If you happen to have adventurous sleep fantasies, as in fantasies about sleep locations such as beneath the stars, or by the edge of a lake, or on the top of a mountain, then add the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge to your bucket list of travel destinations.
The Ngorongoro Crater lies west of Arusha in Tanzania. The crater is part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and is considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa. The Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest intact, inactive, unfilled volcanic caldera (collapsed land resulting from a volcano eruption). The Ngorongoro Crater is mostly open grassland. It does receive rain. At its centre is the Lake Magadi.
Wildlife thrives in the Ngorongoro Crater, approximately 35,000 animals, and most of them species found in East Africa. To be found are black rhinos, hippopotami, wildebeest, buffalo, gazelles, elands, cheetahs, lions and flamingos.
Right on the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater lies the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge. The lodge is designed in the style similar to the homesteads of the local Maasai, known as Manyatta, made of mud and sticks. The lodge offers colonial-style rooms blended with ‘African art elements”. Each room has a central space and balconies overlooking the Crater. Fire bowls are set at the entrances to the dining and living areas.
For activities the Crater Lodge offers walking safaris along the crater’s rim, tours through the Maasai village, game drives into the crater, excursions to the nearby Olduvai Gorge and visits to Lakes Ndutu and Eyasi. Private bush breakfasts and lunches are options.
The Ngorongoro Lodge is a perfect stop on your tour of Tanzania. Because of its central location, by Arusha and the Serengeti Plains, both popular tourist destinations, the lodge would be relatively convenient. It would also be an absolutely spectacular experience.
{pictures courtesy of abercrombie&kent and sunsafaris}
