The town of Arusha is the safari capital of East Africa and the starting point for trips to the Northern Circuit parks: the vast plains of the Serengeti where the annual wildebeest migration is staged, the natural beauty of Lake Manyara and the animal-stuffed Ngorongoro Crater, to name but a few. In the south, less visited but equally impressive are the Selous Game Reserve and Ruaha National Park, which are wild, remote and virtually untouched.
Tanzania’s other main attraction is a mountain that needs no introduction – snow-capped Kilimanjaro. Every year thousands of people fulfil their lifetime ambition of climbing to the ‘roof of Africa’ to watch the sun rise over Uhuru Peak.
In the west of Tanzania are the great lakes: Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest freshwater lake and Lake Tanganyika is its deepest; here the highlight is visiting chimpanzees at Gombe or Mahale.
The country has a long coastline steeped in Swahili culture that has been alive since the first dhows arrived on the trade winds from Asia. Tanzania’s coastal attractions include palm-fringed, pearly white-sand beaches, and the coral reefs surrounding the offshore islands teem with life and colour. A walk through the narrow, twisting passageways of Zanzibar’s capital, Stone Town, reveals beautiful Arabian architecture, while the Indian Ocean offers excellent opportunities for diving, snorkelling, fishing, sailing, even swimming with dolphins. Here, on some of the best beaches in the world, it is impossible not to relax in the dazzling sun and warm azure waters.