WHY TANZANIA

People who don’t know me well ask me “where will you travel to this year?”, but they don’t think that I decide my destination just when I book the flight.

This happened especially for the 2018 trip (I was planning to go back to Asia, but the price to Bangkok took me to Norway, Sami territories and Svalbard Islands) and in 2022 (for various reasons I booked the flight 2 days before departure to Argentina and Uruguay, to which Brazil was added once there).

I was in Tanzania and Zanzibar in 2021.
You can imagine what it meant to travel in that year (but I don’t want to open the topic about that era).

Tanzania was probably the only country in the world that was completely open to tourism and happy to welcome all people who chose to travel.

My decision to travel to Tanzania in my usual nomadic way was therefore very easy and without hesitation.

In addition to the freedom that this country offered me, the attractions were also very interesting for me: seeing the animals of the savannah, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, discovering the history of humanity and finally relaxing in Zanzibar.

Tanzania was also my first time in Africa.

HOW TO GET TO TANZANIA

The first step is to contact the Tanzanian embassy.
It was incredibly easy and pleasant to talk to them.
Perhaps the historical context helped, but they were totally willing to help me step by step, both by email and by phone.
In short, no bureaucracy, but just a great desire to make my trip as smooth as possible.

Tanzania has 2 airports that provide international connections, especially with a stopover in Doha.
These are the ‘Julius Nyerere’ in Dar el Salaam and the ‘Abeid Amani Karume’ in Zanzibar.
A very important airport for quick access to the Kilimanjaro and safari areas is the Kilimanjaro Airport, which has several internal flights to the above-mentioned international airports.

There are also boat connections between Dar el Salaam and Zanzibar, but I preferred to save time by flying.

WHAT TO DO IN TANZANIA

A trip to Tanzania allows you to experience a wide variety of landscapes.
From extreme trekking to the Mount Kilimanjaro peak, to the thrill of seeing the animals of the savannah up close.
These areas are also the cradle of humanity. In fact, the remains of the first hominids have been found here, including the one called Lucy.
To relax from the chaos of Dar el Salaam and Stone Town, there are beaches and the amazing sea of Zanzibar.
Let’s take a closer look at it all before going into more detail in the dedicated posts:

CLIMBING KILIMANJARO

I’ve always been familiar with the sea, but I’m a bit afraid of mountains because they’re not my natural place.
I have been to the Alps, the Apenniness, the Pyrenees, the Urals and the Andes, but only by car or train.
But that doesn’t mean that mountains don’t fascinate me.
I have watched a lot of videos of mountaineers climbing K2, Everest, Mont Blanc, etc., but what fascinated me the most was Daniele Nardi’s expedition to Nanga Parbat, which unfortunately ended tragically.

When I was planning my trip to Tanzania, climbing Kilimanjaro immediately became one of the things to do.
Even if I had never been on a mountain before, I could only start with a crazy bang: I wanted to reach the 5,895 metre Uhuru Peak, the summit of Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in the whole of Africa.
But I had no idea what it would involve.
In addition, I also chose the most difficult route, the Machame Route, and in the shortest time, 6 days.

It was one of the greatest efforts of my life, both physically and mentally, but reaching the peak is an unforgettable emotion.

SAFARI

Before I saw the pandas in China, I was not interested in seeing animals.
Then I got hooked and made many trips to see them free in their natural habitat.
After seeing elephants, emperor penguins, polar bears, sharks and whales, among others, I just had to see the animals of the savannah.

If you’re going for the first time, it’s difficult to find a good local contact and to choose between the different tours.
When I travelled in 2021, the very small number of travellers made it difficult to form groups easily and thus save money.
However, this allowed me to organise everything according to my needs, with a guide and a car entirely dedicated to me.
After talking to several people, I decided to dedicate the week after the Kilimanjaro climb to safaris, thinking that I needed a few days to recover the energy I had left in the mountains.

‘I assure you that you will see a lot of trees’: this was the only assurance the guide could give me.
After a moment of confusion, I realised that this is always the reality when dealing with wild animals in their natural habitat.
I know this very well because I have almost always been lucky with animals, but I have also lost whale sharks in Isla Holbox to incessant rain and giant manta rays in the Fiji Islands to too much wind.
In Tanzania, I was luckyto see almost all the animals up clos, except for the rhinos, which I only glimpsed from a sidereal distance through binoculars.

TARANGIRE: the first park leaves a special feeling and that’s why I’m very attached to the Tarangire.
As soon as I saw the first zebras and giraffes I immediately felt like I was in one of those wildlife documentaries.
Then I saw elephants, wildebeests, antelopes, gazelles, a lioness sleeping in a tree, pumbas, vultures and several species of birds I cannot remember.

SERENGETI: it’s impossible to go on safari in Tanzania without spending a few days here.
Even in the Serengeti I was lucky enough to see hyenas, jackals, lions, leopards, cheetahs, giraffes, hippos, zebras, monkeys, buffalos and elephants from just a few metres away.
One of the unmissable experiences is the wildebeest migration.
Whatching millions of animals gather and cross the river, hoping to survive by reaching the other side, is breathtaking, leaves you stunned and makes you think about the life cycle of every living being.

NGORONGORO: the countless lucky sightings of the previous days left little emotion remaining.
Instead, this park gave me many more monkeys, buffalos, hippos and flamingos.
I also saw rhinos here, albeit from an infinite distance.
The Ngorongoro Park is a caldera, an area created by the sinking of the magma chamber after a massive eruption.
That’s why its landscape is unique, the one I enjoyed the most.

LAKE MARYARA: this park is certainly fascinating and allowed me to see monkeys, elephants, buffalos, giraffes, hippos, warthogs and several species of birds, but unfortunately it was the last safari.
Having spent the previous days in the other three parks, Lake Manyara cannot hold a candle to them.
However, it could be a good starting point for the other safaris.

THE CRADLE OF HUMANITY

I have always liked history, although I have always felt that the time spent at school on prehistory is too much compared to the 20th century and current events, which are closer and for this reason sometimes more important.

Tanzania is home to one of the most important sites in our history: the Olduvai Gorge is considered the Cradle of Humanity.

Fossils of our ancestors, Australopithecus and Homo Habilis, have been found here dating from around 1.85 million years ago.

MAASAI PEOPLE

I have always tried to avoid tourist encounters with ‘indigenous people’.
Despite my numerous refusals, the guide took me to a supposed Maasai village.
I left very disappointed, as I had been when I visited the floating villages of the Uros on Titicaca Lake in Peru.

The meeting with these Maasai was as fake as you can imagine: people in traditional dress looked like they were in a zoo, children sitting in an enclosure they called ‘school’, a final stall with items at crazy prices that you were practically forced to buy.

This is not the kind of tourism that supports local communities.

ZANZIBAR

Accostumed to the sea of Sardinia, I had never considered Zanzibar as a must-see destination (as well as the Seychelles, the Maldives, Sharm el-Sheikh and other similar places).
When I decided to travel to Tanzania, Zanzibar automatically entered the list of destinations.
Besides, like all islands, it has its own history that I wanted to discover.

Stone Town surprised me and gave me new experiences.
I have a very good sense of direction but I got lost several times in its very similar, winding and hidden alleys.
Getting lost is also what a traveller likes.

The beaches didn’t impress me much, but I’m used to Sardinia and I wasn’t looking for them.
Diving, on the other hand, showed me a beautiful underwater world and an immaculate coral reef.
If you don’t have a diving licence or are afraid of the depths, snorkelling is a great way to see beautiful underwater landscapes and many species of fish.

In short, a trip to Zanzibar is an experience not to be missed.

WHERE TO SLEEP

Mount Kilimanjaro: as I will explain later in more detail, there are several different routes and times to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
This also means different types of accommodation.
You can sleep in masonry structures or in tents.
I’ve never slept in a tent, and I don’t even like camping, but there are experiences you have to live to the full: for me, an expedition to climb Kilimanjaro to the peak meant only sleeping in a tent.
And so I did for six nights.

The town of Arusha is the base for Kilimanjaro trekking.
Almost all the treks start from here, so you have to sleep here the night before the expedition and the night at the end of the climb.
You can also visit Arusha in 1 or 2 days.
I didn’t find any hostels with shared dormitories, but the low room price made me choose the New Charity Hotel International.

SAFARIS: similar to Kilimanjaro, accommodation during safaris depends on the park chosen and your requirements.
It’s not possible to sleep inside the Ngorongoro and Lake Manara parks.
I recommend sleeping in tented camps in Tarangire and Serengeti Parks.
This choice will allow you to see spectacular sunrises and sunsets as well as hear the night sounds of the savannah.
Walking can only be done in the company of Maasai and staff, as lions and hyenas can approach before an inexperienced person notices.

ZANZIBAR: I’m not an all-inclusive resort kind of guy, so I don’t have any suggestions for these locations.
However, I can recommend sleeping in Stone Town.
Apart from the possible initial difficulty of finding your way around, this is the best solution for visiting the town, going to the beach and taking one of the many day trips.

CONCLUSIONS

Always respect nature and never underestimate the mountains.

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is an emotionally rich experience, but it requires good physical condition and appropriate clothing.
Otherwise, you can safely participate in less demanding but equally enjoyable excursions.

The safari experience is one of life’s great adventures.
Seeing wild animals in their natural habitat should be considered a right, but even more important is the responsibility to allow the animals to live there without interference.

Unfortunately, I have not always felt this way.
I have seen tourists eating so noisily that they disturbed the hunting of a lioness.
I have seen tourists leave food on the ground and then try to attack approaching monkeys.
I have seen off-road vehicles blocking the necessary flow of wildebeest coming out of the Masai Mara River, causing blockages that could kill dozens of animals.
I have seen off-road vehicles come within inches of various species of animals, interfering with the natural cycle of life.

Many scenes disgusted me, but it’s impossible to stop bad practice immediately.
But you cannot turn away.

Zanzibar could be the last part of a trip to Tanzania.
Heavenly beaches and crystal clear sea will restore all the energy lost in the mountains.

Ask me for any information you may need for a trip to Tanzania and let me know if you have any other advice.