Olduvai Gorge

Olduvai Gorge is the birthplace of human kind! It was here, in the early twentieth century, that the famous archaeologist Dr. Louis Leakey uncovered some of the earliest remains of fossil hominids. With the constant search for an answer to where we came from and what we are, culturally and biologically, this visit offers an appropriate education for the future in a shrinking, multicultural world. Olduvai gives us a better understanding of our evolutionary history and thus ensures our future success and well-being as a species.

The name Olduvai originated from a European misspelling of Oldupai, the correct Maasai word for this region of great historical importance—named after the wild sisal plants growing in abundance in the gorge. The gorge is a very steep-sided ravine roughly 30 (48 km) miles long and 295 ft (90 m) deep. According to paleoanthropologists, the deposits show rich fossil fauna that cover a time span from about 2,100,000 to 15,000 years ago. While you are on your Northern Circuit tour, you should consider making a stop at this famous archaeological site located in the eastern Serengeti Plains and within the Ngorongoro Conservation area authority.