Roam Tanzania

Tanzania, a country in East Africa, is a land of incredible diversity and beauty. From the snow-capped peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro to the endless plains of the Serengeti, Tanzania is a destination for adventure seekers, nature lovers, and those looking for a unique cultural experience.

Ngorongoro Crater

Area Overview

A veritable Garden of Eden, the Ngorongoro Crater is only 260 km2 (100mi2) in size yet has some of the highest densities of lion and spotted hyena found anywhere in the world.

The view from the crater rim at 2,000 feet above the floor is nothing short of breathtaking. The thick mountain forests of the crater highlands strike a sharp contrast with the short grass plains of the crater floor with its yellow fever Acacia woodlands and streams. The soda lake Magadi in the center of the crater floor sometimes attracts lesser flamingos, and the area is known for very large tusked elephants, black rhino, and great predator action.

Easily accessible from Arusha, the three million year old Ngorongoro Crater was once a gigantic volcano that some
suggest was even higher than Mt Kilimanjaro. It is the largest intact caldera in the world and a UNESCO World
Heritage site. Walks are available on the rim in certain areas, but game viewing on the crater floor is strictly by vehicle
and on designated game drive routes. Local Maasai pastoralists and their villages surround the western side of the
crater whilst the eastern side is heavily forested up to the farming town of Karatu.

Dar Es Salaam

Area Overview

Dar es Salaam is the former capital of Tanzania, and the largest city in East Africa with a population of nearly 13 million.

“Dar” is East Africa’s second busiest port and one of the fastest growing cities in the world. It is a major transit point for international and domestic flights. Those who spend time here may explore local beaches, museums, and art galleries like the Nyumba ya Sanaa (“House of Art”), known for the brightly colored Tingatinga painting style. The cityscape is a mix of towering skyscrapers alongside more traditional Swahili architecture, all positioned along the Indian Ocean and the working harbor.

Arusha

Area Overview

Arusha is located at the foothills of Mount Meru on the eastern side of the Great Rift Valley.

This is the gateway to the northern safari circuit, with easy access to the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara, Tarangire, Mount Kilimanjaro, and Mount Meru. Its elevation of 1,400 m (4,600 ft) keeps temperatures relatively cool despite proximity to the equator; temperatures generally range between 10 and 30 C (50 and 86F), with little humidity due to the altitude.

Arusha is serviced by two airports, Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) on the eastern side, and Arusha Airport, which primarily services domestic travel. The two airports are connected by the main road, which is notorious for traffic. There is some good shopping available, including the impressive Cultural Heritage, with curio shops, a jewellery boutique, a Tanzanite and precious stone counter, a bargain center, and an art gallery.

Katavi National Park

Area Overview

Katavi National Park is one of Africa’s most remote and wild parks, offering the type of unique off the beaten path experience often sought by seasoned safari goers.

The park contains a variety of landscapes ranging from woodlands that wind their way around meandering rivers to seasonal floodplains fringed with palm trees.

Katavi is known especially for these large floodplains, along with some of the largest pods of hippo and buffalo herds to be found anywhere in the world. Katavi was created in 1974 and is approximately 4,471 km2 (1,725 mi2) in area, which makes it the third largest national park in Tanzania.

Lake Manyara National Park

Area Overview

This spectacular setting, within easy road access from Arusha, makes Manyara a popular stop off on the way to the crater highlands.

Lake Manyara National Park is only 325 km2 (125 mi2) in size and yet offers a unique wilderness experience with an incredible diversity of habitats, from its Acacia forests and dense woodlands to its soda lake and steep escarpment.

The park is famous for its tree climbing lions and some of the largest baboon troops in the country, as well as for
often having large numbers of flamingos at its shorelines. Great herds of buffalo can also be found, alongside general
plains game and excellent birding.

Mafia Island

Area Overview

Mafia Island is part of Tanzania’s Mafia Archipelago in the Indian Ocean.

Over a thousand years ago it was an important stopping point for Arab traders on their way to East Africa. Now it is pretty much an island of fisherman and subsistence farmers, with a few ecotourism ventures.

Large swaths of the island’s southern coastline and surrounding waters are protected by the Mafia Island Marine Park. Its coral reefs attract many scuba divers, snorkelers, and marine enthusiasts. The island is also famous for the arrival of whale sharks.

Olduvai Gorge

Area Overview

Oldupai or Olduvai Gorge is widely considered to be the seat of humanity after the discovery of the earliest known specimens of the human genus.

It is one of the most important prehistoric sites in the world and research there has been instrumental in furthering understanding of early human evolution. Excavation work was pioneered by Mary and Louis Leakey in the 1950s and is continued today by their family.

The Olduvai Gorge is a steep-sided ravine in the Great Rift Valley, which stretches along eastern Africa. Olduvai is in the eastern Serengeti Plains and is about 50 km (31 mi) long. It lies in the rain shadow of the Ngorongoro highlands and is the driest part of the region. The gorge is named after Oldupaai, the Maasai word for the Sansevieria that grows there.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Area Overview

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) extends from the crater highlands all the way past Olduvai Gorge and onto the short grasslands of the southern Serengeti and Lake Ndutu.

But the wildlife does not adhere to these boundaries and there is very good wildlife viewing, especially during peak calving season when the NCA plains play host to the Great Wildebeest Migration and the birth of hundreds of thousands of wildebeest in a short span of time. This brings predator action, especially with large hyena clans, cheetah, and the return of African hunting dogs.

The NCA is a protected area and a World Heritage Site located 180 km (111 miles) west of Arusha. The area is named after the Ngorongoro Crater, a large volcanic caldera whose name derives from the sound made by the cattle bells of the local Maasai pastoralists.

Mikumi National Park

Area Overview

At 3,230 km2 (1,247mi2), Mikumi National Park is Tanzania’s fourth largest park and the closest National Park to Dar es Salaam.

As part of the Selous ecosystem, it benefits from the highest game density of the entire conservation area. The park is in essence divided into two zones as it is bisected by a road that separates its more open baobab strewn plains in the northwest from the thick bush area of the southeast sector.

Other than rhino, the park supports all the big herbivores, including sable, nyasa blue wildebeest, and greater kudu, as well as all the predators, and very good birdlife.

Mkomazi National Park

Area Overview

At 3,500 km2 (1,351 mi2) in size, Mkomazi National Park is a spectacular wilderness within sight of Mount Kilimanjaro.

To the south, the Pare and Usambara Mountains form a dramatic backdrop. To the north, Mkomazi shares a border with Kenya’s vast Tsavo National Park, creating common ground for migratory herds of elephant, oryx, and zebra during the wet season. Together with Tsavo, it forms one of the largest and most important protected ecosystems in Africa.

Mkomazi is a classic dry-country reserve of grey-green Commiphora, ancient baobab trees, and isolated rocky hills interspersed with grasslands and Acacia forests. The park is home to dry country adapted species, as well as a refuge for
endangered black rhinos and African hunting dogs thanks to The Mkomazi Project, Tony Fitzjohn, and the George Adamson Wildlife Preservation Trust.

Ruaha

Area Overview

Ruaha has a reputation of being one of Tanzania’s best kept safari secrets.

It is known for its rugged and magnificent landscapes, its remoteness and wild immensity, and for spectacular concentrations of game. Large herds of elephant and buffalo are a common sighting and lion and leopard are abundant, as are sightings of the rare sable and roan antelope. The Ruaha carnivore project monitors the lion population, which is believed to be 10% of the total found on the continent.

In 2008 the Usangu Game reserve merged its borders with Ruaha, making it Tanzania’s largest national park. It now
covers more than 20,000 km2 (7,722 mi2) of rolling hills, baobab strewn savannahs, and dry riverbeds, and is second only to Selous as a protected wildlife area. The name of the park is derived from the Great Ruaha River, which flows along its southeastern margin and is the central area for game-viewing.

Southern Serengeti

Area Overview

The vast open plains of the southern Serengeti offer insight into why Serengeti was so named, being derived from the Maasai word for the endless plains.

To the east the plains stretch out to the picturesque Gol kopjes, imposing ancient granite outcrops that are islands of biodiversity and provide refuge from the open plains for all the cats. The Maasai steppe in the east is home to huge clans of spotted hyena who are probably the apex predator in this area.

The Serengeti is perhaps the most famous African wilderness area, its name synonymous with the notion of safari for nearly a hundred years. This UNESCO World Heritage site covers 14,750 km2 (5,700 mi2) of premiere game viewing in Acacia woodlands, open grasslands, and undulating savannahs interspersed with seasonal rivers. The park on the northern side borders the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya and, together with several other smaller reserves and conservation areas, forms the larger Mara-Serengeti ecosystem.

The Great Wildebeest Migration

Between the months of December and March the southern Serengeti and neighboring Ngorongoro Conservation
Area play host to the Great Wildebeest Migration in incredible numbers. During February and March, close to 300,000 baby wildebeest are born within a six week period, and the bush teems with new life.

Predatory action is at a high and this is one of the best areas and times to look for cheetahs. Lions and leopards can also be found, generally around the Lake Ndutu and Acacia tortilis woodlands in the middle of the plains. The extremely rare African hunting dogs have also made a return to the south near Kakesio and Maswa.