Southeastern Tanzania

Selous Game Reserve is a vast, 48,000-sq-km wilderness area lying at the heart of southern Tanzania. It is Africa’s largest wildlife reserve, and home to large herds of elephants, plus buffaloes, crocodiles, hippos, wild dogs, many bird species and some of Tanzania’s last remaining black rhinos. Bisecting it is the Rufiji River, which cuts a path past woodlands, grasslands and stands of borassus palm, and provides unparalleled water-based wildlife watching.

Only the section of the reserve north from the Rufiji River is open for tourism; large areas of the south are zoned as hunting concessions. Yet the wealth of Selous' wildlife and its stunning riverine scenery rarely fail to impress. Another draw is the Selous' relative lack of congestion in comparison with Tanzania's northern parks.

Visit soon, however: much of Selous' wealth is under threat from poaching, a uranium mining project and a planned hydroelectric power project along the Rufiji River.

The green islands of the Mafia archipelago are strewn along the coast southeast of Dar es Salaam, surrounded by turquoise waters and glinting white sandbanks. Historically the archipelago lay at a trade crossroads, with visitors from Kilwa and elsewhere on the mainland, as well as from the Zanzibar Archipelago, Comoros and Madagascar.

This rich melting pot of historical influences, together with the archipelago's strong traditional culture, are among Mafia's highlights. Other draws include the archipelago's natural beauty, its outstanding marine environment, its tranquil pace and its fine collection of upmarket lodges.

Mikindani – set on a picturesque bay surrounded by coconut groves – is a quiet, charming Swahili town with a long history. Although easily visited as a day trip from the nearby regional travel hub of Mtwara, many travellers prefer Mikindani to its larger neighbour as a base for exploring the surrounding area.

As well as seeing its various historical buildings, it’s well worth just strolling through town to soak up the atmosphere and look at the numerous carved Zanzibar-style doors. With more time, make your way up Bismarck Hill, rising up behind the Old Boma, for some views.

Kilwa Kisiwani ('Kilwa on the Island') is a quiet fishing village baking in the sun just offshore from Kilwa Masoko. In its heyday it was the seat of sultans and centre of a vast trading network linking the old Shona kingdoms and the goldfields of Zimbabwe with Persia, India and China. Ibn Battuta, the famed traveller and chronicler of the ancient world, visited Kilwa in the early 14th century and described the town as being exceptionally beautiful and well constructed. At its height, Kilwa’s influence extended north past the Zanzibar Archipelago and south as far as Sofala on the central Mozambican coast.

While these glory days are now well in the past, the ruins of the settlement – together with the ruins on nearby Songo Mnara island – are among the most significant groups of Swahili buildings on the East African coast and a Unesco World Heritage Site.

This small, private island has six rustic but comfortable eco-bandas directly on a lovely beach, showers open to the stars, and kayaking, snorkelling and other excursions. Everything is low-key, with the emphasis on minimising impact. It's unique, and highly recommended, especially in combination with Kilwa and Mafia, for anyone seeking an introduction to life on the Swahili coast.

The heart of Mnazi Bay-Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park is the Msimbati Peninsula, together with the bordering Mnazi Bay. Most visitors head straight to the tiny village of Ruvula, which is about 7km beyond Msimbati village along a sandy track (or along the beach at low tide), with a lovely stretch of sand and fine snorkelling. In addition to its beach (one of the few on the mainland offering sunset views) Ruvula is notable as the spot where British eccentric Latham Leslie-Moore built his house and lived until 1967, when he was deported after agitating for independence for the Msimbati Peninsula. His story is chronicled in John Heminway’s No Man’s Land and in Africa Passion, a documentary film. Today, Leslie-Moore’s house stands in ruins; the property is privately owned.

In its early days, Lindi was part of the Sultan of Zanzibar’s domain, a terminus of the slave caravan route from Lake Nyasa, regional colonial capital, and the main town in southeastern Tanzania. The abolishment of the slave trade and the rise of Mtwara as a local hub sent Lindi into a slow decline, from which it has yet to recover, although it again moved briefly into the limelight in the early 20th century when dinosaur bones were discovered nearby.

Today, Lindi is a lively, pleasant place and worth wandering around for a day or so to get a taste of life on the coast. Its small dhow port bustles with local coastal traffic, a smattering of carved doorways and crumbling ruins line the dusty streets, and a Hindu temple and Indian merchants serve as a reminder of once-prosperous trade routes to the east.

This cool and scenic plateau, much of which lies between 700m and 900m above sea level, is home to the Makonde people, famed throughout East Africa for their exotic woodcarvings. With its comparative isolation, scattered settlements and seeming obliviousness to developments elsewhere in the country, it in many ways epitomises inland areas of southeastern Tanzania, and is worth a detour if you’re in the area.