Mosquitoes in the Ngorongoro Crater: Malaria Line, Tsetse & the Rim Lodges (2026)

The CDC recommends malaria medicine for Tanzania below 5,900 feet. The rim lodges sit above that line and the crater floor right at it, but every crater trip passes through Karatu or Lake Manyara, which are lower. On the crater itself, cold nights keep bites down and tsetse have a reputation for being rare.

Yes, though the crater is the light-bite stop of the Northern Circuit. The rim is cold at night, and the crater has a reputation for few or no tsetse. The malaria question doesn't stop at the rim, though. The CDC's line for Tanzania is 5,900 feet, and the road to the crater runs through lower, warmer country.

Disease risk ModerateThe rim lodges sit above CDC's 5,900-ft malaria line and the floor at it, but Karatu and Lake Manyara are below, so the advice covers the trip; local malaria is very low.

Bite nuisance Hardly anyCold rim nights with few mosquitoes and a reputation for few or no tsetse; evenings at the lower stops on the way in are warmer and buggier.

CirculatingMalaria (Karatu, Lake Manyara)Sleeping sickness (CDC-listed, rare)Tick-bite fever (rim hikes)Rim above the malaria lineNo yellow fever vaccine advised

CDC noticesNo country-specific notice for mosquito-borne disease

Travel clinicCDC recommends malaria medicine for all areas of Tanzania below 5,900 ft (1,800 m), which takes in Karatu, Lake Manyara and the rest of the Northern Circuit. Yellow fever vaccine is generally not recommended; proof is required if you arrive from a country with yellow fever risk, including transits of more than 12 hours there.

When to goThe rim tends to be coldest around June–August, when biters are fewest. The long rains, roughly March–May, and the short rains of November–December tend to bring more mosquitoes to Karatu, Mto wa Mbu and Lake Manyara. CDC's malaria advice for the lower areas applies in every month.

Data checkedOctober 2026 · sources

Where the crater sits against the malaria line

The CDC gives Tanzania's malaria areas as "All areas below 1,800 m (5,900 ft) elevation" and lists "Atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, mefloquine, tafenoquine." The crater floor, about 100 square miles (264 km²), lies at about 5,900 feet (1,800 m), right at the line, and the walls rise about 1,600 feet (500 m) to the rim lodges, which sit above it. Mto wa Mbu, Lake Manyara and Karatu, on the road in from Arusha, are all below it. Our Tanzania briefing covers the rest of the country.

What we suggest you do with this: every crater trip passes through those lower places, so see a travel clinic about malaria medicine 4–6 weeks before departure and bring the whole Northern Circuit route, night by night. Our malaria-zone checklist covers the rest.

Local malaria is very low, though not zero. In a 2015 national school survey, Arusha Region, which includes Ngorongoro and Karatu, had the lowest prevalence in the country, under 0.1%. A small 2022 screening at Karatu's Lutheran hospital found parasites by PCR in 8 of 101 volunteers. The CDC's Level 2 Global Polio notice lists Tanzania, so be up to date on polio vaccine.

Tsetse and sleeping sickness

The crater has a reputation for few or no tsetse, though the parks on either side are known for them. Tsetse bite by day and home in on dark blue and black, so neutral long sleeves on the crater drive pay off in Tarangire and the Serengeti.

The CDC lists African sleeping sickness, spread by tsetse, for Tanzania. It is rare among visitors, but real. WHO's register of cases diagnosed outside endemic countries traces seven traveler infections to Tanzania in 2011–2020: five to the Serengeti, one to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and one to Mkomazi. The Ngorongoro case was a tourist diagnosed in Sweden in December 2012, and the Conservation Area takes in far more than the crater, including Ndutu. Six of the nine travelers in a 2001 sleeping sickness cluster had the crater on their itinerary, but their infections were traced to Tarangire and the Serengeti.

The rim, the floor and the road in

Rim lodges are cold at night and have a reputation for hot-water bottles and few mosquitoes. The lower stops are warmer, and evenings at Karatu's farm lodges and in Mto wa Mbu are the bite window of a crater trip. Put on picaridin 20% or DEET 20–30% before dinner there and sleep under the net. Check for ticks after rim hikes in long grass; the CDC lists African tick-bite fever for Tanzania.

The rim tends to be coldest around June to August, when biters are fewest. The long rains, roughly March to May, and the short rains, roughly November and December, tend to bring more mosquitoes to the lower stops, while the crater floor's swamps and Lake Magadi hold water all year.

Where you're going

highland

Rim lodges

Disease risk LowBite nuisance Hardly any

About 1,600 feet (500 m) above the crater floor and above CDC's malaria line. Nights are cold, and the rim has a reputation for few mosquitoes and no tsetse, so warm layers matter more than repellent up here.

safari

The crater floor

Disease risk ModerateBite nuisance Hardly any

About 5,900 feet (1,800 m), right at CDC's line, and visited by day. Tsetse have a reputation for being few or absent; neutral long sleeves on the game drive still cost nothing.

countryside

Karatu & the farm lodges

Disease risk ElevatedBite nuisance Occasional

Below CDC's line, so malaria medicine applies to nights here. A small 2022 screening at Karatu's Lutheran hospital found malaria parasites by PCR in 8 of 101 volunteers. Garden dinners at dusk are the bite window.

safari

Lake Manyara & Mto wa Mbu

Disease risk ElevatedBite nuisance Noticeable

Low and warm at the foot of the Rift escarpment, well below CDC's line, and a common stop on the way to the crater. Posters disagree about its tsetse, so dress for them.

The Serengeti and Tarangire briefings cover the parks on either side of the crater.

The Ngorongoro kit

Warm layers for the rim, repellent for the stops on the way.

Picaridin 20% travel sprays for evenings in Karatu and Mto wa Mbu. One 3.4 oz bottle covers about a week for one person.
Permethrin 0.5% for safari clothes: treat neutral long sleeves, trousers and socks at home 48 hours before you fly, for the tsetse parks on either side. It goes on clothing, never on skin.
A warm fleece or down layer for cold rim nights and early descents into the crater.

Carry-on trio → Permethrin → Full rankings

What travelers report

Paraphrased from TripAdvisor forum threads and linked so you can read them in full. Neither is dated, and the season and the rest of your route change the picture.

Northern Circuit parks (Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Arusha NP)
Posters ranked parks by tsetse: Tarangire was the most consistent hotspot with many pockets in bushy areas, the Serengeti was patchy (few at Seronera, more around Lobo and Kusini), and Ngorongoro Crater and Arusha National Park had few or none. They disagreed on which season is worst and advised avoiding dark blue and black clothing. TripAdvisor ↗
Ngorongoro Crater rim
Answering a question about tsetse in Arusha or Ngorongoro, a long-time poster said tsetse had not been a problem on the crater rim and that most people consider Ngorongoro too cold for them. TripAdvisor ↗

One rule outlasts the trip. Any fever during or after your trip means a doctor visit and a malaria test, and you tell the doctor which parks you visited and whether tsetse bit you. After nights below the malaria line, the rule holds for a full year.

Traveler questions

Do I need malaria pills for the Ngorongoro Crater?

The CDC recommends malaria prevention medicine for all areas of Tanzania below 5,900 feet (1,800 m). A night on the rim is above that line and the crater floor sits about at it, but the road in through Mto wa Mbu, Lake Manyara and Karatu is lower, and so are Tarangire and the Serengeti. Because every crater trip passes through those places, see a travel clinic about malaria medicine 4–6 weeks before departure. The clinic will say which medicine fits and how to take it around the rim nights.

Are there tsetse flies in the crater?

The crater has a reputation for few or none. Tsetse do bite in the parks on either side, Tarangire most of all, and they home in on dark blue and black, so neutral long sleeves on the crater drive pay off later in the trip. Our Tarangire briefing covers the worst of them.

Is sleeping sickness a risk at Ngorongoro?

It is rare among visitors, but real. WHO's register of cases diagnosed outside endemic countries traces one traveler infection in 2011–2020 to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a tourist diagnosed in Sweden in December 2012. The Conservation Area also takes in Ndutu and the western highlands, and the record doesn't say where in it she was infected. If you get a fever after the trip, tell the doctor about any tsetse bites as well as malaria.

Do I need a yellow fever certificate if I come from Kenya?

Possibly. The CDC says the vaccine is generally not recommended for Tanzania and isn't required on a direct trip from the US. Tanzania does require proof from travelers 1 year or older arriving from a country with yellow fever risk, including transits or layovers of more than 12 hours there. The CDC recommends the vaccine for most of Kenya, so if you're coming from the Mara, settle the certificate at the same clinic visit. Our Maasai Mara briefing covers that leg.

Sources

Health authorities, surveillance reports and news coverage of official bulletins used for this briefing, last checked October 2026. Traveler reports are linked where they appear. This page summarizes public-health guidance and is not medical advice.

The Ngorongoro rim is above the malaria line. The road to it is not.