Top 10 Tanzania Activities

Tanzania is a superb destination for primate encounters. The Mahale National Park has a significant chimpanzee population, and you can trek through the forest - past waterfalls and viewpoints overlooking Lake Tanganyika - to find them. The chimpanzee groups here are habituated and each individual is well known to the expert guides.

During your hike you’ll learn all about their personal relationships, group politics, and temperaments, gaining fascinating insights into chimp society and witnessing it all unfold before you. For something a little different, stay on Rubondo Island in Tanzania’s Lake Victoria. This incredible camp - the only property on the island - is within a pristine indigenous rainforest where 16 rescued zoo chimpanzees were released in the 1960s.

At 5,895m (19,340ft), Mt Kilimanjaro is not only Africa’s highest point, but it dominates the scenery for hundreds of miles around, with its snow-covered peak forming the iconic background to breathtaking safari images. Picture yourself reaching the summit, looking out over a pristine layer of cloud with the rocky ground crunching beneath your feet. Ascending nearly 6,000 metres is certainly a challenge - but it’s achievable!

We prefer the less frequented routes with fewer other climbers. The sense of adventure is palpable and your connection to this magnificent landscape is far deeper than if you’re surrounded by throngs of climbers. If you’re looking for adventure and exhilaration of a mountain climb but at a gentler pace, Mount Meru or Ol Doinyo Lengai Volcano are perfect alternatives.

Rugged and wild, southern Tanzania receives only a small number of visitors so you’ll feel as though this incredible wilderness is all yours. If you’re looking for a wild, untamed and isolated African adventure, then a fly in safari here will tick all your boxes. Alongside an expert guide, find elusive leopard and herds of buffalo in Ruaha, home to more than 500 species of bird and 80 species of mammal.

Hop in a canoe and explore the waterways of the Selous, stopping to watch hippo, crocodile and birdlife. Get close to nature on a walking safari in Katavi, where plains game and elephant gather and jostle for the opportunity to drink from the dwindling rivers and lagoons alongside enormous pods of hippopotamus.

Picture yourself in a grove of baobab trees, a herd of elephants walking beside you; this is the Tarangire National Park. The park is home to one of the largest concentrations of elephants in Africa, herds of up to 300 animals gather right before your eyes, their huge ears flapping back and forth and their long trunks reaching into trees to grab branches to eat.

Fully grown adults protect tiny young calves that never stray too far from the safety of their mother’s legs. Alongside the elephant, other migratory animals frequent the area including zebra, antelope and predators. Head out on a bush walk, where you’ll be able to stop and enjoy the smaller residents too, identifying birdlife and even the termites and beetles.

It is said that lions are not tree-climbing animals; but somebody forgot to tell the lions of East Africa. Usually found sleeping under its leafy shade, to spot a lion - in particular a magnificent male - perched in a tree’s branches is a unique sight.

This natural phenomenon can only be spotted in two locations in Africa, one of which is Tanzania’s Lake Manyara National Park, an area particularly notable for its birdlife; 400 species have been counted. Perhaps that is why the cats are in the trees.