Travel 101: Fun facts about Tanzania

I love talk radio... and quizzes, and general knowledge relating to geography. And history. And people. And language and lands and food. 

And wine… I love wine. I digress… every so often, we will put out a blog with fun facts about places we hope will entice you to be visited. Here’s the first…​

​1. Tanzania is the largest country in East Africa. It is surrounded by three large lakes: Lake Victoria in the north, Lake Tanganyika in the west and Lake Malawi in the south. Lake Tanganyika is the deepest lake in Africa. Lake Victoria is the source of the Nile. Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi are Rift Valley lakes. 

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​2. ​The Ngorongoro Crater - this is the largest intact caldera in the world – a large collapsed volcano mouth. A safari experience here is pretty special.

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​3. Game. Amazing Game. Ruaha National Park in the south holds 10% of the world’s lion population. Tanzania holds the largest population of African Wild dogs. The number of bird species is staggering.
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4. Ruaha National Park is the largest park in east Africa.  It is larger that Kruger national park in South Africa. Whether you travel north or south of Tanzania for your safari experience - it will be memorable.

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5. The highest mountain in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania.  It is also the highest free standing mountain in the world.

​6. The capital city is Dodoma - not Dar es Salaam as you might think. 

​7. Tanzania, the name, is derived from Tanganyika (main land) and Zanzibar (island).  Yes, Zanzibar is part of Tanzania.

8. Nature. Mother Nature has been generous. The Selous Game Reserve in the south is the largest protected wilderness area in Africa. In the northern part of Tanzania is the amazing wildebeest migration.

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​9. Tanzania was colonised by the Germans and became a British Protectorate after WWI. The country became independent on 9 December 1961.

​10. Tanzania’s staple foods include bananas, cassava, maize meal porridge (ugali) and rice. 


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(BONUS!) Julius Nyerere, was the first president of Tanzania. He is loved and held in high esteem to this day.  One of his lasting legacies was in making Swahili the lingua franca… this unified the nation and Tanzania is one of the most peaceful countries in the world. 
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​(BONUS 2!) The Olduvai Gorge is one of the most important paleoanthropological sites in the world. And it is found in Tanzania!  

What do you know about Tanzania?

• What’s the difference between palaeontology and palaeoanthropology?
• Do you have a fun fact to add to our list?
• Have you been to Tanzania?
• Contact us to help you plan your holiday

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