Tanzania

Tanzania can truly claim to be the home of the safari as the word is Swahili for a journey. And there are few better place to enjoy an enriching cultural and wildlife experience than Tanzania.

The magical names trip of the tongue – Kilimanjaro, Ngorongoro Crater, Olduvai Gorge, Selous, Serengeti and the exotic Zanzibar. Tanzania’s game viewing experiences are widely regarded as the best in Africa. It is the place to see seemingly endless herds of wildebeest and zebra trekking across the plains on their annual migration – followed by the predatory lions, leopard, cheetah and hyena. It is elephant country, boasting some of the largest populations in the world. And, at Gombe Stream and Mahale Mountains National Parks, it is home to chimpanzees now so rarely seen in the wild.

Tanzania also boasts beautiful beaches – hundreds of miles of palm-fringed sands. Its cities are relaxed and friendly. Its huge lakes, Victoria, Tanganyika and Nyasa are bountiful with fish. Its mountains are massive and mysterious and include Mount Meru, Ol Doinyo Lengai and the Usambaras in addition, of course, to Mount Kilimanjaro – the ‘Roof of Africa’ and the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. Yet this is untouched by the holiday-making hordes of mass tourism.

Tanzania can be combined with Zanzibar or Mozambique

Climate and When to Go
Temperature (ºC). These are the average lows and highs

Rainfall (mm)
Average rainfall but will vary according to where you are in Tanzania

Travel Tips
The famous annual migration of wildebeest and zebra heads northwards from the southern Serengeti from November to May before crossing into the Masa Mara of Kenya.

The northern parks of Tarangire, Ngrongoro Crater and Serengeti are best visited during the dry months between June and October

The southern parks of Ruaha, Selous and Katavi are best explored between July and March.

Chimpanzees can be seen all year-round in the Mahale Mountains on the edge of Lake Tanganyika.

The spice islands of Zanzibar offers an attractive beach extension

Further reading
The Safari Companion - Richard D. Estes
Field Guide to the Birds of East Africa - Terry Stevenson & John Fanshawe
Mammals of Africa - Collins Field Guide
The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals - Johnathan Kingdon
Wild Flowers of East Africa - Michael Blundell
Portrait of a Nation - Paul Joynson-Hicks
Tanzania: African Eden - Javed Jafferji/Graham Mercer
The Serengeti’s Great Migration - Carlo Mari/Harvey Croze
Serengeti: Natural Order on the African Plain - Mitsuaki Iwago
Ngorongoro - Reinhard Kunkel