Tanzania
There are many unforgettable travel destinations in East Africa, but few more so than Tanzania. Here the endless plains of the Serengeti, the lush pastures of the Ngorongoro Crater, the snow-capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro and the mythical isle of Zanzibar will entice travelers to return time and again.
The lush Mahogany treed jungle in the north-eastern highlands blankets the foothills of the sheer rock walls of the Great Rift Valley which in turn forms an impressive backdrop to the great lakes of Victoria, Manyara and Tanganyika. The Great Rift is a 3,000-mile geological fault stretching from Syria in Asia to Mozambique in lower East Africa and offers the visitor stunning scenery of Africa’s highest mountains and deepest lakes.
To the east, Dar es Salaam, the capital city, serves as the gateway to the emerald isles of Zanzibar, surrounded by an atoll of breath-taking coral reefs – a sheer haven for divers. The Zanzibar archipelago was discovered by Arab traders in the 8th century and to this day is still called the “Spice Islands”, bathed in the heady scents, culture and architecture of a bygone era.
To the west of Kilimanjaro are the Serengeti plains, well-known for their huge concentrations of migratory animals. This mosaic of grassland, swamps, riverine forests and savannah habitats is host to 70 larger mammals, of which more than a million herbivores participate in the circular migration, spurred on by the need for greener pastures. In excess of a million wildebeest (gnu), accompanied by 200,000 zebras congregate on the Southern Serengeti plains from December until March to start “the biggest show on earth”. Slowly, but surely, they move in a westerly and northerly direction, and come July to October they are confronted by the Grumetti and Mara Rivers, dramatic setting for the well-known river crossings. In these rivers huge crocodiles lay in wait. The large herds stay in the Masai Mara Nature Reserve, until the smell of the new rains in the south draw them back to their breeding grounds in the Serengeti.
The jewel in the crown of the greater Serengeti area is the Ngorongoro crater. This volcanic caldera has walls of half-a mile deep and covers a mere 102 square miles and forms a natural enclosure for many species, including lion. With 25,000 mammals in this enclosure it undoubtedly makes the Ngorongoro the most densely crowded wildlife area on the planet. Wildlife viewing and photography in the caldera is something special, with the crater walls forming a perfect background to the images of animals and nature alike. Accommodation is outside the crater and a number of exclusive lodges on its rim offers spectacular views of the crater floor below.
Away from the popular Serengeti lies the smaller wildlife enclave of Lake Manyara. This area is renowned for its diverse terrain: from the shallow alkaline waters of “the loveliest lake in Africa”, home to thousands of pink Flamingos, to groundwater forests, acacia woodlands and open floodplains. The sheer rock walls of the Great Rift Valley serve as spectacular scenery. A stay in a luxurious tree lodge emulates the behaviour of the tree-climbing lions of the region.
