Ngorongoro Crater by SafarEase

 The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (Ngorongoro) was declared a conservation area in 1959 and at that point was separated from the Serengeti National Park.  The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority is the governing body, both regulating use and access to the Ngorongoro. The area became a UNESCO world heritage site in 1979.  It is still considered part of the Serengeti Ecosystem and is adjoined to the Serengeti at it's north-east  point, and is contiguous with the southern Serengeti plains.         Ngorongoro extends in the north to the unprotected Liliondo division which is kept open to wildlife through transhuman pastoralism practiced by the Maasai people.  The south and west of the area feature high volcanic lands, including the caldera famously known as the Ngorongoro Crater, and the lesser known Empakai. The awe-inspiring feature Ngorongoro Crater is actually the largest unbroken caldera in the world.  

  The Ngorongoro has a healthy resident population of most species of wildlife, with the highest density of mammalian predators in Africa living in the crater.  These include black rhino, which have declined from about 108 in 1964-66 to just 11 to 14 rhinos in 1995.  Also included are hippotamus which are very uncommon in the area, and many other animals such as lions, elephant, buffalo, gazelles, zebras, hyenas and wilderbeast to name a few.  The area is unique in Tanzania as the only conservation area providing protection status for wildlife whilst allowing human habitation.