A single rock in an enormous plain
Nasera Rock stands about 20 kilometres north of Olduvai Gorge, a few kilometres beyond the Shifting Sands and behind the Gol Mountains, in the north-western part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority gives it as a 50-metre inselberg in the south-western part of the Gol Mountains, and suggests it may be the largest fully exposed and complete inselberg in the region.
The name comes from the Maasai word Naasira, meaning striped, written or drawn, after the drawings on the rock. The NCAA attributes those to Maasai use of the site in the past, when it served as temporary settlement and shelter.
What is there
The rock has been excavated since the 1930s and the NCAA records that it has been internationally recognised for decades through that archaeological material. The authority places the rock in the same age bracket as those in the South Hills and at the Bao site, which it gives as 859 to 500 million years.
Above ground the attraction is the position rather than the object. The NCAA lists scenic views of the landscape, wildebeest and birds among what there is to see, and rock climbing, camping and birdwatching among what there is to do. This is short-grass plains country that the migration crosses; what is standing around the rock depends entirely on the month.
Getting up it, and getting to it
It is possible to climb to the top from the eastern side, which has a gentle slope, accompanied by a ranger guide. That is the NCAA’s own answer to the question of whether the climb is suitable for children, and it is the only description of the ascent the authority publishes. There is no published route, grade or duration.
Access is the real constraint. Nasera is 32 kilometres from the Mary Leakey museum and 33 from the Olduvai Gorge Museum by the NCAA’s own distances, across country that is remote even by the standards of this conservation area, and the authority operates a gate at Nasera Rock. As everywhere in the conservation area, walking must be accompanied by an armed ranger and arranged in advance.
Practically, this is a site for people who are already spending time in the northern part of the conservation area, camping, or walking the route through towards Lake Natron. It does not work as a detour from a crater day. See camping safaris and day hiking.
Whether it is worth it
Nasera rewards a particular kind of traveller and will underwhelm everyone else. There is no interpretation on site, no facilities, and the published archaeology is a statement that excavation has happened rather than a description of what is visible. What there is: a fifty-metre granite block rising out of flat grassland with rock drawings on it, an unobstructed view over the Gol country, and almost nobody else. If that is the trip, it is excellent. If the trip is a northern circuit with two days at Ngorongoro, it is not reachable.
Common questions
Can you climb Nasera Rock?
Yes, from the eastern side, which the NCAA describes as a gentle slope, accompanied by a ranger guide. No route, grade or duration is published.
How high is it?
The NCAA gives 50 metres, which it also states as 165 feet.
How far is it from Olduvai?
About 20 kilometres north of the gorge. The NCAA gives 32 kilometres from the Mary Leakey museum and 33 kilometres from the Olduvai Gorge Museum.