Tanzania

Few travelers forget their first encounter with the Serengeti. Perhaps it's the view from Naabi Hill at the park's entrance, from where the grasslands appear to stretch to the ends of the earth. Or maybe it's a coalition of lions stalking across open plains, their manes catching the breeze. Or it could be wildebeest and zebra migrating in their millions, following the ancient rhythm of the seasons. Whatever it is, welcome to one of the greatest wildlife-watching destinations on earth.

Step off the boat or plane onto the Zanzibar Archipelago and you’re transported through time and place. This is one of the world's great cultural crossroads, where Africa meets Arabia meets the Indian Ocean.

Pemba's terrain is hilly and lushly vegetated, while much of the coast is lined with mangroves and lagoons, interspersed with idyllic beaches and islets. Offshore, coral reefs offer some of East Africa's best diving.

Tanzania’s second-largest city, and the lake region’s economic heart, Mwanza is set on Lake Victoria’s shore, surrounded by hills strewn with enormous boulders. It is notable for its strong Indian influences, as well as for being a major industrial centre and a busy port. Yet despite its rapidly rising skyline, Mwanza manages to retain a casual feel. In addition to being a stop on the way to Rubondo Island National Park, Mwanza is a great starting or finishing point for safaris through Ngorongoro and the Serengeti, ideally as a loop by adding in Lake Natron.

Zanzibar Island is a jewel in the ocean, surrounded by beaches that rate among the finest in the world. Here you can swim, snorkel or just lounge the hours away, while shoals of luminous fish graze over nearby coral gardens and pods of dolphins frolic offshore.

Western Tanzania is rough, remote frontier land, with vast trackless expanses, minimal infrastructure and few visitors. The west offers a sense of adventure now missing elsewhere in the country. This is precisely what attracts a trickle of travellers, many of whom plan their itineraries around the schedules of the MV Liemba, which sails down Lake Tanganyika, and the Central Line train, which crosses the country.

Central Tanzania lies well off most tourist itineraries, and that's just the way we like it. Exceptional and enigmatic, the Unesco World Heritage–listed Kondoa Rock-Art Sites, scattered across remote hills along the Rift Valley Escarpment, are the region's premier attraction. Not far away, Mt Hanang soars to 3417m and is a worthy climb, both for its own sake and for the chance to summit all by yourself. Both attractions also serve as gateways to the world of the colourful Barabaig and other tribes whose traditional lifestyles remain little touched by the modern world.

Selous Game Reserve is a vast, 48,000-sq-km wilderness area lying at the heart of southern Tanzania. It is Africa’s largest wildlife reserve, and home to large herds of elephants, plus buffaloes, crocodiles, hippos, wild dogs, many bird species and some of Tanzania’s last remaining black rhinos. Bisecting it is the Rufiji River, which cuts a path past woodlands, grasslands and stands of borassus palm, and provides unparalleled water-based wildlife watching.

Arusha is Tanzania's gateway to the northern circuit of stellar national parks and the starting point of many a memorable safari. It's also a large, sprawling city with all the contradictions that brings.

Over the last century, Dar es Salaam has grown from a quiet Zaramo fishing village into a thriving tropical metropolis of over four million people. Straddling some of the most important sea routes in the world, it is East Africa’s second-busiest port and Tanzania’s commercial hub. Despite this, the city has managed to maintain a low-key, down-to-earth feel.