Landscape

The landscape is dominated by plains along the coast, central plateau, and highlands in the north. Mount Kilimanjaro (5, 895 m) is the highest point in the country and in Africa. Tanzania is bordered by three of the largest lakes on the continent: Lake Victoria (the world’s second-largest freshwater lake) in the north, Lake Tanganyika (the world’s second deepest) in the west, and Lake Nyasa in the southwest.

Flora

Tanzania’s forests offer over 50 tree species and 200 species of shrubs.

Fauna

The East African plains support some of the last great herds of wildlife left in the world, offering a greater number and diversity of species than any other continent: Tanzania offers over 80 major species, including ‘The Big 5’ (elephant, lion, buffalo, rhino and leopard), and 600 species of butterfly.

Avifauna

From glacial mountain to savannah plain, semi desert to tropical rainforest, Tanzania’s botanical versatility supports more than 1,000 bird species.

People & Culture

Like much of East Africa, Tanzania is home to the fiercely traditional and striking-looking Masai people; seeing an isolated, red-robed warrior stalk the plains is a lasting image of Tanzania. Their beaded jewelry and red checked blankets make good souvenirs to buy. Tanzania also offers other interesting arts and crafts, most notably the Makonde sculptures carved in ebony, and Tanzanite, a turquoise-blue semi-precious stone unique to the country.

World Heritage Sites

Ngorongoro Conservation area, Selous Game Reserve, Serengeti National Park, Kilimanjaro National Park and Kondoa Rock Art Sites.

National museums and historical sites

Olduvai Gorge, The National Museum of Dar es Salaam, The Catholic Mission and prison of Bagamoyo, Ujijii Cultural Centre, Sukuma Museum, Mwanza, The Amboni Caves and Hot Springs, the Tongoni Ruins, the National Museum of Zanzibar, also the Kidichi Persian Baths, the House of Wonders, the Arab Fort, Livingstone’s House, Mangapwani Slaves Caves, the Maruhubi Palace, the Old Slave Market and the People’s Palace of Zanzibar.

National Parks and Reserves

Some 100,000 km² of Tanzania is devoted to wildlife preservation, including the famous Serengeti, Lake Manyara and Tarangire National Parks, Olduvai Gorge – the ‘Cradle of Mankind’, the enthralling Ngorongoro Crater – the ‘eighth wonder of the world’, and then there is the massive wilderness of the largely undiscovered Selous Game Reserve.

Tanzania has more than 20 game reserves including the world’s largest, the Selous. The game parks of Tanzania have been set aside by the government as wildlife and botanical sanctuaries that enjoy a high degree of protection and management. 25% of Tanzania is gazetted as national parks and reserves, making conservation a major element in land use. Forest reserves make up 15% of the country.

Serengeti National Park is an enormous ecosystem of many facets. Established in 1951, Serengeti National Park covers an area of 14,763 km². The name Serengeti is derived from the Maasai word ”Siringeti” which means an extended area. 

The principal features of the Serengeti Park are the short and long grass plains in the south, the acacia savannah in the central area, and the extensive woodland. 

The peak months for the Wildebeest migration are between July and October, when 1.5 million wildebeest together with half a million zebra go on their eternal search for water and pasture.

Year-round, the concentration of plains game is high – with an abundance of Topi, hartebeest, and gazelle with lions, cheetahs and other predators following closely behind. The Serengeti is also home to a wide variety of bird life.

The UNESCO-listed Ngorongoro Crater – dubbed the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’ – is a natural amphitheater with one of the densest populations of large animals year-round.

Stretching across some 8 300 km², the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in northern Tanzania boasts a blend of landscapes, wildlife, people and archaeology that is unsurpassed in Africa.

The first view of the crater is absolutely magnificent. It has an area of 265 km² and is about 16 to 19 kms across. The floor lies about 610m below the rim. Rich soils and permanent water sources mean Ngorongoro is an ideal habitat for a huge variety of species in every season. Most of the 30 000 odd animals found here are resident year-round. That includes the Big Five – Ngorongoro is one of the few places where you can see rhino in northern Tanzania.

There is a shallow soda lake that dries up, and there are also springs and streams of fresh water for the animals to drink. There are wildebeest, zebra, lions, hyenas, rhino, cheetah, hippo, gazelle, baboon and all three species of jackal, as well as rich bird life such as ostriches, eagles, geese, Cape Crown Cranes, flamingos, pelicans and more.

Lake Manyara National Park, nestled at the foot of the Great Rift Valley ridge, is two-thirds covered by its eponymous lake – the ‘loveliest in Africa’, according to Ernest Hemmingway.

There is no bad time to visit this diverse eco-system, although game viewing is perhaps slightly better during the dry months, when vegetation is sparser. However, the park is most spectacular during the rainy season, when waterfalls gush down the escarpment, the flora is gloriously green, and the birdlife is prolific. 

This national park was established in 1960 and has a total area of 325 km² of which 229 km² is covered by the lake. Manyara is a Maasai word – emanyara – for a plant. Apart from a spectacular setting, the park is famous for its unusual tree-climbing lions and the vast elephant herds it was established to protect. The shores of the lake, encrusted with pink flamingo, attract more than 400 species of birds, many of them waterfowl or migrants. Large herds of buffalo, cheetah, Masai giraffe and impala roam the lake shores and the forested valley slopes.

A Lake Manyara safari is a fascinating experience as the park is excellent for bird watching and also features a ground-water forest; acacia tortilis woodland and hot springs called Maji Moto. Permanent streams flow from the volcanic rocks below the rift wall.

Tarangire National Park, dotted with baobabs and shimmering acacias, is often overlooked and therefore quiet, even in the ‘busy’ season.

Named for the Tarangire River which flows through it and often described as Tanzania’s most underrated national park, Tarangire is one of Africa’s little-known gems, with four of the Big Five residing within the park.

Boasting a variety of wildlife as diverse as its landscape, Tarangire is also home to Tanzania’s largest population of African elephants. Set against a backdrop of majestic baobab trees and twisted acacia, it makes for a beautiful experience.

Tarangire is outstanding seasonally for wildlife. In the Dry season, the Tarangire River is a magnet for migratory animals such as wildebeest, zebra, common eland, hartebeest, gazelle, buffalo and elephant – of which there are more than you can imagine.

Activities can include guided walks and cultural interaction with the Datoga and Maasai people.

Olduvai Gorge: One of the most fascinating attractions in the area is the Olduvai Gorge, where an old river has carved away the rock to expose layer upon layer of volcanic soil. This is where Dr Louis and Mary Leakey found the remains of hominids “Nutcracker Man” and “Toolmaking Man”. 

The “Cradle of Mankind” now has a visitor center where you may hear a short lecture on the work of Dr. Richard Leakey and a small museum where you may see some of his finds, including a giant giraffe – it is hard to believe that they were once even taller!

Serengeti and the Circle of Life

Wildebeest spend most of the year grazing in the expansive Serengeti plains. Their migration begins on a quiet note, with vast herds spread over Tanzania’s southern Serengeti around Lake Ndutu. The animals usually move to this region in December after the short rains subside. At that time, the grass throughout the plains has had months to regenerate. Most of the cows are then noticeably expectant. The wildebeest happily settle here, until the onset of the long rains around March or April.

In February the Serengeti becomes an extensive maternity unit with over 400,000 calves being born every year at this time. With the cows’ continued good diet and state of rest, the calves are usually born strong and lively. Within just 3 hours of birth, they are up and running, wasting no time to practice for the long and hard journeys ahead.

By around mid-March, hoards of Gnus begin their annual migration. The grass begins to dwindle, putting pressure on lactating mothers to seek better and more nutritious grass elsewhere. They slowly begin to herd together and move northwest in columns towards the Serengeti plains, past the Naabi Hills. They trek steadily at a slow pace; by now a few hundred thousand wildebeest are on the move. The little ones are a few weeks old, and some even only a few days into the world. But they are strong enough; they tag alongside their mothers into the new, mineral-rich territory. The animals munch on the wholesome grass as they move along towards the west.

Between late July and November, over one and a half million wildebeest accompanied by half again as many zebras and gazelles, migrate from the short-grass plains of the Serengeti to fresh pasture in the grasslands of the Masai Mara; thus creating one of nature’s grandest spectacles. Moving in groups of up to 20,000 at a time they thunder across the plateau hesitating only briefly to cross the Mara River, where many fall prey to the waiting crocodiles. Then, towards the end of October they begin crossing back into Tanzania.

The actual timing of the migration, however, is dictated by the weather and does not always run to schedule. Offering an abundance of herbivores, the Serengeti makes the ideal hunting ground for Africa’s famous ‘big cats’ and hosts large populations of lion. It also offers the best chance of spotting a leopard in the wild. Other predators include cheetah and the spotted hyena.

Join our Wildebeest Migration Safari

For centuries past, cardamom, clove and cinnamon culled from the fabled spice gardens of the enchanted island of Zanzibar have been prized by sultans and princes alike.

Now you can pick them for yourself on a spice tour that takes you from the winding alleys, carved doors and cool courtyards of Stone Town, through the slave caches of the coral bays, past the blue-domed bath-houses of long dead sultans and out onto the silver and blue ribbons of Zanzibar’s perfect beaches.

To enter the world of Zanzibar is to step through the looking glass into the world of a thousand and one nights and black eyes that smile from behind deep veils. There is a House of Wonders and a street of food, a Palace Museum, an ancient slave market, an age-old fort, a ruined harem and the house where Dr Livingstone once lived. There are Red Colobus Monkeys and dolphins and a bright tapestry of Arab, African and Swahili culture, folklore and cuisine that are as mesmeric as myth.

There are also wide-open beaches, a plentiful selection of wonderful hotels, and all the water sports facilities that you could possibly wish for.

The United Republic of Tanzania

• Area: 945,087 km² includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar

• Capital: Administrative: Dodoma, Commercial: Dar es Salaam

• Currency: Tanzania Shilling

• Population: 41 million (Christian 30%, Muslim 35%, indigenous beliefs 35%; Zanzibar – more than 99% Muslim)

• Official language: Swahili, English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages.

• Time: GMT +3

Climate: 

Tanzania’s climate is predominately tropical. Coastal areas are usually hot and humid, but on the beaches a sea breeze cools the air considerably. The average day temperature is 30°C.

Tanzania has two rainy seasons – the long rains from late March to May and the short rains from November to January. The long rains fall in heavy downpours, often accompanied by violent storms, but the short rains tend to be much less severe.

The hottest time of the year is from December to March, before the long rains begin. The coolest months are June, July and August, when the skies are often overcast.

In high-altitude areas such as Kilimanjaro and the Ngorongoro Highlands, temperatures can fall below the freezing mark at night.

Safari FAQ’s

• General Safari FAQs

• Describe a Day on Safari

• Who are the Big Five

• About Sustainability

• Debunking Safari Myths

• What is a Luxury Safari

• Choosing a Safari Style

• Multi-generational Safaris

• About Giving Back