25 places worth the trip in Tanzania, grouped by what they are. Every guide explains what to see, the best time to go and the practical details, checked against official sources. Best time to visit Tanzania: Jun–Oct, Jan–Feb.
A vast savannah park in northern Tanzania, roughly 14,750 square kilometres of plains, kopjes, woodland and rivers, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. It is home to the largest overland migration of grazing animals on earth, with well over a million wildebeest followed by lions, hyenas and crocodiles.
ExploreAn unbroken volcanic caldera about 20 kilometres across and 610 metres deep, whose floor of roughly 260 square kilometres supports one of Africa's densest concentrations of wildlife. It is the centrepiece of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for both its nature and its archaeology.
ExploreA 2,850 square kilometre park south of Lake Manyara, named after the river that is its lifeline in the dry season. Ancient baobabs, large elephant herds and more than 500 bird species make it one of the most rewarding stops on the northern circuit.
ExploreA narrow park of about 649 square kilometres squeezed between the Great Rift Valley escarpment and the alkaline Lake Manyara, much of it water. Lush groundwater forest, hippo pools, flamingos and lions that sometimes rest in trees make it a popular half-day or full-day stop on the northern circuit.
ExploreA small, varied park on the slopes of Mount Meru, Tanzania's second-highest mountain, less than an hour from Arusha. Montane forest, the Ngurdoto Crater, the shallow Momella Lakes and open glades offer giraffes, buffalo, colobus monkeys and water birds, with walking, canoeing and a multi-day Meru climb.
ExploreCreated in 2019 from the northern part of the vast Selous Game Reserve, Nyerere National Park covers about 30,900 square kilometres of river, woodland and plain along the Rufiji River. It is known for boat safaris among hippos and crocodiles, guided walks and one of Africa's key strongholds for wild dogs.
ExploreAt about 20,226 square kilometres, Ruaha is Tanzania's second-largest national park, a rugged landscape of baobabs, rocky hills and miombo woodland along the Great Ruaha River. Low visitor numbers, strong predator populations and rare antelopes such as greater and lesser kudu, roan and sable make it a rewarding choice for experienced safari-goers.
ExploreEstablished in 1964, Mikumi covers about 3,230 square kilometres between the Uluguru and Udzungwa mountains, with the open Mkata floodplain at its heart. Its position on the main highway west of Morogoro makes it the easiest park in southern Tanzania to reach by road, ideal for a short safari from Dar es Salaam.
ExploreGazetted in 1992, Udzungwa protects about 1,990 square kilometres of the Eastern Arc Mountains, rising from around 200 metres to 2,576 metres. It is a park for walkers, with forest trails, the multi-tiered Sanje waterfalls and endemic primates such as the Udzungwa red colobus and Sanje mangabey.
ExploreOne of Tanzania's smallest national parks, Gombe covers about 35 square kilometres of steep forested valleys on the shore of Lake Tanganyika, reached only by boat. It is where Jane Goodall began studying chimpanzees in 1960, and visitors can trek to see habituated chimpanzee communities under strict rules.
ExploreEstablished in 1985, Mahale Mountains National Park protects about 1,650 square kilometres of forest and mountain on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, rising to Mount Nkungwe at 2,462 metres. With no roads inside the park, most visitors arrive by boat and explore on foot to track some of the best-studied wild chimpanzees in Africa.
ExploreA protected area of forest, mangrove and coastal habitat in south-central Unguja, made a national park in 2004. It is the stronghold of the Zanzibar red colobus, an endangered monkey found only on this island.
ExploreThe historic heart of Zanzibar City, a Swahili trading town built of coral stone and mangrove timber over more than a thousand years of contact between Africa, Arabia, India and Europe. Its palaces, mosques, cathedrals and carved doors earned it World Heritage status in 2000.
ExploreA ravine in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area whose layered lake and river deposits have yielded some of the most important fossils and stone tools in the story of human evolution. A museum on the gorge rim explains the finds, and guided visits lead down to the excavation sites.
ExploreA small island off Tanzania's southern coast that was the seat of the Kilwa Sultanate, one of the most powerful trading cities on the Swahili coast in the 13th to 15th centuries. Its coral-stone mosques, palaces and fort, together with the ruins on nearby Songo Mnara, form a World Heritage Site.
ExploreA fast-growing city of more than 600,000 people on the southern slopes of Mount Meru, and the starting point for most safaris to the Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire. It is also the seat of the East African Community, with markets, museums and coffee country to explore between game drives.
ExploreTanzania's largest city and commercial capital, with around 5.4 million people at the 2022 census, and the country's busiest port. Most travellers pass through on the way to Zanzibar, the southern parks or the coast, but its markets, museums and waterfront reward a day or two.
ExploreA shallow, intensely alkaline lake on the floor of the Rift Valley near the Kenyan border, where the water can turn red and orange with salt-loving micro-organisms. It is the only regular breeding site in East Africa for lesser flamingos, and the volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai rises just to the south.
ExploreAn oval coral reef about 7 by 4 km surrounding tiny Mnemba Island, roughly 3 km off Unguja's north-east coast and protected as a marine conservation area. The island is private, but the reef is one of Zanzibar's best-known spots for snorkelling and diving.
ExploreA large village on the Nungwi Peninsula at the northern tip of Unguja, once best known for building dhows and now one of Zanzibar's busiest beach resorts. Its west-facing beach is one of the island's classic places to watch the sun go down.
ExploreA village on Zanzibar's south-east coast, between Bwejuu and Jambiani, where a wide, shallow lagoon protected by an offshore reef has made it a popular place to learn kitesurfing. At low tide the lagoon becomes a working landscape of seaweed farms tended mostly by women.
ExploreA narrow island in the Zanzibar Channel, about 5.6 km north-west of Stone Town, with a prison that never held prisoners and a former quarantine station. Its main draw today is a sanctuary of Aldabra giant tortoises descended from a 1919 gift from the Seychelles.
ExploreAn island of fishing villages, mangroves and coral reefs about 120 km south-east of Dar es Salaam, protected in large part by the Mafia Island Marine Park. It is known for diving and for whale sharks that stay in its waters for much of the year.
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