Tanzania Attractions

Mt Kilimanjaro National Park

An almost perfectly shaped volcano rising sheer from Tanzania's far northeast plains, the fabled Mt Kilimanjaro is one of Africa's most magnificent sights. Snowcapped and not yet extinct, at 5895m (19,335ft) it's the highest peak on the continent.

From cultivated farmlands on the lower levels, the mountain rises through lush rainforest to alpine meadow and finally across a barren lunar landscape to the twin summits. The rainforest is home to animals including elephant, buffalo, rhino, leopard and monkey.

Serengeti National Park

Sprawling across 14,763 sq km (5757 sq mi), Serengeti is Tanzania's most famous game park. Here you can get a glimpse of what much of East Africa may have been like in the days before the 'great White hunters'. The mindless slaughter of the plains animals reached its nadir in the late-19th century.

More recently, trophy hunters and poachers in search of ivory have added to the sickening toll. There are literally millions of hoofed animals on the vast Serengeti plains. They're constantly on the move in search of grassland and are watched and preyed upon by a varied parade of predators.

Zanzibar

Low in political coups and high in bliss-charged activities, the Zanzibar Archipelago is a mere hop, skip and a jump from the Tanzanian mainland. Its heady lure has tempted travellers, traders, slave-traders and colonists for centuries, and the archipelago continues to reflect this tumultuous past.

Zanzibar Island (known locally as Unguja) gets most of the headlines, but the archipelago also consists of lush Pemba to the north and numerous smaller islands and islets poised in luxuriously turquoise seas. There are countless unexplored pockets and loads of opportunities for flat-out hedonism.