To really experience East Africa means you must visit Tanzania one of Africa’s top safari destinations. Officially the United Republic of Tanzania, many safari travellers go to Tanzania to experience the renowned wildlife-rich national parks such as the Serengeti, or perhaps to climb Africa’s highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro and that is also within easy reach of laid back and tranquil Zanzibar, and its miles and miles of white sand beaches.
The Serengeti, located in northern Tanzania and spanning an incredible 30,000 square kilometres is considered to be one of the ten natural travel wonders of the world. One of the greatest wildlife spectacles in Africa is the annual wildebeest migration. At least two million ungulates – mainly wildebeest, but also zebra and gazelle – move around the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem. The Serengeti is home to a high diversity of more than 70 large mammals and 500 bird species. Much of this is facilitated by its highly diverse habitats, which include forests, swamps, grasslands and woodlands. Check out our Serengeti Gallery here.
Ngorongoro Crater is in in the Eastern (Great) Rift Valley, northern Tanzania, and is the world’s largest inactive, unbroken and unfilled volcanic caldera, that is also home to the “big 5” game (elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino). Livestock belonging to the semi-nomadic Maasai tribe graze alongside wild animals.
Lake Manyara National Park, located about 126 kilometres form Arusha, is a protected area in Tanzania’s Arusha and Manyara Regions, lying between Lake Manyara and the Great Rift Valley. More than 350 bird species have been observed on the lake, but its very well known for the tree climbing lions, and its pink flamingos.
Zanzibar, the semi-autonomous archipelago, is located in the Indian Ocean some 35 kilometres off the coast of mainland Tanzania. It has long been a hopping off point for many safaris travelers to end their trip and soak up the sun.