist and their branches festooned with lichen, mosses & ferns.

Do not be surprised if you see an elephant lurch out of this thick green foliage. Below the forest, on the floor of the crater, the vegetation is typical savanna and the weather is warm.

The crater walls can barely be seen through the distant blue haze, and you can almost imagine that you are in a prehistoric era. Archaeologists have in fact discovered rock workings by late Stone Age Man on the eastern side of the crater.

Also discovered by Mary Leakey in nearby Laetoli, are the earliest known footprints of Early Man. A soda lake, formed by the mixture of volcanic ash & rain, is found in the center of the crater, and in the south is found the beautiful crystal clear fresh water lake of Makat.

There is a large variety of game to be found in this untamed Eden, with the exception of impala & giraffe (their long legs cannot climb the steep slopes). Close by, in the Ngorongoro Highlands is the 'Cradle of Mankind' - Olduvai Gorge.

It is here that the remains of Zinjanthropus' (1.75 million years old), and of Homo Habilus, were discoevered by the Leakey family, together with other exciting finds. A museum has been set up here, where talks are given on the scientific significance of the finds.