Introducing Northeastern Tanzania

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 existence of the trading outpost of Rhapta, which is thought to have possibly 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, this long history, plus easy access and lack of crowds, make the northeast’s long, tropical, ruin-studded coastline and its lush, mountainous inland areas an appealing region to explore.

Along the coast, visit the medieval, moss-covered ruins at Kaole and Tongoni, step back to the days of Livingstone in Bagamoyo, relax on long stretches of palm-fringed sand around Pangani, or enjoy beach and bush at Saadani, Tanzania’s only seaside national park. Inland, hike along shaded forest footpaths around Lushoto while following the cycle of bustling, colourful market days of the local Sambaa people, head to Same and learn about the intriguing burial rituals of the neighbouring Pare, or experience the wild East African bush from the comfort of a wonderful upmarket camp in the seldom-visited Mkomazi Game Reserve.

Most of the region is within an easy half-day’s drive or bus ride from both Dar es Salaam and Arusha, and there are good connections between many places in the region and Zanzibar. Main roads are in good to reasonable condition, there’s a reasonably wide range of accommodation, and the local transport network reaches many areas of interest.