Oldupai Museum

Northern Tanzania


The small Oldupai Museum on the rim of Oldupai Gorge stands on one of the most significant archaeological sites on earth. It was here in 1959 that Mary Leakey discovered a 1.8-million-year-old ape-like skull from an early hominin (human-like being) now known as Australopithecus boisei. This discovery, along with that of fossils of over 60 early hominids (including Homo habilis and Homo erectus) forever changed the way we understood the dawn of human history. Sadly, the museum is a work in progress.

An EU-funded museum has been under construction at the site for years, but work seems to have stalled – 2018 is the latest official estimate of when the new museum will open. Despite this, admission fees have risen massively in recent years, prompting some safari companies to encourage their guests to boycott the museum until the new museum is completed. Don't join the boycott, though: admission is indeed overpriced for what you get, but the site is still hugely significant and, unless you're likely to have the chance to return, it's a must-see.

In its unrenovated form, the small, two-room museum documents the foundation of the gorge, fossil finds and the legacy of Mary Leakey and her husband, Louis. One room is dedicated to Oldupai, the other to Laetoli. It's a fascinating collection, if poorly presented. You can then walk (or drive) into the gorge (where a small stone signpost marks the place where the fossils were discovered). You can also head out to the shifting sands, a 9m-high, 100m-long black dune of volcanic ash that has blown across the plain from Ol Doinyo Lengai. If you wish to take a guide it will, naturally, cost extra.

The turn-off to the museum is 27km northwest of Ngorongoro Crater's Seneto descent road, and from the turn-off it's a further 5.5km along a rutted track to the museum.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Northern Tanzania attractions

1. Ngorongoro Conservation Area

12.89 MILES

This astounding conservation area and Unesco World Heritage Site encompasses the Ngorongoro Crater, Oldupai Gorge and much of the Crater Highlands. It can…

2. Laetoli

17.3 MILES

About 45km south of Oldupai Gorge at remote Laetoli is a 27m-long trail of 3.7-million-year-old hominid footprints, probably made by Australopithecus…

3. Ngorongoro Crater

20.07 MILES

At 19km wide and with a surface of 264 sq km, Ngorongoro is one of the largest unbroken calderas in the world that isn’t a lake. Its steep walls soar 400m…

4. Olmoti Crater

22.52 MILES

Though lacking the drama of Ngorongoro and Empakaai, Olmoti Crater, 13km north of the Lemala ascent-descent road, is worth visiting on your way north into…

5. Gol Mountains

25.34 MILES

Some places are so far off well-travelled routes that there are no tracks other than those left by wildlife and traditional herders. The remote and rarely…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "tanzania/oldupai-gorge/attractions/oldupai-museum/a/poi-sig/1440419/1341476",
      "destination": "Northern-Tanzania",
      "continent": "Africa",
      "country": "Tanzania",
      "region": "Northern-Tanzania",
      "position": "superzone"
    }