Tanzania

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Quick Facts
Capital	Dar es Salaam; note - legislative offices have been transferred to Dodoma, which is planned as the new national capital; the National Assembly now meets there on regular basis
Government	republic
Currency	Tanzanian shilling (TZS)
Area	total: 945,087 sq km note: includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar water: 59,050 sq km land: 886,037 sq km
Population	37,187,939 (July 2002 est.)
Language	Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguju (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages
Religion	mainland - Christian 30%, Muslim 35%, indigenous beliefs 35%; Zanzibar - more than 99% Muslim
Time Zone	UTC +3
Country Calling Code	55 (007 from Kenya and Uganda)
Internet TLD	.tz

Tanzania is the largest country in east Africa, bordering Kenya to the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique to the south.

Map of Tanzania

Table of contents

5.1 By plane
5.2 By train
5.3 By car
5.4 By bus
5.5 By boat

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Regions

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Cities

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Other destinations

Mount Kilimanjaro - Africa's highest peak and the world's highest free standing mountain. You can climb it with the help of a guide.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area - includes the Ngorongoro Crater and Olduvai Gorge

Arusha National Park
Gombe National Park
Ruaha National Park
Rubondo National Park
Serengeti National Park
Kilimanjaro National Park
Lake Manjare National Park
Mikumi National Park
Tarangire National Park

Understand

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Geography

A large central plateau makes up most of the mainland (at between 900m and 1800m) and the mountain ranges of the Eastern Arc and the Southern and Northern Highlands cut across the country to form part of the Great Rift Valley.

A land of geographical extremes, Tanzania has the highest peak – Mount Kilimanjaro, the lowest point – the lakebed of Lake Tanganyika, and shares the largest lake – Lake Victoria - on the African continent.

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Get in

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By plane

There are two major airports; one in Dar and one in Kilimanjaro, in addition to several smaller airports. KLM and BA have daily flights from Europe.

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By train

The Tanzania - Zambia train service known as TAZARA operates trains between New Kapiri Mposhi, Zambia and Dar es Salaam twice a week. TAZARA site (http://www.tazara.co.tz/level0/services/passenger_transportation.html)

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Get around

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Do

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See

Tanzania is a country with great national parks where you can see some of the finest African flora and fauna

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Talk

Tanzanians speak Swahili and, to some extent, English. Smaller regional languages are also very common.

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Buy

There are many markets in tourist cities that sell standard "African" goods. Beaded jewelry, carved soapstone and Masaai blankets make interesting gifts. Be aware that most "ebony" wood is fake (shoe polish), and make sure to bargain hard for everything. Masks are not typical of most East African groups, and the ones you will find in the markets are either imported from West Africa, or are strange things made just for tourists.

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Eat

Produce is often of very high quality. Meat and milk can be difficult for Western systems, so be sure that all meat is cooked through. At hotels, you will not have any trouble, but if you venture into small villages, make sure that all water is boiled before drinking, and all fruit/veg is peeled before eating. Local dishes include Mtori (cooked beef and bananas) and Ugali (a polenta-style corn dish).

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Drink

Boil water before drinking. Konyagi is a wonderful gin-like beverage, sold only in Tanzania. Tusker, Kilimanjaro and Safari beers are western-style and very good. Locally produced banana-beer is also sometimes found. Traditionaly, you will drink this out of a hollowed gourd. Guests drink first, and then pass to the elders.

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