Off the Beaten Path in Africa
10-Off the beaten track experience in Tanzania
Off the beaten path in Africa. You have probably heard of the Serengeti and its endless plains that play host to an impressive range of wildlife. It’s also likely that you’ve heard of the UNESCO-listed Ngorongoro Crater, the remnants of an ancient collapsed volcano that now offers amazing game viewing opportunities. And then there’s the beautiful island of Zanzibar that any beach bum worth their sea salt should know about. These destinations are Tanzania’s highlights for a reason but if you’re looking for somewhere a little less visited then get off the beaten track in Tanzania with these top recommendations.
Usambara Mountains
While most tourists will venture along the same path going from one national park to another – a detour up to the Usambara Mountains offers a real sense of hiking in Tanzania. As it is somewhat off the regular trail, life up here is, in many ways, unaffected by modern times. The combination of natural beauty and a sense of getting away from [first-world] comforts is quite exciting.
Relatively untroubled by tourism, the Usambara provides a sense of seclusion. Often, you will find yourself the only one walking the mountain paths and, at times, it feels like you are in a different country the contrast to the plains being so pronounced. The combination of ancient caves and charming villages with some of the most friendly and genuinely hospitable people makes a paradise for slow travel.
Mkomazi National Park
Known for its stunning scenery, which includes rolling hills, open Savannah, and rocky outcrops. It is also home to the "Mkomazi River" which seems to be a phrase or a topic that needs further context to be fully understood. Could you please provide me with more information or a specific question related to it?" The Mkomazi River" is the corrected and clearer version of the text. There are no spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors in the original text. which provides a vital source of water for the park’s wildlife. Mkomazi is home to several endangered species, including African wild dogs, black rhinos, and cheetahs.
The park is home to several conservation projects aimed at protecting endangered species and preserving the park’s ecosystem. Visitors can learn about these projects and the importance of conservation efforts in the region
Amani Nature Reserve
Amani is the most rewarding and accessible site associated with the Eastern Arc Mountains, a series of forested massifs dubbed the 'African Galápagos' for its immense biodiversity (which includes at least 75 endemic vertebrate species). Centered on a sprawling old German botanical garden in the Eastern Usambara, Amani is a birdwatcher’s delight, with several avian rarities resident in the guesthouse gardens, and it also offers plenty of trails suited to rambling and hiking.
Saadani National Park
Is the only national park in Tanzania that borders the Indian Ocean. The park is situated in the historic triangle of Bagamoyo, Pangani and Zanzibar, and it can be accessed by self-drive from Dar es Salaam, Tanga and Arusha.
Known for its diverse wildlife, which include elephants, lions, giraffes, buffaloes, hippos, crocodiles, and variety of antelopes. The park is also home to number of birds species, including kingfisher, fish eagles, sunbirds, and hornbills.
Saadani National Park offers a range of activities for visitors on a self-drive safari such as boat safari, walking safari, and cultural tours. Self-drive visitors can also enjoy swimming and snorkelling in the Indian Ocean, as well as relaxing on the beaches.
Kondoa Rock Art Site
My nomination for the country's most lamentably underpublicized attraction is this UNESCO World Heritage Site, which comprises East Africa’s most important cluster of prehistoric rock art, scattered across 150-odd different panels. Particularly striking is the relatively accessible shelter nicknamed Mungomi Wa Kolo (‘Dancers of Kolo’), whose central image comprises five surreal humanoid forms in what appears to be an attempted abduction.
Kilwa Kisiwani
Another UNESCO World Heritage Site that remain almost totally neglected by travelers, this small offshore island is the site of a Swahili gold-trading port described by the 14th century globetrotter Ibn Buttata as ‘one of the most beautiful and well-constructed towns in the world’. Five centuries after Kilwa was sacked by the Portuguese, it still houses some substantial ruins, including an exquisite multi-domed Friday mosque, a monolithic seafront fort, and several palaces.
Bagamoyo
The closest thing to a bona fide resort town on the Tanzanian mainland, Bagamoyo verges an irresistible white beach that arcs southward as far as the eye can see. It also boasts a long and fascinating history, relicts of which include the medieval Kaole Ruins, the mission church where Livingstone’s embalmed body was once interred, and buildings dating from its brief stint as the first capital of German East Africa.
Katavi National Park
Tanzania boasts many great savannah reserves, but none as thrillingly untrammeled as Katavi, which evokes Africa as it must have been a century ago. The park is at its best from May to October, when the Katuma floodplain harbors staggering densities of hippos and buffalo, along with substantial populations of elephant, lion, giraffe, zebra, and various antelope.
Mahale National Park
This remote park is set on the sandy forest-lined shore of Lake Tanganyika, the world’s longest freshwater body at 675km from north to south. Astonishingly beautiful, Mahale is also perhaps Africa’s premier chimp-tracking destination, offering daily visits to a wild chimp community habituated by Japanese researchers in the 1960s. The bird watching and monkey viewing are also superb.
Lake Natron
One of East Africa's most magnificently primal and forbidding landmarks is this shallow sliver of hyper-saline water, which forms the only known breeding ground for East Africa’s 2.5 million lesser flamingos. Tourist facilities, though limited, are clustered on the southern shore, below the Maasai ‘Mountain of God’, Ol Doinyo Lengai, an active volcano whose unvegetated ashen slopes rise to an altitude of 2,960 meters from the low-lying Rift Valley floor.
