Fact Sheets & Video - Tanzania

Arusha in Tanzania is the starting point of the safari to the Ngorongoro Crater. On the way you are likely to see many of the tribal groups that make up the Tanzanian population. Tanzania is home to some incredible tribal diversity.

The country includes all of the major ethnic and linguistic groups in Africa - an amazingly varied population to inhabit a single country. Home to approximately 120 tribal groups, most of these comprise small communities that are gradually being assimilated into the larger population due to changes in land use and the economic draw of city life.

The Maasai are the most well known of Tanzania's tribes and inhabit the northern regions of the country. Pastoralists who fiercely guard their culture and traditions, Maasai tribal life revolves around their cattle and finding ample grazing land in their region.

The tribes live in circular enclosures called manyatas, where small mud huts surround a secure open circle where their cattle and other herd animals sleep protected during the night. Woven thorn bushes form a thick fence around the enclosure to protect the herds from attacks by lions and other predators. Because good grazing land fluctuates according to the seasons and yearly rains, Maasai settlements are temporary and easily relocated to where grazing and water access is best. The Ngorongoro Crater and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area are without a doubt some of the most beautiful parts of Tanzania. The Ngorongoro Crater is the largest intact volcanic crater in the world. Land of the Maasai, their cattle and other fauna, this protected area is located in the Great Rift Valley.

Volcanoes, mountains, plains, lakes, forests and archaeological sites form this magnificent landscape. Ngorongoro is a protected area, and only indigenous tribes such as the Maasai are allowed to live within its borders.

There are 25,000 larger animals within the crater itself, mostly zebra and wildebeest. However, this is undoubtedly the best place to see black rhino in Tanzania as well as lions including the magnificent black-maned males. There are lots of colourful flamingos and a variety of other water birds around the soda lake on the crater floor.

More than a 100 species of bird not found in the Serengeti have been found in the crater. On your safari you are more than likely to spot leopard, cheetah, hyena, elephants, warthog, impala, buffalo, hartebeest, eland and lots of other members of the antelope family and smaller mammals of sorts.

At the end of the day after exploring this amazing landscape you will need somewhere to stay. The Ngorongoro Crater Lodge is the perfect place to relax, located 2,300 metres above sea level. From here you can join Peregrine Adventure's small group 6 day Tanzanian Lodge Safari. It includes two nights in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and one full day in the absolutely incredible Ngorongoro Crater.