Olduvai Gorge (Oldupai Gorge) Leaving the Ngorongoro Crater Rim, Olduvai Gorge entrance and museum is 30km on
the road towards the Serengeti. (Half way along this stretch a Maasai show
village may be visited at a reasonable fee which permits photography and a look
at how Maasai live in this area). The museum at the Olduvai provides an excellent photographic history of
research carried out in the gorge with a summary of the main archaeological
findings. The importance of the area relates as much to its location as the way
the strata of ash and other deposits have been layered then conveniently
exposed during the formation of the gorge itself. Louis Leakey was the first of the Leakey family to visit the area in the early
1920s. His trip was funded by the British Museum in which his role was that of
a research assistant. Subsequently his family have become associated with
pre-historical archaeological research throughout East Africa. Outstanding
discoveries include that of the famous footprints of a family of hominids
dating back 3.5 million years by Mary Leakey. A nominal fee is charged to visit the museum and it is possible to hire a guide
for a another nominal fee to take you into the gorge for a walking tour. The
gorge is fairly extensive and attractive cutting through the plains and it is
possible to spend a day exploring it but do not expect to see many
archaeological finds, which can however be seen in the museum.
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