The Ngorongoro Conservation Area, which spans 8,292 square kilometers of savanna, highland plains, savanna woods, and forests, is one of Tanzania’s most popular tourist sites. The Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s biggest intact volcanic caldera, the resident pastoralist community, and the local wildlife, which includes Africa’s ‘Big Five’ – the African elephant, Cape buffalo, rhinoceros, African lion, and African leopard – are all worldwide known. The protected region also protects a number of endangered species and is home to one of the world’s greatest animal migrations, making it a global priority for biodiversity conservation.

Tribal groups live in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, preserving their traditional way of life and coexisting with the area’s wildlife. The protected region also includes many important paleontological and archaeological sites where Hominid fossils going back three million years have been uncovered. In 1979, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area was designated as a natural property on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and in 2010, it was designated as a cultural property.