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Allow Ntaba African Safaris to take you on an African Safari to Tanzania and we will give you an unforgettable travel experience. It will touch you deep within and it is an experience of a lifetime. A trip to Tanzania is both intriguing and exciting, created by the fascinating balance between wildlife, the landscapes and its people.
Tanzania is a safari destination without equal. An unparalleled one-quarter of its surface area has been set aside for conservation, with the world-renowned Serengeti National Park and the incredibly vast Selous Game Reserve. They are part of a rich mosaic of protected areas that collectively harbor an estimated 20 percent of Africa’s large mammal population.
With such a perfect location, perched on the edge of the African continent, and facing the Indian Ocean, Tanzania’s weather and climate leave nothing to be desired. Warm and sunny days are followed by cool and balmy nights, and whether you’re on a safari on the Serengeti plains or enjoying the tropical beaches of Zanzibar, the temperatures are always welcoming and gentle.
Tanzania has emerged from comparative obscurity to stand as one of Africa’s most dynamic and popular travel destinations; a land whose staggering natural variety is complemented by the innate hospitality of the people who live there.
The Tanzanian experience can be summarized in a single word, one that visitors will hear a dozen times daily, no matter where they travel in Tanzania, or how they go about it: the smiling, heartfelt Swahili greeting of “KARIBU”- WELCOME!
Tanzania has an array of spectacular sights which bring over 1 million tourists to Tanzania each year. The country is one of the best safari destinations in the world, it is the home of Africa’s highest mountain and it has paradise islands and lakes creating wonderful marine adventures. Dive into Tanzania!
Tanzania is blessed with a variety of wildlife destinations, from its more popular northern circuit that includes the famous Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater to the quieter and equally spectacular southern circuit of Selous.
Serengeti National Park is one of the most famous national parks in Africa and offers some of the best wildlife viewings in the world. The Serengeti is huge, covering 14,793 km (5,700 sq miles) stretching North to Kenya and bordering Lake Victoria to the west.
Serengeti National Park has the highest concentration of large mammals on the planet. The park sports the densest lion population in the world and is home to all members of the big five and around 500 bird species! The wildlife viewing here is just sensational.
There are many incredible animal migrations in the world including the Kasanka bat migration in Zambia, the Southern Right Whale migration in South Africa and the zebra migration in Botswana. The most famous animal migration, however, happens in Tanzania’s Serengeti and Kenya’s Masai Mara.
The annual Great Wildebeest Migration is quite possibly nature’s greatest show on earth. Over a million wildebeest along with gazelle and zebra charge towards better grazing areas. Beginning on the green plains of the Southern Serengeti in January when the annual rains hit allowing the female wildebeest to give birth.
By March/April, the area has dried out and become desolate so the massive group of animals are forced to move northwards towards Lake Victoria where they begin the mating season. Following this they head towards the Maasai Mara in June/July, this is where they gallop across the plains and cross the infamous and notorious crocodile-infested Mara River.
If you would like to witness this incredible spectacle in Tanzania, the best time to see the migration is in February and March in the Southern Serengeti, this is when the animals are grazing and can be seen in their immense number, and in July and September in the northern Serengeti for the river crossings.
Read our Serengeti blog post: 15 need-to-know things about the Serengeti.
The Ngorongoro Crater is a huge volcanic caldera, the world’s largest caldera. The Ngorongoro Crater was created when a large volcano exploded and collapsed on itself two to three million years ago.
Today, the area has global importance for biodiversity due to the presence of globally threatened species, the density of wildlife inhabiting the area, and the annual migration of wildebeest, zebra, gazelles and other animals. The area was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978 to help preserve this precious land making it the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Ngorongoro offers many spectacles including fantastic wildlife viewing. You are guaranteed to see large concentrations of game on any Ngorongoro safari. The mineral-rich open plains are home to large herds of zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, Thomson’s gazelle and tsessebe (AKA topi). If you want to see black rhino, this is the place to visit; Ngorongoro is home to East Africa’s best population of black rhino.
With herbivores comes predators and there is no shortage of predators here. In fact, Ngorongoro has the densest population of predators found anywhere in Africa. What is particularly exciting is the lion populations disregard of safari vehicles; they will hunt near the vehicle and even seek shade next to it when they’re exhausted and in need of a canopy from the hot sun.
Wildlife isn’t the only attraction at the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. It has been proved that various Hominid species have lived there for millions of years thanks to fossils preserved in volcanic rock dating back 3.6 million years. The Olduvai Gorge is one of the most prehistoric sites in the world.
Empakaai Crater is a dep soda lake covering about half of the 6km wide caldera. Thousands of flamingos are often found in the shallows of the lake giving it a spectacular pink tinge. There are incredible views from this area where on some days you can see Kilimanjaro.
We can arrange day trips to Olduvai Gorge and Empakaai Crater.
Tarangire National Park is the sixth largest national park in Tanzania, located in the northern area of Tanzania, it covers an area of approximately 2,850 square kilometers (1,100 square miles). The name of the park is derived from its sole water source, the Tarangire River.
Game viewing in Tarangire is an obvious highlight, and it can be spectacular during the dry season with some of the highest number of animals in the country. Elephants gather here in large numbers, with up to an awe-inspiring 500 along the river banks. Other animals you may witness include herds of buffalo, Thomson’s gazelle, wildebeest, zebra, gerenuk, hartebeest, kudu and Oryx.
The park is famous for its high density of elephants and baobab trees. If you’re lucky you may witness the tree climbing lions and tree climbing pythons! The park has a healthy population of predators, including lion, leopard, cheetah, caracal, honey badger and African wild dog.
Tarangire National Park can be reached from Arusha in under two hours.
Selous is one of Tanzania’s three UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is the largest game reserve in Africa, spanning 50,000 kilometers square (19,000 sq mi), it is four times the size of the Serengeti.
The reserve enjoys little human interventions making it a truly authentic safari experience. Selous is home to an incredible diversity of flora, fauna and birdlife. It is said that approximately 1,300 of 4,000 wild dogs remaining in the world are found in the unspoilt plains of Selous. Crocodile and pods of hippos can be regularly seen as they submerge in the glistening lagoons, whilst 350 bird species include the rainbow-coloured and exotic. Some 60,000 elephants and 108,000 buffalo are found in the reserve, as well as an abundance of hartebeest, zebra, baboon, kudu, wildebeest, sable antelope, eland, reedbuck, bushbuck and giraffe. Primates such as blue Samango monkeys and colobus monkeys are also found.
Climbing Kilimanjaro is one of the world’s great adventures. Kilimanjaro, a national park, and a World Heritage Site since 1989, peaks at 19,341 ft (5896m). It is Africa’s highest mountain and is, without question, one of the continent’s most magnificent sights.
Kilimanjaro is in northern Tanzania, right against the border with Kenya, in East Africa. The nearest town is Moshi, which is a protected area and has measures in place to ensure climbers can enjoy the mountain and not leave a trace of their presence. Helping to protect the mountain’s ecosystem.
The mountain’s ecosystems are as strikingly beautiful as they are varied and diverse. On the lowland slopes, much of the mountain is farmland, with coffee, banana, cassava, and maize crops grown for subsistence and cash sale.
Mount Kilimanjaro is one of the so-called Seven Summits – comprised by the highest mountains on each of the seven continents. It is also one of the world’s highest ‘walkable’ mountains, where no technical climbing skills are required to reach the summit.
You need to be at least 10 years old to climb Kilimanjaro although one six-year-old and three seven-year-olds have successfully reached the summit. The oldest person to make it to the summit was an 88-year-old! So, there’s hope for us all.
You don’t need any technical climbing or mountaineering skills to get to the top of Kilimanjaro, all the main routes up the mountain are just walking routes. You may need to use your hands to steady yourself from time to time and occasionally you may also need to haul yourself over a rock. But, for the most part, it’s a nice walk!
However, it isn’t the endurance side of things which makes climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro a challenge. It is dealing with the altitude. As you climb higher you battle against the lack of oxygen that is available to breathe and face potential altitude sickness. Not everyone is impacted by altitude sickness but the lack of oxygen is noticeable. There are ways to prevent altitude sickness and methods to deal with it if you get it. All of which will be discussed before setting off on the climb.
Would you like to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro? We can arrange this for you!
Tanzania houses a fascinating complexity of lakes that are as diverse as they are beautiful, from clear blue water that laps onto beach-like, sandy shores to crater lakes fringed by leafy forests.
Lake Victoria is the world’s largest tropical lake and spans three countries: Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. It is one of Africa’s Great Lakes – along with Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika. Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest lake by area and the world’s second largest freshwater lake by surface area.
The lake has a maximum depth of 84 metres (276 ft.) and an average depth of 40 metres (130 ft.). The lake was named after Queen Victoria by the first Briton to document it, explorer John Hanning Speke. He was searching for the source of the Nile River – Lake Victoria is the source of the White Nile.
In Lake Victoria, there is lots of native wildlife that you can spot. This lake is home to hippo, sitatunga and bohor reedbuck. More than that, there are also several different otter species that you can find here, such as African clawless otter, marsh mongoose, cane rats, giant otter shrew, defassa waterbuck and spotted-necked otter. This lake is the perfect place for these mammals to live.
Nile Crocodiles are the kings of Lake Victoria. The crocodile population is thriving. There is also several different turtle species, such as Helmeted Turtles and Mud Turtles. One of the Mud Turtle species, which is Williams’ Mud Turtle, is said to be endemic to Lake Victoria and a connected lake.
The lake offers plenty of activities for tourists. You can visit the source of the Nile in Jinja, feed the chimpanzees at Ngamba Island or relax at one of the fine resorts which are located on islands or peninsula’s in Lake Victoria. You might also consider a fishing trip on the lake in search of the giant Nile Perch!
Lake Manyara was described as the “loveliest [lake] in Africa” by Ernest Hemingway and we can see why! This stunning body of water is picturesque and wildlife is plentiful. The lake is often adorned with flocks of pelicans and flamingos.
Lake Manyara covers approximately two-thirds of the Lake Manyara National Park. The park is one of Tanzania’s smaller and most underrated parks. While it may lack the size and variety of other northern-circuit destinations its vegetation is diverse, ranging from Savannah to marsh to evergreen forest. The lake and its surroundings are home to baboons, hippos, impalas, elephants, wildebeests, warthogs, buffalo, zebra and giraffes. Lake Manyara National Park is also famed for its tree-climbing lions!
Lake Manyara is a haven for twitchers’. Pelicans and flamingos aren’t the only birdlife found around the lake. Over 300 migratory birds, including, long-crested eagle, grey-headed kingfisher and hornbills can be observed at the lake.
There aren’t just two incredible lakes in Tanzania. Lake Eyasi, known for its stunning bird life is found within the Ngorongoro Highlands areas of Tanzania and features purple volcanic walls.
If you are active and love snorkelling, you will want to visit Lake Tanganyika, the deepest lake in Africa. The shallow lagoons are home to more than 250 species of rainbow cichlid fish. The landscape is enchanting with clear water, sandy shores, surrounding forests and blue-tinted mountain ridges, you will not want to leave.
Lake Natron, the world’s most corrosive body of water, sits at the lowest point of the Great Rift Valley. The lake presents some of the most unusual and dramatic scenery in Tanzania. It is believed birds crash into the lake which leaves them looking like statues. The extreme sodium bicarbonate content preserves them perfectly.
The perfect way to unwind after an action-packed safari of the Serengeti, Ngorongoro or Tanzania’s other awe-inspiring wildlife sanctuaries, the tropical and sun-soaked ‘Spice Island’ of Zanzibar
The exotic spice island of Zanzibar is an archipelago off the coast of Tanzania, consisting of Zanzibar Island, Pemba Island, and many smaller islands. Zanzibar island is approximately 90km long and 30km wide. There are so many things to do on Zanzibar Island. Stone Town, recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the most unique cities in the world blending Moorish, Middle Eastern, Indian, and African traditions and architectures.
The sand of the beaches is brilliant white, and the warm waters of the Indian Ocean are a deep teal. You can find plenty of opportunities for scuba diving, swim with the dolphins, arrange for a ride on a local’s dhow and sit and stare at the water for hours on end.
Find out more about Zanzibar.
