Ngorongoro Crater Hotels & Resorts

Enjoy a special bush lunch right on the Ngorongoro Crater floor, surrounded by wildlife. As you drive into the private picnic spot, you will smell the barbecue cooking. There’s a range of freshly-cooked hot meat as well as salads and sides to enjoy. As you eat, you’re surrounded by beautiful scenery; swamps where hippos wallow and acacia trees are filled with birds and monkeys.

Ngorongoro Tented Camp is just a 15-minute drive from the crater, so you’re usually the first ones there around 6.30am, ready to explore the heritage site’s diverse mix of lakes, forests and plains which are home to a large concentration of wildlife. Before lunch, you'll spend a few hours looking for members of the Big Five, migratory birds and grazing game, not to mention endangered rhinos who thrive on the crater floor.

Treat yourself to an indulgent spa day at Elewana The Manor Ngorongoro. Nestled within the Shangri La Coffee plantation and surrounded by hills, the stately home is the ideal place to enjoy a rest day on your Tanzania trip.

Start with a dip in the pool and then head to the spa, where there is a peaceful treatment room. The skilled therapists offer a range of massages with various oils, tailored to your personal needs, as well as manicures, pedicures and facials with Healing Earth products.

The High Tea experience is the perfect way to follow your spa session. A charcuterie served with a selection of cured meats, cheese, pickles and preserves, as well as fresh fruit, artisan breads and two sweet options. The focus is on healthy options, moving away from gluten and starch, served with plenty of fresh coffee from the estate. You can enjoy the High Tea in the lounge, dining room or out in the gardens, where you can admire views of the rolling green hills.

Have a picnic inside the world’s fourth largest caldera, Ngorongoro Crater, which is known for its diverse landscapes and concentration of wildlife. If you come to Tanzania and don’t visit the crater, you’re missing out. It’s a great place for guaranteed animal sightings, perfect if you don’t have a long safari planned. During rainy season, you might spot endangered black rhinos and there are at least five prides of lion living on the crater floor.

After breakfast, you'll be driven to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, descending 600 metres into its famous crater. Set in the highlands, the crater was formed by a volcanic collapse over 2.5 million years ago and has several different ecosystems inside. There’s rich riverine forests home to monkeys and huge bull elephants, Lake Magadi which draws flamingos and open savannahs where carnivores hunt. The game drive takes you through the crater, past various species of antelopes, buffaloes and all kinds of birds by the water.

Lunch is at one of the picnic spots near the marsh area, where you get spectacular sightings of hippos and black kites swooping through the air. The wildlife viewing in the crater is just phenomenal and you never know what you’ll encounter. It's a real snapshot of life in the wild.