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  Tanzania can truly claim to
be the home of the safari since the word is Swahili for journey. And there is
no better place to enjoy the enriching wildlife experience than Tanzania.
The country's game viewing experiences are wildly regarded as the best in Africa. Tanzania
boasts beautiful beaches hundreds of miles of palm-fringed sands; its lakes
are huge and bountiful with fish; its cities are relaxed and friendly; its
islands Zanzibar, Pemba and Mafia live up to their exotic
images.
Yet this largest country in Eastern Africa
is untouched by the holiday making hordes of mass tourism.
Some of the main attractions of Tanzania are as below.
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The best park’s in the World
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The Northern Circuit
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Serengeti National Park
One of the world's last great wildlife refuges' Various types of vegetation:
grassy plains, savannah with acacias, wooded hill and mountain are the
backdrop for an extraordinary concentration of animals which reaches its peak
during the wildebeest migration.
Almost 1.5 million wildebeest undertake a circuit of 1000kms, searching for
new pastures and watering holes.
The name come from the maasai 'Siringet',
meaning endless plains. The Seronera Valley
in the Serengeti is famous for the abundance of lion and leopard.
Best time: for the migration from December to May in the south of the park
and from June to October to the west (western corridor) and to the north -
near masai mara/serengeti
border.
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Ngorongoro Crater
Eighth wonder of the world' Land of Maasai, of their cattle and of the fauna, this
protected area is located in the Great Rift Valley,
gigantic fracture of the earth's crust. Volcanoes, mountains, plains, lakes,
forests and archeological sites form this mangnificent
landscape.
At 1600 meters
altitude, the bottom of the crater (265 km square) dotted with watering holes,
shelters almost 30 000 animals in an area naturally enclosed by the slopes of
the volcano (but the animals can leave).
The crater elephants are strangely, mainly bulls. There are a small number of
black rhino. The bird life is largely seasonal and is also affected by the
ratio of soda fresh water in Lake
Magadi
on the crater floor.
It's called the eighth wonder of the world.
Best time: whole year - rainy season in April.
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Lake Manyara
National Park
Nestling at the base of the Great Rift Valley
escarpment the park is noted for it's incredible beauty. Famous for it's tree
- Climbing lions spread along the branches of Acacia trees. It has a lush
forest, woodland, Grassland, Swamps and soda lake, the area covers 390 sq km
and sanctuary to over 350 species of birds - Pelicans, storks, sacred Ibis,
Flamingos and many more. It also has numerous buffaloes, Elephants, Hippo,
Giraffe and a great variety of smaller animals.
Best time: whole year - rainy season in April.
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Tarangire National Park
Animal population here rivals that of the Serengeti. On the east bank of Lake Manyara, the Tarangire river crosses the park from north to south.
Several circuits are possible: Burungi to the west
( 80kms ), Lamarkau to the south ( 150kms ), Matete, along the river ( 60km) Acacia trees and baobab
forests shelter animals seeking refuge near the river. Wildebeest, zebra,
eland, herds of elephant, hartebeest, buffalos, gerenuk, fringe eared oryx, and flocks of birds of many different species.
Best time: excellent during June to November, although good to visit all year
round.
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Arusha National Park
Just 32 km's
away from the town of Arusha
is the Arusha
National Park which is consists of
three spectacular features The Momela Lakes, Mount Meru and the
Ngurdoto Crater. On clear days magnificent views of
mount Kilimanjaro can be seen from almost any park of the park.
The vegetation and the wildlife varies with the topography, which rages from
forest to swamp.
The park is famous for its 400 species of bird life, both migrant and resident,
and black and white colombus monkeys.
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Rubondo Island
National Park
Rubondo Island National Park
is made Rubondo
Island and islands in Lake Victoria. Hippopotamus, crocodiles, lizards, sitatunga, giraffe, a variety of birds and big fresh
water fish including the giant Nile Perch, are among the major wildlife found
here. The island is rich of flora and fauna, and most striking, are the hippo
and crocodile population is the lake. These two different animal species
decorate the lakeshores during the early morning and evening hours.
This park covers an area of 240 sq km's and is famous for its various species
of plants ranging from savannah and open woodland to dense forest and papyrus
swamps.
The park is located about 300
km's from the Mwanza port.
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Olduvai Gorge
Located within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is
the Olduvai Gorge,
180 km
from Arusha. It was here that Dr. Louis Leakey
discovered the remains of Homo hablis or
"Handy man" regarded as mankind's first step on the ladder of human
evolution. But many more fossils have been discovered here including those of
prehistoric elephants, giant horned sheet and enormous ostriches.
Guides operates lecture tours of the sites.
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Mount
Kilimanjaro (click here
for Kilimanjaro map)
Hightest free standing mountain in the world'
Kilimanjaro consists of three summits: to the west, the shira
plateau, to the east mawenzi peak and between the
two the snow capped summit of kibo which reaches 5'895 meters.
It's the roof of Africa.
There are several ways to reach the summit; Marangu
route (to the west) is the most popular, Machame
(to the west), Shira (to the far west) are most
demanding. You'll be trekking and not mountain climbing.
Best time: whole year round but although April it will be raining.
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Lake Victoria
The source of Nile eluded 19th century explorers, but today's tourists can
easily view the waters that supply it, Lake Victoria.
It is the largest lake in Africa and the
second largest fresh water lake in the world. It is home to the lungfish a
unique fish type that dates back 300 million years, which can breathe air in
to its swim bladder, which then act as a primitive pair of lungs.
Scenically beautiful, Lake Victoria also has
great numbers of fish, the most successful commercial variety being Tilapia.
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The Southern Circuit
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Mukumi National Park
- South Tanzania
Located north of the Selous Reserve, less than 300 km from Dar es Salaam, is the Mikumi
National Park. Because
of its accessibility it is one of the most popular parks in Tanzania and is an important
centre for education where students go to study ecology and conservation. A
wide range of wildlife inhabits its 3230 sq km area. The Mikumi
flood plain, with its open grasslands, dominated the park together with the
mountain ranges that border the park on two sides. Lion is commonly seen as
are packs of wild dog, rare elsewhere in Africa.
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Ruaha National Park
- South Tanzania
One of Tanzania's
best kept wildlife secrets is the Ruaha national
Park. Previous inaccessibility has ensured it has remained virtually
unchanged for centuries, unaffected by the ravages of mankind.
Covering 10,300 sq km's it is the country's biggest elephant santuary. Its name derives from the Great Ruaha
River which flows along
its eastern border, creating spectacular gorges.
Flowing in to the Rufiji River,
the Great Ruaha is home to hippo and crocodile.
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Selous Game Reserve - South Tanzania
The Selous Game Reserve is the largest protected
wildlife area in Africa. UN World Heritage
site, this pristine, uninhabited area is larger than Switzerland. Only in the Serengeti
will visitors see a greater concentration of wildlife. Yet Selous boasts Tanzania's largest population of
elephants as well as large numbers of buffalo, hippo and wild dog. Other spicies commonly seen are lion, bushbuck, impala,
giraffe, eland, baboon, zebra and greater kudu. The topography of the park
varies from rolling savannah, woodland, grassland plains and rocky outcrops
cut by the Rufiji
River and its tributaries, the Kilombero and Lumegu, which
together cover the greatest catchments area in Eastern
Africa.
The Rufiji which flows from north to south,
provides the life-blood of the Selous and sailing
or rafting down the river is a superb method of seeing game, especially
during the dry season between June and October.
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Udzungwa Mountain
National Park - South Tanzania
This is a recently established conservation area of about 2000 sq km in the Iringa and the Morogoro regions
of south-central Tanzania.
The park is bordered by the great Ruaha River
to the north and the Mikumi-Ifakara road to the
east.
The major attractions of the park is its bio-diversity and unique rain
forest, where many rare plans, not found any where else in the world, have
been identified from a tiny African violet to 30 metre
high trees.
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Katavi National Park - Western
Tanzania
Katavi National Park lies south of Mahale
mountains on a high flood plain surrounding Lake Katavi.
It is one of the most difficult Parks to reach and is strictly for those of
an adventurous spirit, but it has excellent game viewing with a real
wilderness atmosphere.
July to October are the best months to visit the park. The water of the park
shelters crodile, hippo and large flocks of
pelicans.
The diverse woodland, acacia bush, lakes and swamps have atracted
over 400 spicies of birds.
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Lake Nyasa
- South Tanzania
lake Nyasa is the most southerly of the Rift Valley
lakes and is also, biologically the most diverse. The northern shores are
home to the Nyakusa people whose huts villages have
remained unchanged for centuries.
The Kisi tribe
another Nyasa tribe are famous for their pottery.
The lake contains 30 % of the world's cichlid species - colourful
fish easily observed in the clear water.
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The Western Circuit
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Gombe Stream
National Park - West Tanzania
Gombe Steam National Park,
on the shores of Lake Tanganika, is the
smallest park in Tanzania
covering only 52 sq kms. but it offers visitors the
rare chance to observe the chimpanzee communities made famous by British
explorer Jane Goodall. A number of monkey spicies can also be seen, red columbus,
red-tail and blue monkeys.
The area is heavily forested making it an unsuitable habitat for carnivores,
so the park is safe for talking safaris.
There are rewarding sites for birdwatchers.
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Mahale Mountains
National Park - West Tanzania
The other santuary of the chimpanzee is the Mahale
Mountain National
Park which is reached by boat from Kigoma. Covering an area of 1613 sq km, its western
boundary is the shore
of Lake Tanganika. The chimpanzee population of the park is
estimated at about 1000 whick can be seen , in
groups of five and 30 at a time, in their natural habitat.
Other primates such as baboons and columbus monkeys, elephants,
buffalo, bushpig, porcupine and other other animals are found in the north, while to the south
live various antelope species, lions and giraffe.
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Lake Tanganika
- West Tanzania
The waters of lake Tanganika, the longest (677 km) and second deepest
(1433 m)
fresh water lake in the world, contains one of the richest concentration of
fish found anywhere. More than 250 species live withing
it.
It is worth staying up on a moonless night to watch the local fisherman on
the lake, who attract their catch by suspending lights over the bows of their
boats.
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Zanzibar
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Stone Town - Zanzibar
It may not have a particularly romantic name, but Stone
Town is the old city and cultural
heart of Zanzibar,
little changed in the last 200 years. It is a place of winding alleys, bustling
bazaars, mosques and grand Arab houses whose original owners vied with each
other over the extravagance of their dwellings. This one-upmanship is
particularly reflected in the brass-studded, carved, wooden doors - there are
more than 500 different examples of this handiwork.
You can spend many idle hours and days just wandering through the fascinating
labyrinth of narrow streets and alleyways.
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Paradise Beaches - Zanzibar
Zanzibar's brilliant white beaches lapped by the
warm turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean
provide the perfect place to relax, soak up the sun and take a break from
some busy sightseeing. The beaches in Zanzibar
are a paradise, interspersed with picturesque fishing villages, where the
people live a simple way of life, unchanged over the years.
There are more than 25 fantastic beaches in Zanzibar, and some are so peaceful and
remote that the only noise breaking the silence is likely to be the ocean.
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Mafia and Pemba Islands
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MAFIA ISLAND:
A 40 minutes flight south of Dar es
Salaam is one of the most exiting big game fishing and diving
areas in the world, Mafia
Island.
Sports fishermen flock here for the superb catches, many of the fish are
great fighters. They include marlin, sailfish, shark, tuna, kingfish,
barracuda, snapper, horse mackerel, wahoo and huge
cod.
The main season is from September to March although fishing is possible all
year around within the reef and channel.
PEMBA
ISLAND - 50 km north of Zanzibar is the highly fertile Pemba Island
which although smaller than Zanzibar,
grows three times as many cloves.
The Pemba chennel which runs between the mainland and the island
offers the best game fishing in the world.
The Island also boasts some excellent
beaches.
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Other interesting places are Dar es Salaam, Empakia Crater, Lake
Natron, Ruaha, Arusha, Usambara mountains, Amani
forest, Mkomazi Reserve, Amboni Caves, Bagamoyo,
Kaole, Kilva, Pangani and many more!
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