BEST TIME TO VISIT NGORONGORO FOR A NORTHERN TANZANIA SAFARI

Ngorongoro is a dynamic geological ecosystem which has been changing slowly over the millennia since it was inhabited by three-toed horses and giant pigs as big as the threatened rhinos of today. The horses and pigs are now extinct, but the rhinos can be saved. Slowly, the population is changing. A few of the residents are seasonal.

A few join the vast waves of migratory herds crossing the wider conservation area outside the crater in search of fresh forage. The majority remains within the crater, supplied with year-round water and pasture within its protecting caldera walls, but climate change is reducing even that! Unfortunately, the indigenous people are also threatened by the same rampant globalization that wipes out rare animals for their horns and tusks, and menaces of the flamingo breeding grounds in Lake Natron to the hypocritical stand of the Tanzanian government in support of the hunting industry in the deep outskirts of Ngorongoro-Serengeti wilderness.



AfricanMecca believes that if any of these are to be protected, they must be seen, understood, loved and remembered. This is what travel in Africa is all about. In the short-term, seasonal climate fluctuations, migration and breeding patterns influence your choice of the best time to visit the Ngorongoro. It depends on your special interests.

All seasons have their advantages with some variation in price of accommodation only. From November to December, the short rains bring hot and humid weather necessitating precautions against mosquitoes, but the crater rim is cooler. Here, warm clothes may still be necessary for early mornings and evenings.



Around January - February, there is a mass calving of wildebeest on the Ngorongoro grasslands outside the crater area, with thousands of newborn, offering amazing photo opportunities. The wobble-legged infants stagger to their feet within minutes, carefully shielded by their mothers, but still falling prey to their entourage of prowling predators, ground hugging lion cubs practicing their hunts, fast-moving cheetahs, leopard, jackals and hump-backed hyenas.

From mid-March to May the long rains keep the plains lush and green. This is the green (low) season for northern Tanzania bush holidays attracting visitors looking to take advantage of reduced prices before the peak season kicks in June. But it is the prime viewing time for speckled bird-watching adventures with AfricanMecca in various habitats accessible in the crater. Avi-migrants sampled include the pallid and montague’s harriers, caspian lapwing and rosy-breasted longclaw.



Ground nesting birds include splay-footed ostriches, grotesque kori bustards and freakish secretary birds, together with elegant grey crowned cranes. Tree nesters range from huge white backed vultures to tiny rufous tailed weavers and blue mantled superb starlings. Augur buzzards and long-crested eagles soar above the caldera rim while thousands of lesser flamingos and other waders form a pink haze on central Lake Magadi. The dry season lasts from June to October.

It is extremely popular because game is more visible in arid landscapes and keeps close to water. Many species can easily be spotted at a time including the possibility of the Big Five on a single day. Temperatures vary from mild to deep warm on the crater floor with daytime highs of 66-82 F (19-23 C) to quite chilly with nighttime lows of 46-52 F (8-11 C) on the crater rim and highlands. Don’t make any mistake. The best time to take a Ngorongoro heritage trip is NOW, before, like the three-toed pig, it disappears forever.