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Highlights of Tanzania

“Imagine a quintessential African image – the kind you saw in picture books when you were a kid – and the chances are it originates in Tanzania. In many ways the country really has got it all…” Lonely Planet – Africa on a Shoestring”

Tanzania, officially known as the ‘United Republic of Tanzania’, is a beautiful East African country bordered to the north by Kenya and Uganda, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and to the south by Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. The eastern border of the country is made up by the Indian Ocean, and Africa’s tallest mountain (Mt Kilimanjaro) can be found in the north-eastern sections of the region.

Highlights of Tanzania:

Stone Town in Zanzibar

The herds of wildebeest in the Serengeti

Palm-fringed white beaches in Dar es Salaam

Scaling Mount Kilimanjaro

Meet the chimpanzees in Lake Tanganyika

Tanzania offers an incredible range of cultures considering that it includes over 150 different ethnic groups. Therefore, cultural tours are obviously wonderfully exciting. There is plenty of traditional food, cultural practices (like hunting with bushmen, bee keeping, traditional medicine, etc.) that you can participate in. You will normally be given a visit to numerous locations that visitors would typically be unaware of. If you enjoy world culture and meeting new and interesting people, a cultural tour always offers a wonderful activity in the shape of valuable insight into uniquely traditional customs.

Whilst vacationing in Tanzania, you will have the opportunity to arrange a safari to the Serengeti and other National Parks at a reasonable fee. African safaris almost guarantee to change your perspective on life. There are plenty of National Parks around Tanzania, with the better ones situated in the north of the country. Ruaha National Park is the finest in the south and is said by some locals to be the best park, especially if you want to spot wild animals as opposed to the semi-tamed ones in the northern parks.

All reserves offer spectacular landscapes and wildlife, with the Northern Circuit comprising of the Serengeti, Manyara and Tarangire, and the Southern Circuit encompassing Selous, Mikumi and Ruaha. The reserves offer different exquisite fauna and flora, and offer visitors an experience of the true beauty of African nature.

Another awesome activity in which to partake in is scuba diving or snorkelling around Pemba or Zanzibar. Bathed by the warm waters of the equator, Zanzibar’s abundance of coral reefs offer thrilling scuba diving and snorkelling within a short boat ride from majority of the beautiful beaches of the region. Scuba diving off Pemba Island is simply remarkable, but for beginner divers the more peaceful waters of Unguja (Zanzibar Island) are recommended, as the current off shore from Pemba can be surprisingly strong at times. Snorkelling is best conducted in Unguja, whose eastern barrier reef encloses a sequence of shallow and sheltered tidal lagoons that contain a massive variety of vibrant sea life.

Mt Kilimanjaro is one of Tanzania’s most popular attractions, as it is the tallest mountain in Africa at a spectacular height of 5,895 metres above sea level. Kilimanjaro contains three volcanic cones – Kibo, Mawenzi and Shira, and is a dormant volcanic mountain that is a sought-after climbing site. The mountain is incredibly beautiful and presents a challenge to most who attempt to conquer its summit, but is an accomplishing feat that leaves visitors with everlasting memories.

Tanzania also has two of the finest Stone Age sites on earth: Isimila Gorge (close by to Iringa) and the earliest known examples of human art among the rock paintings near Kolo (north of Dodoma) – some of which are estimated to be approximately 30,000 years old.

Tours to Tanzania:

21 Day Eastern Adventure – Livingstone to Nairobi

19 Day Johannesburg to Tanzania Adventure (Comfort)

12 Day Kenya and Tanzania Budget Safari

About Bronwyn Paxton

Article by: Bronwyn Paxton
on November 8, 2013
Filed under  Africa Blog • Tanzania 
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