Tanzania, known for it's vastness and for it's remote southern national parks, is also home to Mt.Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. Tanzanian parks are known for their scenic beauty as well as their wildlife.

From a tourist point of view, Tanzania is divided into the Northern Circuit, consisting of National Parks located in the North of the country, and the Southern Circuit, consisting of parks located in the remoter Tanzania.

Tanzania was formed from the union of Tanganyika and the spice island of Zanzibar . But centuries back, Vasco da Gama had arrived in Zanzibar in 1499 presenting an opportunity for the Portuguese to enter East Africa and establish trade posts. Other European countries got wind of this attractive and virgin land and the following centuries saw other explorers such as Dr. David Livingstone visit East Africa . It is in Tanganyika that Dr. Livingstone and Stanley met with that famous phrase: ‘Dr. Livingstone I presume?’

Tanzania has spectacular tourist attractions in its game parks, the Indian Ocean coast and Islands, large fresh water lakes and snow-capped mountains. It has a history embracing early relics of mankind, the African explorers, and exotic Zanzibar with it's Arabian influence. It is a large country, about four times the size of Great Britain, of enormous diversity. From Africa's highest mountain, Kilimanjaro (5895 mts, 19,158 ft), to sandy white beaches, coral reefs and off shore islands.

WildeBeest Migration

Serengeti National Park

View of Mount Kilimanjaro

The wide open plains of the Serengeti National Park, where the famous wildebeest migration begins and ends, the Selous and Ruaha National Parks in the south, the Rufiji River, and the fresh water lakes in the west. Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile river and the largest lake in Africa, which shares its shores with Kenya and Uganda, and Lake Tanganika, teeming in tropical fish, is the 3rd deepest lake in the world, and shares its shores with Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. Zanzibar Island, off the coast, steeped in history, with the narrow winding streets of Stone Town, fragrant spices and glorious beaches.

The North - In the north of the counrty the "northern circuit" includes the best known of the national parks in Tanzania. Serengeti, Lake Manyara, the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation area, with the prehistoric site Olduvai Gorge also called the 'Cradle of Mankind and Tarangire. All of which are popular tourist destinations and easy to visit. The are also the lesser known Mkomazi and Umba game reserves. The mountain parks, Mount Kilimanjaro and Arusha, with Mount Meru, offer climbing and trekking.

Central and southern parks – There are seven parks and reserves in this large area.The two reasonably easy to access from Dar es Salaam by road are Mikumi National Park and Saadani National Park. The main attractions in the southern region are the Selous Game Reserve, one of Africa's largest National Parks, and Ruaha National Park, which have an unspoiled atmosphere that reflect their remote locations. Visiting these parks is easiest by air, flying into the lodge airstrips, otherwise long journeys by road from Dar es Salaam are required.

Western parks – The parks in the west include two famous chimpazee sanctuaries, Gombe Stream National Park and Mahale Mountains National Park, situated on Lake Tanganyika. Access to both of these parks involves flying into an airstrip and a boat trip. The other parks in this area are very remote and do not have accommodation for tourists

Tanzania Travel Information