Tanzania is home to three of Africa’s most popular and truly spectacular natural wonders – the Serengeti National Park with its incredible annual wildebeest migration; Africa’s highest point at 5,896 metres, Mt Kilimanjaro and the magical Ngorongoro Crater. Located on the eastern edge of Africa and facing the Indian Ocean, Tanzania offers a varied geography of idyllic beaches, fresh and saltwater lakes, large plateaus and huge mountain ranges, mangrove swamps and crater highlands.
The former capital of Tanzania until 1973, Dar es Salaam began as a sleepy fishing village. In the 1860s it grew into a port and trading centre. Today, it is a picturesque seaport and Tanzania’s largest and richest city. With an intriguing blend of Arabic, African and Indian influences, it’s a charming city to wander around admiring the colonial-era architecture and historical buildings.
Making up 14% of Tanzania’s land area, the Serengeti is proudly protected and home to one of the world’s last great migratory systems. It was only discovered by white man in 1931 when an American hunter, Stewart Edward White walked into it from Nairobi. However the Maasai have been grazing their cattle on the grassy plains for millennia. Incorporating the Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Maswa Game Reserve, the Maasai Mara Reserve in Kenya and various controlled areas, its ecosystem is one of the oldest in the world.
Most famous for its annual migration, over a million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebra travel from the northern hills to the southern plains every October and November for the short rains before heading for the lush Serengeti plains where they spend the wet season. From June they move to Lake Victoria before travelling north to the Maasai Mara.
Undoubtedly, the jewel in the crown of Ngorongoro Conservation Area is the Ngorongoro Crater. Nearly 20 kilometres wide, sinking to a depth of 610 metres and covering a surface area of 260 square kilometres, it is the largest unflooded and unbroken caldera in the world. The breathtaking blue-green vistas of the plains and shimmering bodies of water give the area an ethereal quality that is truly magical. Teeming with an abundance of wildlife, it has one of the densest wildlife populations in all of Africa.
Tens of thousands of animals live within the crater walls, including elephants, lions, flamingos, buffaloes, zebra, wildebeest, gazelle, cheetahs, leopards, golden jackals and black rhino. There’s no accommodation on the crater floor. Views from the lodges located on the crater rim are incredible which is reflected in the price, while more affordable accommodation options can be found in the hills of the crater and the Rift Valley Escarpment.
The magnificent snow-capped Mt Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa and one of the continent’s most majestic sights. The surrounding cultivated farmlands make the highest volcano in the world seem even larger. Around 25,000 trekkers climb the mountain every year. The landscape varies greatly as you ascend. The lower levels are made up lush rainforest swarming with wildlife, to a rocky moonscape on the mid level and most commonly snow at its peaks.
