Facts about Tanzania
Tanzania is an East African country located South of the Equator line.
Tanzania is mostly known to the world for the great wildebeest migration that takes place every year in Serengeti National Park located in the Northern part of the country and rewarding wildlife safaris.
Among the East African countries, Tanzania inclusive of the islands of Zanzibar, Mafia and Pemba is the largest.
Some Interesting Facts about Tanzania
Location. Tanzania is located in East Africa bordered by Uganda and Kenya in the North, the Indian Ocean in the East, Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia in the South and Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the West.
Independence. Tanzania as a nation was formed when Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged in the year 1964 after both of them had attained independence from the British, that is Tanganyika in 1961 and Zanzibar in 1963. Hence, the name Tanzania.
Capital City. Dodoma is Tanzania’s capital city. On the other hand, Dar es Salaam is the largest and busiest city in Tanzania situated at the coast of the Indian Ocean, it is the country’s main port.
Culture. Tanzania has a diverse and rich culture with about 120 different tribes spread around the country. The Masai tribe is the most common among the visitors to the country as the Maasai people mostly live around the protected areas of Tanzania. With all these different tribes, Kiswahili is a unifying language spoken by most of the people in Tanzania and together with English, they are used as the official languages of Tanzania.
Home to the highest point in Africa. Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa is located in the North of Tanzania. The mountain’s highest peak, Uhuru peak (5,985 meters) is among the highest Seven peaks of the world. Anyone in good mental and physical health can summit the Kilimanjaro Mountain using any of the different routes available on the mountain on different sides.
Home to the world’s largest tropical lake. Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake is located in North Tanzania. It is the largest tropical lake in the world and the second largest freshwater lake in the world second to Lake Superior. Tanzania shares the great lake with Uganda and Kenya, the latter getting the smallest portion (6%) of Lake Victoria.
Home to Africa’s deepest lake. Lake Tanganyika, located in the Western part of Tanzania bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo and a small portion of Zambia is the deepest lake in Africa. It is one of the great East African Rift valley lakes.
The Great Wildebeest Migration. This great nature spectacle involving over 1.5 million animals with the wildebeests being the biggest participants, is a world-famous greatest land animal migration. It takes place in Serengeti national park in Tanzania every year all year round with its peak and nosiest time being June to September when the migration is crossing the mighty Mara River invested with large hungry Nile crocodiles.
Home to the world’s largest unbroken caldera. Ngorongoro crater found in Northern Tanzania in the Ngorongoro conservation area is one of Africa’s nature wonders. The crater is home to about 30,000 animals and over 200 bird species. Visitors to Tanzania can explore crater on game drives where they will encounter the different wildlife that inhabit the crater including the famous African Big 5.
Stunning tropical islands. Mafia island, Pemba Island and Zanzibar Island, the most famous of the 3. The islands have beautiful white side beaches, amazing marine life, marine parks and interesting tourist activities for a perfect beach holiday or island gate away like scuba diving, swimming with sea turtles, snorkeling among others.
Tanzania national parks, game reserves and conservation areas. Most of Tanzania is covered with protected areas with amazing national parks teeming with a diverse wildlife. Tanzania is famously known to the world for its amazing wildlife safaris with the Northern part of the country hosting the most famous and visited parks in the country including Serengeti national park, Ngorongoro conservation area, Lake Manyara national park and Tarangire national park. In the Southern part of the country, the most visited parks include Nyerere national park (the largest), Mikumi national park and Ruaha national park.
Chimpanzees in Tanzania. Primate lovers travelling to Tanzania on wildlife adventures can visit Gombe Stream national park or Mahale Mountains national park for rewarding chimpanzee trekking experiences. Rubondo Island national park located in Lake Victoria is also another lesser visited island park that inhabits a smaller population of Tanzania’s wild chimpanzees.
Tree climbing Lions of Tanzania. This unique group of lions can be seen while on safari in Lake Manyara national park in North Tanzania. Climbing trees is not a natural character for lions, but for one reason or another, these lions picked up the habit and pass it on the younger generation which follow the grown lions up in the trees thus continuing with the pattern.
Olduvai Gorge. The oldest human skull was unearthed at the Olduvai Gorge site in North Tanzania. This site can easily be visited during your wildlife safari to Ngorongoro conservation area as you drive to or from the conservation area. Zanzibar is the wealthiest part of Tanzania. Although it is park of Tanzania, Zanzibar has its own governing body. Above mentioned are just an insight of what you can expect to see on your visit to the vast East African country, Tanzania.
