Places to Visit in Tanzania

Tanzania is a country of animals and natural wonders. From the great open plains of the Serengeti, with its famous wildebeest migration, to the ancient caldera of Ngorongoro and the wild, mountainous wilderness of Ruaha. Adventures climax on a Zanzibar holiday on the gorgeous, romantic, white sandy beaches where the history of the spice trade whispers and turquoise waters heal the spirit.

1. Serengeti National Park

The Serengeti National Park is without question the best recognised animal sanctuary in the world, unrivalled in its natural beauty and scientific significance, it boasts the highest concentration of plains game in Africa

Serengeti National Park in Tanzania was founded in 1952. It is the site of the greatest natural display on earth – the huge migration of wildebeest and zebra. The resident population of lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe and birds is very outstanding. There is a huge range of lodging from luxury lodges to mobile camping. The park is 5,700 sq miles, (14,763 sq km), larger than Connecticut, with maybe a couple hundred automobiles moving around at the most.

2. Mount Kilimanjaro National Park

Mt Kilimanjaro is 5896 m high and is Africa/s highest mountain and one of the continent/s finest vistas. It has three main volcanic peaks, Kibo, Mawenzi and Shira. The name itself, “Kilimanjaro”, is a clouded enigma. It could mean Mountain of Light or Mountain of Greatness or Mountain of Caravans.

Above the softly rolling hills and plateaux of northern Tanzania rises the snowy peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro, its slopes and glaciers glittering above the clouds as they ascend. Kilimanjaro is located near the town of Moshi and is a protected area, it is strictly monitored so that climbers can enjoy it without leaving any evidence of their presence. The ecosystems of the mountain are as diverse as they are stunningly attractive.

3. Arusha National Park

Arusha National Park (ANAPA) is a treasure of different habitats and beautiful vistas of Mt. Meru, the crater which gives the region its name

It is a popular stop-off for day-trippers prepared to depart from the town of Arusha on longer northern circuit safaris. The small national park covers the slopes, summit and ash cone of Mt. Meru, the Momela Lakes, Ngurdoto Crater and the beautiful highland forests that cover the lower slopes. Game viewing surrounding the Momela Lakes is more relaxed and tranquil, with many visitors stopping to look for troupes of rare colubus monkeys playing in the canopy as they make their way through the jungle.

Arusha National Park is one of the most accessible parks in Tanzania, just a short drive from Arusha and Moshi. It’s a perfect place for a day trip and a wonderful addition to any Tanzanian itinerary, whether at the beginning or the finish.

4. Lake Manyara National Park

At the foot of the cliffs of the Manyara Escarpment, on the border of the Rift Valley, is Lake Manyara National Park. Here you will find a variety of habitats, amazing birds and spectacular scenery.

Lake Manyara National Park is well worth a trip in its own right en route to Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. Its ground water forests, bush plains, baobab-strewn cliffs and algae-streaked hot springs provide wonderful ecological variability within a small region, rich in fauna and huge numbers of birds.

5. Tarangire National Park

Tarangire national park is one of the most famous national parks on the northern circuit in Tanzania. It is noted for its big herds of enormous elephants and its huge, ancient baobab trees. In fact Tarangire boasts some of the largest elephants in the world.

Tarangire National Park is commonly combined with Serengeti or Ngorongoro. Tarangire, in contrast, is relatively near Arusha and is also the only national park in the region where you may find a wide range of animals, including numerous predators. That also makes Tarangire the perfect national park for a daytrip.

6. Mkomazi National Park

Mkomazi is on the southern point of the Sahel zone of Acacia-Commiphora plants found in the Park. It seems like a dry-land reserve with grey-green nyika bush, old baobabs and stony hills. Maximum locations of Tanzania may also be found a large savanna of forests of acacias seems like gigantic umbrellas protecting the region.

The Park is situated in the north of Tanzania in the Kilimanjaro and Tanga Regions. In the north the park borders Tsavo west National Park in Kenya

7. Gombe Stream National Park

Gombe National Park is the smallest park in Tanzania with an area of approximately 56 km. The park’s biggest attractions are its famed primate inhabitants and its connection to Jane Goodall. Jane Goodall first did research here in the 60’s. Gombe is a paradise for chimp enthusiasts.

Many of Gombe’s chimps are relatively accustomed within the park. Sweaty walking steep hills and valleys is a bit challenging but the experience is so attractive. If you go out early in the morning, you are almost guarantyd sightings and they are fantastic. It is an experience not easily forgotten.

8. Mahale Mountains National Park

Mahale Mountains National Park is found in western Tanzania, south of the town of Kigoma. It borders Lake Tanganyika, the world’s longest, second deepest and least polluted freshwater lake and home to an estimated 1000 fish species.

The park is known amongst visitors for its large population of chimpanzees. Mahale is paradise for other primates also, not just chimpanzee. The park’s splendour consists of rivers and waterfalls and white sandy beaches around the Lake’s shoreline.

9. Kitulo National Park

The Kitulo Plateau is called ‘Bustani ya Mungu’ – The Garden of God – by local people, while botanists have named it the Serengeti of Flowers, home to ‘one of the great floral spectacles of the world’, and the only one of its kind in Africa where wild flowers, birds and harmonious grass eating mammals are dominant.

Kitulo is indeed a rare botanical marvel, home to wildflowers for six months of the year, from November to April. There is a documented 350 species of wild flowers including lilies and fields of daisies. 45 endemic orchid species are found only in the park than any other part of the world, from June to August the entire park is foggy with no visibility during the daytime, and it is hardly possible to view its beauties.

10. Nyerere National Park

The Nyerere National Park is the north-eastern section of the vast Selous Game Reserve, which was set aside for photographic safaris and was elevated to national park status in November 2019. The park was named after the first president of Tanzania, Mr Julius Nyerere (late) in appreciation of his role in supporting conservation and protection of wildlife in the country. One of the most attractive and game-rich locations in the ecology of Selous Game Reserve is Nyerere National Park, lying in the Rufiji River basin of southeastern Tanzania.

11. Ruaha National Park

Ruaha National Park is located just south of the central midpoint of Tanzania. The national park encompasses an area of 7,809 square miles (20,226 sq km) making it the largest national park in Tanzania and one of the largest in Africa.

Ruaha National Park is part of the larger Rungwa-Kizigo-Muhesi ecosystem that covers an area of 17,000 square miles (45,000 sq km). Along with Ruaha, the area includes two other game reserves and a wildlife management area. There are three primary areas for safari game-viewers to explore. The Ruaha River area is the most stunning with Mdonya woodlands and the Mbage-Mwagusi circuit.

12. Lake Natron

This spectacular area sits just north east of the Ngorongoro Crater and forms part of Africa immense Great Rift Valley. Nestled between rolling volcanic hills and deep craters, Lake Natron sits at the lowest point of the rift valley – 600m above sea level – and is probably the world’s most caustic body of water.

Lake Natron is a salt or soda lake not far from Lake Manyara in northern Tanzania. It is located in the Gregory Rift, the eastern branch of the East African Rift. The lake lays at the foot of the Ol Doinyo Lengai, an active volcano.

13. Udzungwa Mountains Park

Udzungwa Mountains National Park was established in 1992 and covers an area of 1990km2 where geographically, 20% of the total area lies in Morogoro region while the remaining 80% being in the southern highland region of Iringa. The word “Udzungwa” comes from the word “Wadsungwa” referring to one of the native sub tribes of the “Hehe” people who once lived in the slopes of the mountains.

14. Mount Ol’doinyo Lengai

“Oldoinyo Lengai” means “The Mountain of God” in the Maasai language. The summit of this strato-volcano is 2962 metres above sea level, and affords direct views into the caldera of Tanzania’s only officially-certified active volcano, and the world’s only carbonatite volcano; records of eruptions have been maintained since 1883, the largest of which deposited ash 120 from Arusha Town and 100 kilometres away in Loliondo on the Kenyan border to the north west.

15. Katavi National Park

It offers un-spoilt wildlife viewing in the country’s third-largest national park, in a remote location far off the beaten track. The Katavi National Park is Africa at its most wild — unadulterated bush settings, spectacular views, and rich wildlife.

Tanzania’s third largest national park; it lies in the remote area southwest of the country, within a truncated arm of the Rift Valley that terminates in the shallow, brooding expanse of Lake Rukwa. The wilderness of Katavi National Park, located in the western area of Tanzania, is one of the most untouched areas in the entire country.

16. Saanane Island National Park

Covering an area of about 2.20 square Kilometers, Saanane National Park is located on an island in Lake Victoria. The park got its name from its former owner Mzee Saanane Chawandi.

In 1964, Saanane was the first zoo in Tanzania. Later in 1991, it was recognized as a game reserve and then in 2013, it was gazetted as a National Park.

17. Saadani National Park

Covering an area of 1,062 sq km (415 sq miles), Saadani National Park is sited on the north coast of Tanzania, approximately 100km North West of Dar es Salaam. The Park is home to a variable mix of both marine and mainland flora and fauna. Saadani is an ideal blend of island relaxation and safari excitement.

18. Mikumi National Park

Mikumi National Park is only three to four hours drive from Dar es Salaam, lying astride the main highway to Zambia, and en route to the National Parks of Udzungwa Mountains, Ruaha and Kitulo. The main feature of the park is the Mikumi flood plain, along with the mountain ranges that border the park on two sides. Open grasslands dominate in the flood plain, eventually merging with the miombo woodland covering the lower hills.

19. Usambara Mountains

The Usambara’s are a part of the ancient Eastern Arc chain which mountains stretch in a broken crescent from the Taita hills in southern Kenya down to Morogoro and the southern highlands. They are estimated to be at least 100 million years old and the rocks forming them may be as much as 600 million years old. The mountains are home to an exceptional assortment of plants and animals and represent one of the highest degrees of biodiversity on the continent.

20. Rubondo Island National Park

Rubondo Island National Park has a size of 240 km². It is only one of two Tanzanian national parks located on an island in Lake Victoria, the world’s second-largest lake. It is located in the southwest corner of the lake. Rubondo became a game reserve in 1965, to provide a sanctuary for animals. Tanzania gazetted Rubondo in 1977 as a national park. It is uninhabited and consequently 90% of the island remains forest today. With nine smaller islands under its wing, Rubondo also protects precious fish breeding grounds.

21. Zanzibar Island – Unguja

Also known as the Spice Island, the beautiful island of Zanzibar is full of culture and history, shinning white-sand beaches with palms swaying lazily in the sea breeze, together makes Zanzibar a fabulous place to explore as well as a dream to relax and unwind.

Zanzibar is the semi-autonomous part of Tanzania in East Africa. It is composed of the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25–50 kilometres (16–31 mi) off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba. The capital is Zanzibar City, located on the island of Unguja. Its historic centre is Stone Town, which is a World Heritage Site.

22. Kalambo Falls

Kalambo Nature Forest Reserve is located in Kalambo District, Rukwa Region and has an area of 43,334ha. The reserve’s prominent tourist feature is the Kalambo Waterfalls, which also forms the border between Tanzania and Zambia. The Kalambo waterfalls is the 2nd biggest fall in Africa with a single fall of 250m. (one of the tiers of the Tugela Falls in South Africa is the second highest in the world).