Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Northeastern Tanzania Highlights
Relax on the beach and spot elephants, giraffes and hippos at
Saadani Na-
tional Park
(
Click here
)
Laze in a hammock on the long, white beaches around
Pangani
(
Click here
)
,
while getting a taste of Swahili history and culture
Meander along winding footpaths in the scenic
Usambara Mountains
(
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)
Step back into history in the former colonial capital of
Bagamoyo
(
Click
Explore the bush in wild
Mkomazi National Park
(
Click here
)
Snorkel in turquoise waters around
Maziwe Marine Reserve
(
Click here
)
Get acquainted with local culture and customs in the
Pare Mountains
(
Click here
)
History
For at least 2000 years, northeastern Tanzania has been attracting visitors. In the 1st century
AD, the author of the mariners' chronicle
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
mentions the ex-
istence of the trading outpost of Rhapta, which is thought to have been somewhere around
present-day Pangani. Several centuries later, a string of settlements sprang up along the
coast with links to ports in Arabia and the Orient. Today, traces of this history are best seen
along the coast at Kaole, Tongoni and Pangani, and in Bagamoyo.
WILDLIFE IN THE NORTHEAST
On the coast is
Saadani National Park
with a lovely beach plus hippos, cro-
codiles, rich bird life, giraffes and (sometimes) elephants. Inland, on the Kenya
border and known for its black rhino conservation project, is
Mkomazi Nation-
al Park
.
Amani Nature Reserve
is a fine destination for ornithologists and bot-
anists, with many endemic bird and plant species.
Maziwe Marine Reserve
has
white sands, clear waters and fine snorkelling.
Bagamoyo
Strolling through Bagamoyo's narrow, unpaved streets or sitting at the port watching dhows
load up takes you back in time to the mid-19th century, when the town was one of the most
important settlements along the East African coast and the terminus of the trade caravan
route linking Lake Tanganyika with the sea. Slaves, ivory, salt and copra were unloaded
before being shipped to Zanzibar and elsewhere, and many European explorers, including
Richard Burton, Henry Morton Stanley and David Livingstone, began and ended their trips
