Places to visit
Places to visit & things to do
The geographical regions of Tanzania provide wildly different landscapes, so here is an outline that help you decide what to include in your trip.
Northern Tanzania
The Northern Circuit takes in Tarangire, Manyara, Ngorongoro and the famous Serengeti National Parks, all providing excellent game viewing opportunities. The region has also the two most climbed mountains in Tanzania, Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Meru. It’s easily accessible both by air and road and safaris will often start in the busy little town of Arusha. Close by is Kilimanjaro international airport and Arusha has a domestic one providing light aircraft taxi services.
Southern Tanzania
The Southern Circuit has lesser know game parks of Nyerere [Selous], which can be combined with a visit to Ruaha, Mikumi and Udzungwa. Southern Tanzania is more remote and less visited and you are unlikely to encounter many other game viewing vehicles.
West Tanzania
If you are looking for a truly remote wild area to explore then west Tanzania is unbeatable. Katavi is a good place to start, with very few visitors and an abundance of wildlife. Once you have made it this far, you can combine it with a visit to Mahale or Gombe if you are interested in primates, especially chimpanzees.
Coast and Islands
A great feature of Tanzania is that you can combine a safari experience with a beach holiday. The mainland coast, south of Dar es Salaam has many resorts situated on gorgeous beaches lapped by the Indian Ocean. Even more exotic are the islands, including the famous Zanzibar or a bit more remote are Pemba, Mafia or Fanjove islands. Most visitors lounge on the beaches, do spice tours or explore the nature, but if you a scuba diver, you will discover some incredible dive sites.
top 12 list of things to do and see in Tanzania.
1. Ngorongoro Crater
This UNESCO world heritage site is what remains of an enormous extinct volcano, it measures 16kms in diameter and consists of grasslands, freshwater and soda lakes, acacia forests which together provide the ideal habitat for a wide diversity of wildlife including the big five.
2. The Serentigi
An almost endless landscape of grasslands, dotted with acacia trees and rock outcrops is the home to millions of animals. Exploring in an open 4×4 safari vehicle accompanied by an expert guide, this is the Africa of dreams! For another perspective and experience why not treat yourself to a hot air balloon trip safari. At the end of a memorable day, you will pull into your bush lodge and camp for another unforgettable experience.
3. The Great Wildebeest Migration
The Serengeti, plus the adjoining Masai Mara in Kenya, is the home to roughly 1.5 million wildebeest and half a million zebras, plus herds of Thompson’s gazelles and elands. As the rains move across the regions, which bring fresh grass, so do th animals and the never-ending wildebeest migration
4. Zanzibar, the spice islands and Indian Ocean coast
Zanzibar has enchanting beaches, a fascinating cultural history and the not to be missed Stone Town. There are other wonderful island to visit and also coastal resorts. This part of the Indian Ocean has some world class diving sites that attract both scuba divers and snorkellers and there are dive centres catering for
this market.
5. Chimpanzee tracking in the Mahale Mountains
The Mahale Mountains in the west on the shores of Lake Tanganyika is the home to around 1000 chimpanzees, plus eight other primate species such as red colobus monkeys and baboons. Trekking through an incredible wild landscape with an expert guide and watching chimps in the wild is a magical, humbling experience not to be missed.
6. The Maasai and other tribal cultures
The Maasai tribe adorned in their traditional red robes and fancy beads is one of the most widely recognised tribes of Africa. To visit a Maasai village and learn about their traditional culture is both a fascinating and an unforgeable experience – you might get to listen to singing or join the male warriors performing their gravity defying vertical leaps high into the air! On your travels you might come across other tribes that are equally fascinating and welcoming.
7. Mount Kilimanjaro
African’s highest peak towers majestically 5,895m above the plains beneath and is an incredible sight to behold. There is a choice of routes to the summit ranging from the easiest, nicknamed the ‘coca cola route’ to be more technical involved tackling rock faces. Or trek the lower levels and admire the view!
8. Ruaha National Park
A little bit off the beaten tracks is Ruaha, Tanzania’s largest national park with an area that exceeds that of the more famous Serengeti. This means you usually enjoy a game drive without another vehicle in sight, the wildlife here is abundant, the landscapes are amazing and it has some truly atmospheric camps and lodges.
9. Nyerere National Park
(previously called Selous Game Reserve)
Often still referred to as Selous, it is only about an hour’s flight by light aircraft taxi service from Dar es Salaam on the coast. The reserve has a diverse range of wildlife, including Africa’s highest population of wild dogs and is less frequented by tourist providing an authentic safari experience.
10. Lake Natron
A remote mineral-rich soda lake in northern Tanzania, at the border with Kenya. It’s a breeding ground for hundreds of thousands of lesser flamingos, despite the highly alkaline state of the striking red waters. It sits below Ol Doinyo Lengai, the Maasai mountain of God, a soaring active volcano in the Rift Valley. Trails lead from the lake to the Engero Sero waterfalls, which flow over craggy rocks into a natural pool. A trip here is for the truly adventurous traveller but you will be rewarded with an incredible road – make that dirt track – trip crossing wild scenery ending in the unforgettable view of graceful flamingoes silently wading in Lake Natron.
11. Tarangire National Park
A scenic wilderness on the northern circuit and easily reachable as it is only about 90 minutes drive from Arusha near to Kilimanjaro airport. The park is known for its ancient baobab trees and the Tarangire River running through it which attracts wildlife from the surrounding areas in the dry season (July to October especially).
12. Katavi National Park
It’s very remote hence very few visitors make it to here but this is
what makes it appealing to certain types of travellers. Also, as it is relatively small the wildlife is highly concentrated, especially during the July – October dry season and game viewing is at its best.
