Best Things To Do in Tanzania – Our Expert’s Choice

31-40 of 50 Best Things To Do in Tanzania

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    31. Marvel at the Gray Giants of Tarangire NP

    Large elephant herds and immense baobab trees stud the slopes of Tarangire

    Tarangire National Park, set on the semi-arid Maasai Steppe south of Arusha, is one of the most popular stops along the Northern circuit. Its defining feature is the Tarangire River, which attracts plentiful wildlife from many

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    miles around during the Dry season. Elephant numbers here can be incredible, especially in the heat of the day, when you’ll see one herd after another coming down to drink.Tarangire is also notable for the baobab trees that line its slopes. Elephants often huddle in the meagre shade of these distinctively bulbous trees, which also provide perches to eagles and vultures, and nesting sites to brightly colored lovebirds. Many safaris pop into Tarangire before lunch to look for elephants, then move on in the afternoon. But an overnight stay greatly increases your chances of seeing big cats, and it also allows you to experience this attractive park when it’s less busy.

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    Tarangire Safaris About Tarangire NP

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    32. Engage With Swahili Culture Along the Coast

    Tanzania’s historic Indian Ocean ports are steeped in Swahili tradition

    The coastal Swahili culture, a vibrant fusion of African, Arab and Shirazi influences molded over a thousand years of maritime trade, can be experienced at many of Tanzania’s older ports. Best known is Zanzibar’s labyrinthine Stone

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    Town, with its historic mosques, lively taarab music scene and restaurants serving fragrant Swahili dishes such as pilau, biryani and coconut-laced curries.For a more down-to-earth Swahili experience, little-visited mainland ports such as Bagamoyo, Pangani, Tanga, Kilwa Kivinje and Mikindani are steeped in history and retain a strong traditional feel. Contemporary Swahili culture can also be placed in historical context by visiting the impressive medieval ruins at archaeological sites such as Kilwa Kisiwani, Songo Mnara or Tongoni.

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    Safari & Stone Town Packages About Stone Town

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    33. Climb Meru, Africa’s Fifth-highest Mountain

    A two- or four-day hike from Arusha takes you to the peak of Mt Meru

    Overshadowed by Kilimanjaro 50km/31mi to the east, Mt Meru (Africa’s fifth-highest mountain) is a dormant volcano protected within Arusha National Park. Rising to 4,562m/14,967ft, Meru not only dominates the northern skyline of Arusha town, it is

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    also responsible for the region’s fertile volcanic soil and wet microclimate.A round-trip hike up Mt Meru takes two to four days, climbing through dense montane forest into the partially collapsed caldera, then ascending along the western crater rim to Socialist Peak. The hike is often tackled as a preliminary activity to climbing Kilimanjaro to help acclimatize to high altitude. But it also makes for a relatively affordable and uncrowded alternative to its eastern neighbor. Plenty of wildlife can be seen along the way, and the summit offers great views of Kilimanjaro’s snowcap. For those who don’t fancy a full climb, the day hike into Meru Crater, which encloses an immense ash cone, is thoroughly worthwhile.

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    Mt Meru Climbing Tours

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    34. Take a Safari in the Wilds of Ruaha NP

    Tanzania’s second-largest national park has a compelling wilderness vibe

    Ruaha National Park lacks the wall-to-wall wildlife that makes places such as the Serengeti and Masai Mara so appealing to first-time safari-goers. But ask a regular visitor to East Africa which is their favorite safari destination

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    and there’s a good chance the answer will be Ruaha. This is a very special park, one whose remote location, vast size and rugged baobab-studded slopes combine to create a thrilling wilderness character.This 20,226km²/7,809mi² park can also offer excellent wildlife viewing. You sometimes need to work for your sightings, but it is one of the few places where you might realistically see all of Africa’s five largest carnivores – lion, leopard, cheetah, spotted hyena and African wild dog – in the course of a standard-length safari. In addition, large herds of elephant and buffalo haunt the banks of the Ruaha River, while a diversity of antelope includes sable, roan, greater kudu, lesser kudu and Grant's gazelle.

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    Ruaha Safaris About Ruaha NP

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    35. Canoe or Take a Guided Walk Around Lake Duluti

    This forest-fringed crater lake is an easy day trip from Arusha

    Only 30 minutes’ drive from Arusha, Duluti is a pretty crater lake enclosed by a small forest reserve. A fun way to explore it is on a canoeing trip, which needs to be arranged in advance.

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    Alternatively, guides working with a community project are available to lead you on a 3km/2mi walking trail that circles the lake. Look out for vervet monkey and blue monkey, along with forest birds such as Hartlaub’s turaco, silvery-cheeked hornbill and African paradise flycatcher. Views of Mounts Meru and Kilimanjaro are possible, and you can finish the outing with a lakeside drink at Duluti Forest Club.

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    Safari & Lake Duluti Packages

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    36. Visit Mysterious Rock Paintings Around Kondoa

    The boulders of this remote landscape are adorned with prehistoric art

    One of Tanzania’s most neglected cultural treasures, Kondoa is a Unesco World Heritage Site comprising more than 150 rock-art panels. This makes it East Africa’s largest gallery of prehistoric paintings. Geometric patterns, wildlife, people and therianthropes

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    (human-like figures endowed with animal features) are all depicted, and the oldest paintings are thought to be 4,000 years old. The widespread superimposition of styles suggests that many panels were worked by a succession of artists over several centuries.If you visit only one panel, make it Mungomi wa Kolo (‘Dancers of Kolo’), whose mysterious central figure comprises four ant-like therianthropes with stick bodies, spindly limbs and enlarged heads. Situated on a hillside near the village of Kolo, this panel is easily visited as a day trip from Tarangire National Park, two hours’ drive to the north. If you want to see more rock art, you could easily spend a week exploring this fascinating region.

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    37. Spot Unique Flora and Fauna in the Eastern Arc

    These forested mountains are a global biodiversity hot spot rich in endemics

    Often referred to as the African Galápagos, the Eastern Arc is a chain of 13 distinct mountain ranges, all but one of which lies within Tanzania. In ecological terms, each range is much like an island,

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    supporting a cover of ancient forest that’s been separated from the other 12 for 10 million years. Collectively, the mountains rank among the world’s top 20 biodiversity hot spots, with a wealth of endemics that includes more than 75 vertebrate species and 16 plant genera.The Udzungwa Mountains – the only Eastern Arc range protected in a national park – are often tagged onto a Southern circuit safari. Farther north, Lushoto, the main town of the West Usambara Mountains, hosts a community ecotourism project offering a range of guided hikes, while Amani Nature Reserve in East Usambara is a top birding hot spot. Other less-developed ranges such as Uluguru, Pare and Rubeho offer rich pickings to off-the-beaten-track adventurers.

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    Eastern Arc Tours

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    38. Explore Empakaai and Olmoti Craters

    These scenic gems lie in the same volcanic highlands as Ngorongoro Crater

    Empakaai Crater is one of the most neglected beauty spots on Tanzania’s Northern circuit. Enclosed by 540m-/1,772ft-deep walls, this intact volcanic caldera has a diameter of 8km/5mi and surrounds an emerald-colored lake that often hosts flocks

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    of flamingo. From the rim, there are views to the active volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai and, on a clear day, to distant Mt Kilimanjaro. The steep guided hike to the crater floor takes around 45 minutes in each direction, passing through lush highland forest inhabited by buffalo, bushbuck and blue monkey.Empakaai is a spectacular spot for a day outing within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The 90-minute drive there passes below 3,648m/11,968ft Mt Lolmalasin, the tallest peak in the Ngorongoro Highlands. On the way, you can do a short guided walk to the wider and shallower Olmoti Crater, where you might see antelope grazing alongside red-blanketed Maasai herders and their livestock.

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    Empakaai Tours

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    39. Try a Beach-and-bush Combo at Saadani NP

    The only East African beach destination inhabited by four of the Big Five

    Saadani National Park is a thoroughly enjoyable off-the-beaten-track safari destination. The Indian Ocean beaches are gorgeous and double as northern Tanzania’s only turtle-nesting site. Boat trips on the Wami River are good for spotting hippo,

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    crocodile and Angola colobus monkey, while nearby salt pans often host large flocks of flamingo. Common plains wildlife includes giraffe, buffalo, warthog, yellow baboon, vervet monkey and half a dozen antelope species.Saadani is often marketed as the only place in East Africa where elephants or big cats might be seen strolling along the beach. In practice, however, none of these animals subsist on sand or salt water, so the odds of a beach encounter are slim. That said, there’s a good chance of spotting elephant – and to a lesser extent lion or leopard – on game drives inland. And if you do, other visitors are so rare that you’ll probably have the sighting to yourself.

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    Saadani Safaris About Saadani NP

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    40. Run the Kilimanjaro Marathon

    This annual marathon takes place in the shadow of Africa’s tallest mountain

    Held every February or March, the Kilimanjaro Marathon first took place in 2002. It has since grown to become East Africa’s premier running event, attracting around 12,000 local and international entrants. The run doesn’t actually take

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    place on the mountain but in the foothills around Moshi. The route follows surfaced roads that span relatively moderate altitudes of 830m to 1,150m (2,700ft to 3,800ft), with most of the climbing occurring in the first 10km/6mi. In addition to the full marathon, there is a half-marathon and a 5km/3mi fun run.

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