Lake Eyasi

Lake Eyasi is a shallow soda lake at the base of the Rift Valley escarpment. The area is best known as the home of the Hadzabe, one of the last hunter-gatherer communities in East Africa, and the Datoga, a pastoralist and metalworking community.

Respectful, community-arranged cultural visits are the main reason travellers come, often as a day trip or overnight from Karatu.

Mto wa Mbu

Mto wa Mbu sits where the Great North Road meets the Rift Valley escarpment, at the entrance to Lake Manyara National Park. It is well known for unusual cultural diversity, with many of Tanzania’s ethnic groups represented, and for irrigated banana and rice farming.

Village cultural walks — taking in farms, markets, local breweries and craft workshops — are a popular activity, and the town is a natural stop between Tarangire, Manyara and Ngorongoro.

Olduvai Gorge

Olduvai Gorge, also spelled Oldupai, is a steep ravine in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area where excavations led by the Leakey family uncovered some of the earliest evidence of human evolution. It is often called the ‘Cradle of Mankind’.

A small site museum interprets the finds, and the gorge is commonly visited en route between Ngorongoro and the Serengeti.

Zanzibar

Zanzibar’s main island, Unguja, combines white-sand beaches and coral reefs with a deep Swahili, Arab, Indian and European trading history. The historic heart, Stone Town, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site of carved doors, narrow lanes and old merchant houses.

The island is famous for its spice farms — cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon — and pairs naturally with a mainland safari as a beach finish.

Stone Town

Stone Town is the historic centre of Zanzibar City and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a maze of narrow lanes lined with coral-stone buildings, carved wooden doors, mosques and former merchant houses. Landmarks include the Old Fort, the House of Wonders and the former slave market site.

Evenings centre on the Forodhani Gardens waterfront, long known for its street-food stalls.

Nungwi & Kendwa

At Zanzibar’s northern tip, Nungwi and Kendwa are known for broad white beaches that remain swimmable through the tidal cycle, unlike much of the east coast. Nungwi has a long fishing and dhow-building tradition, while Kendwa is quieter and famed for its sunsets.

Diving, snorkelling and sailing trips depart from here, including to the nearby Mnemba area.

Jozani Forest

Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park is Zanzibar’s only national park and protects the island’s largest area of indigenous forest. It is the stronghold of the endemic Zanzibar red colobus monkey, which is easily seen on guided forest walks, along with a mangrove boardwalk.

It is an easy half-day trip from Stone Town or the east-coast beaches.

Lake Duluti

Lake Duluti is a calm crater lake ringed by a forest reserve a short distance from Arusha. Canoeing on the lake and walking the forested shoreline are the main activities, with strong birdlife including kingfishers and fish eagles.

Its proximity to the city makes it an easy half-day escape, often combined with a coffee-estate visit.

Moshi

Moshi lies on Kilimanjaro’s southern foothills and is the principal base for climbing the mountain. Compact and walkable, it has a relaxed atmosphere and a strong coffee culture rooted in the surrounding Chagga farms.

Nearby attractions include the Materuni waterfall and coffee villages, the Kikuletwa (Chemka) hot springs, and day hikes onto Kilimanjaro’s lower slopes.

Karatu

Karatu sits in the highlands immediately outside the eastern entrance to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, making it a common overnight base for crater visits. The surrounding area is intensively farmed with coffee, maize and wheat.

Local activities include coffee-farm tours, walks to nearby waterfalls and the Lake Eyasi region, home to the Hadzabe and Datoga communities, lies within reach to the southwest.