Olduvai Gorge, in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, is one of the world’s most important paleoanthropological sites. Excavations begun by Louis and Mary Leakey uncovered hominin fossils and stone tools spanning nearly two million years, and the nearby Laetoli site preserves 3.6-million-year-old footprints — among the earliest evidence of upright walking.
The site’s small museum displays some of the tools and fossils recovered here, while the gorge itself, cut by a seasonal river through nearly two million years of sediment, remains an active area of paleoanthropological research.
Best time to visit
Year-round; the site and museum sit conveniently on the road between Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti.
How to experience it with us
We include Olduvai as an enriching stop on Serengeti-bound safaris — allow two hours for the museum and viewpoint talk.