Destinations

A compact park half an hour from Arusha taking in Mount Meru, the Momella Lakes and the Ngurdoto Crater. With no resident lion population, walking and canoeing are permitted here as they are not in the larger parks.

Full guide 8 safaris

A park in the Kagera region west of Lake Victoria, upgraded from game reserve status in 2019, with savannah, wetland and lakes and very few visitors.

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Tanzania's smallest national park, a strip of forested valleys on the Lake Tanganyika shore north of Kigoma. Jane Goodall began her chimpanzee research here in 1960 and the study has continued since.

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A small park in the Kagera region near the Uganda border, upgraded from game reserve status in 2019. Very lightly visited, with little published visitor information.

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One of the least visited large parks in Africa, built around the Katuma River and its seasonal floodplains. As the dry season advances, hippo and buffalo concentrate in extraordinary numbers.

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A very large miombo and wetland park in western Tanzania, part of the wider Moyowosi-Kigosi system. Created a national park in 2019, but Parliament approved its revocation in June 2023 to allow a forest reserve. It has effectively no tourism infrastructure.

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A montane grassland plateau in the Southern Highlands known locally as the Garden of God, gazetted largely for its plants. Its orchids and wildflowers come out from around late October into April.

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A narrow strip of groundwater forest, floodplain and alkaline lake pinned between the Rift escarpment and the water, with large baboon troops, a canopy walkway and lions that are sometimes seen resting in trees.

Full guide 38 safaris

Forested mountains dropping straight into Lake Tanganyika, with no roads inside the park and access by light aircraft and boat. It holds one of the largest habituated chimpanzee communities in Africa.

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The most accessible large park from Dar es Salaam, bisected by the surfaced highway. The open Mkata floodplain makes it a practical short safari or a stop en route to Ruaha.

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Dry acacia-commiphora bush in the north-east against the Pare and Usambara ranges, sharing a border with Kenya's Tsavo West. It holds a black rhino sanctuary and a long-running African wild dog breeding programme.

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One of the largest national parks in Africa, gazetted in 2019 from the northern Selous Game Reserve and still widely sold under the Selous name. The Rufiji and its lakes make it Tanzania's strongest park for boat safaris, and walking is well established.

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A vast dry park on the Great Ruaha River where southern African miombo meets East African acacia country, putting greater and lesser kudu, sable and roan in one itinerary. Its lion prides are among the largest anywhere.

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A forested island park in the south-western corner of Lake Victoria. Chimpanzees introduced from captivity in the 1960s have established themselves here alongside sitatunga and a long waterbird list.

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A park in the Karagwe highlands of Kagera region, upgraded from game reserve status in 2019. Rolling country on the old caravan route west of Lake Victoria, with almost no tourism development.

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The only national park on the Tanzanian coast, where the bush runs down to the Indian Ocean beach. Boat trips up the Wami River for hippo, crocodile and birds are the signature activity.

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A small island park in Lake Victoria within sight of Mwanza, reached by boat in minutes, with granite outcrops, introduced plains game and rock hyrax.

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Tanzania's flagship park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, roughly 14,750 square kilometres of open plain, kopje and riverine woodland. The migration moves through it across the year and the Seronera valley holds resident big cats whatever the season.

Full guide 67 safaris

A baobab country park along the Tarangire River. As the surrounding land dries out between June and October, elephant gather here in some of the largest concentrations in northern Tanzania.

Full guide 52 safaris

An Eastern Arc rainforest park with no game-viewing roads at all; everything is done on foot. It holds primates found nowhere else, including the Sanje mangabey and the Udzungwa red colobus.

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Miombo woodland and seasonal floodplain along the Ugalla River, gazetted as a national park in 2019 from the former game reserve. TANAPA records sable and roan here and describes its tourism as low-impact and largely undeveloped.

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A private concession on the western edge of the Serengeti ecosystem. Vehicle numbers are limited, and activities restricted inside the national park, such as night drives and walking, are generally permitted here.

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A reserve on the northern Serengeti boundary forming part of the wider ecosystem the migration uses, with concession-based access rather than public entry.

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A reserve on the Serengeti's south-western boundary crossed by the migration as it moves between the southern plains and the west. Access is through concessions rather than public gates.

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A multiple-use landscape between Manyara and the Serengeti, shared with Maasai pastoralists and holding the crater, the volcanic highlands and the Olduvai archaeology. A World Heritage Site listed for both its wildlife and its human record.

Full guide 63 safaris

A small coastal forest reserve inland of Dar es Salaam, protected for its remnant forest and birds rather than for big game. TAWA calls it the smallest game reserve in Tanzania.

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The reserve remaining south of Nyerere National Park after the 2019 gazettement, retaining its World Heritage listing. Its blocks are managed separately from the national park and are not the area most Selous safaris visit.

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Submontane rainforest in the East Usambaras, one of the most biologically important forests in Africa and a long-standing destination for birders and botanists.

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The largest remaining forest block in the South Pare Mountains, rising to Shengena Peak, with high endemism and very few visitors.

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The forest reserve around the Kalambo Falls on the Zambian border, one of the highest uninterrupted waterfalls in Africa and an important archaeological site.

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A crater lake in forest on Mount Rungwe near Tukuyu, reached on a short forest climb and one of the larger volcanic lakes in Africa.

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Montane forest above Lushoto in the West Usambaras, with trails to viewpoints and remnant colonial-era plantation, promoted by Tanzania Forest Services.

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A swamp forest on the Ugandan border in Kagera, biologically part of the Guineo-Congolian belt rather than East Africa, with bird and butterfly species found nowhere else in Tanzania.

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The last substantial indigenous forest on Pemba, in the north of the island, home to the Pemba flying fox and the Pemba scops owl.

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Coastal forest in the hills south-west of Dar es Salaam, in Kisarawe District. Tanzania Forest Services describes it as the remnant of the oldest lowland coastal forests in the country, and it holds bat caves and short walking trails.

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The protected forest core of the Uluguru Mountains above Morogoro, promoted by Tanzania Forest Services for its endemism and its walking trails.

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A forest reserve on the eastern scarp of the Udzungwas, separate from the national park, holding some of the rarest primates and birds in the Eastern Arc.

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Highland country between Kitulo and Lake Nyasa, sometimes called the Mountains of God, with grassland, wildflowers and long ridge walking.

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A steep range falling into the north-eastern shore of Lake Nyasa, walked from Matema and largely unvisited.

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A 3,420 metre volcanic peak south of Babati, climbed over one or two days on a steep, little-used trail through Barabaig grazing country.

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Africa's highest mountain and the tallest free-standing mountain in the world, reaching 5,895 metres at Uhuru Peak. The national park is climbed by several established routes, each with its own approach and acclimatisation profile.

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A 4,566 metre volcano inside Arusha National Park, climbed over three or four days with a park guide, with an armed ranger normally accompanying groups because of the game on its lower slopes. Frequently walked as acclimatisation before Kilimanjaro.

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A quieter Eastern Arc range between Moshi and the Usambaras, walked from Same and Mbaga for forest, viewpoints over the Maasai steppe and Pare village life.

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The cool, fertile uplands around Mbeya, Tukuyu and Njombe, with crater lakes, tea estates, waterfalls and the northern end of Lake Nyasa.

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An Eastern Arc range rising directly behind Morogoro, walked for its forest, its endemic species and the Luguru terraced farming on its slopes.

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Part of the Eastern Arc, an ancient chain of forested massifs with an exceptional level of endemism in both plants and animals. Walking between villages from a base at Lushoto is how most people see them.

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A freshwater lake in the Manyara region known for its hippo population, usually visited by canoe with local guides from the town on its shore.

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A lake inside Burigi-Chato National Park in the Kagera region, part of a chain of water bodies that draws hippo, crocodile and waterbirds.

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A seasonal soda lake south of the Ngorongoro highlands. The country around it is home to the Hadzabe, one of the last hunter-gatherer peoples in East Africa, and to Datoga pastoralists and blacksmiths.

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A shallow, highly caustic soda lake below the volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai near the Kenyan border, and East Africa's single most important breeding site for lesser flamingos.

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The Tanzanian shore of the lake also known as Lake Malawi, reached at Matema and Kyela, with freshwater beaches, endemic cichlids and the Livingstone Mountains behind.

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A shallow, fluctuating salt lake in the Rift between Katavi and the Southern Highlands, with large waterbird numbers and almost no tourism infrastructure.

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The second deepest and second oldest lake in the world, forming Tanzania's western border. Its endemic cichlids make the shoreline unexpectedly good for snorkelling, and it is the approach to Mahale and Gombe.

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Africa's largest lake, with Tanzania holding its southern half. Its ports, islands and fishing villages are a different country from the safari circuits a few hours east.

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A historic port north of Dar es Salaam that was the terminus of the caravan routes from the interior and later the capital of German East Africa, with slave-trade, mission and Kaole sites.

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A quiet east-coast village just north of Paje, with the same lagoon and reef but far less of the kite traffic.

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A small island south-west of Stone Town managed as a private coral park, with a fully protected reef sanctuary, a historic lighthouse and a small eco-lodge. Visitor numbers are deliberately capped.

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A village on the bay of the same name on Zanzibar's east coast, at the edge of the Jozani-Chwaka Bay national park and its mangroves.

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Tanzania's largest city and main port, and the gateway to both the southern circuit and the islands. Ferries to Zanzibar leave from the harbour.

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A stretch of east-coast shore between Bwejuu and Michamvi, largely given over to small resorts and very quiet outside them.

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A private island in the Songo Songo archipelago off the southern coast, with one small lodge, an old lighthouse and reefs almost nobody dives.

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A peninsula south-west of Stone Town facing the Menai Bay conservation area, the departure point for sandbank trips and the bay's dolphins.

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A strung-out village south of Paje on the same lagoon, slower and more residential, where the tide withdraws a long way and the seaweed plots are worked by hand.

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A wide west-facing beach just south of Nungwi, quieter than its neighbour, swimmable throughout the tidal cycle and the usual place on the island to watch the sun set over water.

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The mainland town serving the Kilwa ruins, with the UNESCO-listed Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara a short boat crossing away.

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A long east-coast beach with the island's heaviest concentration of large resorts, and a set of limestone caves inland still used for ritual.

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Two villages at Zanzibar's southern tip, known for dolphin boat trips and for the Dimbani mosque, which carries a Kufic inscription dated to the twelfth century.

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An island south of Zanzibar, most of whose waters lie inside Mafia Island Marine Park. Whale sharks gather in the channel on a seasonal cycle and the reefs are quiet by comparison with Zanzibar's.

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A town on Zanzibar's southern coast, best known for Mwaka Kogwa, the Shirazi new year festival held here each July.

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A stretch of coast north of Stone Town with a coral cave and a separate stone-built slave chamber, used after the trade was formally abolished.

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A long village beach on Zanzibar's north-east coast, directly opposite Mnemba Atoll and the shortest boat ride to its reef. Seaweed is still farmed on the flats at low tide.

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A peninsula at the northern end of the south-east coast, and one of the few places on that side of the island facing west for sunset.

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A small historic port near Mtwara in the far south, with a restored German boma, Swahili houses and a bay almost untouched by tourism.

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A marine park on the Mozambican border near Mtwara, protecting reefs, mangrove and the Ruvuma estuary, with very little visitor traffic.

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A fishing village turned resort strip at Zanzibar's northern tip, where the tidal range is small enough to swim at any state of the tide. Dhow building still goes on at the shore.

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The centre of kitesurfing on Zanzibar's south-east coast, with a broad shallow lagoon inside the reef and reliable cross-shore wind in season.

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A quiet old Swahili and German trading town at the mouth of the Pangani River south of Tanga, with empty beaches and river trips.

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The northern island of the archipelago, hillier, greener and far less developed than Zanzibar, covered in clove plantations. Its steep offshore walls are regarded as the better diving of the two.

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A small, sheltered east-coast bay between Kiwengwa and Uroa where the reef sits close in and the tide withdraws less than it does further south.

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A north-east coast village between Matemwe and Kiwengwa, with a long sand beach and seaweed farming worked at low tide.

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The old quarter of Zanzibar City and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, built of coral rag in a dense maze of alleys, with its Omani, Indian, Persian and European layers still legible.

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Tanzania's northern coastal city and second port, with the Amboni limestone caves, the Tongoni ruins and the Usambaras an hour inland.

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A marine park on the northern coast declared after repeated coelacanth catches offshore, protecting reef and mangrove between Tanga and the Kenyan border.

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An east-coast fishing village on Chwaka Bay's northern side, quieter than the resort strips and still working its boats and seaweed plots.

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The main island of the archipelago, properly called Unguja, about 35 kilometres off the mainland. Reef-fringed beaches on the east and north, spice farms inland, and a Swahili trading history running through all of it.

Full guide 13 safaris

Tanzania's safari capital, where almost every northern circuit itinerary begins and ends. Kilimanjaro International Airport lies east of the city between Arusha and Moshi, about an hour away; Arusha Airport handles the light aircraft into the parks.

Full guide 40 safaris

A town beside its lake south of Manyara, the base for Mount Hanang and for canoe trips among the hippo.

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A town on the western shore of Lake Victoria in Haya country, with lakeside beaches, coffee smallholdings and the ferry to Mwanza.

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A lakeside town in Geita region beside Burigi-Chato National Park, with an airport that has made the western Serengeti and Kagera more reachable.

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Tanzania's capital, in the dry centre of the country. Parliament sits here, the surrounding hills produce most of Tanzania's wine, and the Kondoa rock art lies to the north.

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A highland town on the road to Ruaha and the usual overnight stop before the park, with the Isimila Stone Age site and the Hehe history around Kalenga nearby.

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A highland town between Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro gate, surrounded by coffee farms. Many itineraries sleep here rather than on the crater rim, where accommodation is scarcer.

Full guide 11 safaris

The lake port and railhead serving western Tanzania, and the gateway to Gombe and Mahale.

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The town serving the Kondoa rock-art sites, a UNESCO World Heritage property covering hundreds of painted shelters in the Irangi hills.

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The main town of the West Usambaras and the base for walking in them, set in a cool highland valley with viewpoints over the plains at Irente and Mambo.

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A Chagga village on Kilimanjaro's south-eastern slopes at the Marangu gate, with waterfalls, caves and banana-and-coffee smallholdings on the walks around it.

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A village on the northern shore of Lake Nyasa below the Livingstone Mountains, with a sand beach, local pottery and boat trips along the shore.

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The main town of the Southern Highlands, set below Loleza and Mbeya Peak, and the base for Ngozi, the Kiwira natural bridge and the Mbozi meteorite.

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A town at the foot of the Uluguru Mountains on the main road west from Dar es Salaam, and a common staging point for Mikumi and Nyerere.

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A town on Kilimanjaro's southern slopes and the traditional base for climbs, closer to the Machame and Marangu gates than Arusha. Coffee estates, waterfalls and hot springs fill the days either side of a trek.

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A market town at the foot of the Rift escarpment below Lake Manyara, unusual for the number of Tanzanian language groups living side by side in it, and a centre for village walks and cultural tourism.

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Tea country in the highlands south of Iringa, with plantation estates, trout streams and forest walks at altitude.

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A lake town on a peninsula in eastern Lake Victoria, north of the Serengeti's western corridor and near Julius Nyerere's birthplace at Butiama.

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Tanzania's lake port on the southern shore of Lake Victoria, ringed by granite boulders, and the practical entry point for the western Serengeti and Rubondo.

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The short-grass plains and acacia woodland straddling the southern Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, around Lake Ndutu and Lake Masek. This is where the wildebeest calve between roughly late January and March, and where predator activity concentrates on the herds. Camps here are sold as their own base rather than as a Serengeti add-on.

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A cool highland town among tea and timber plantations between Iringa and Lake Nyasa, with waterfalls on the escarpment nearby.

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A town on the Moshi-Tanga road serving the South Pare Mountains and the southern approach to Mkomazi.

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The main town of Ruvuma region in the far south, named for the Ngoni leader executed here after the Maji Maji war, whose memorial and museum stand in the town.

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A historic caravan-route junction in the miombo of central-western Tanzania, still the main railway crossroads of the interior.

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A small town on Mount Rungwe's slopes in the wettest part of Tanzania, surrounded by tea estates, crater lakes, waterfalls and the Kiwira natural bridge.

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An old caravan and slave-trade terminus just south of Kigoma, and the place where Stanley is said to have met Livingstone in 1871.

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