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Location | Culture | People | Weather | Visa Information | National Parks & Game Reserves
At 364,875 mi² (945,087 km²), Tanzania is the world's 31st-largest country (after Egypt). It is comparable in size to Nigeria, and is slightly bigger than double the size of the U.S. state of California. Tanzania is mountainous in the north-east, where Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak, is situated. To the north and west are the Great Lakes of Lake Victoria (Africa's largest lake) and Lake Tanganyika (Africa's deepest lake, known for its unique species of fish). Central Tanzania comprises a large plateau, with plains and arable land. The eastern shore is hot and humid, with the island of Zanzibar lying just offshore. Tanzania contains many large
and ecologically significant wildlife parks, including the famous
Ngorongoro
Crater, Serengeti
National Park in the north, and Safari
to Selous Game Reserve and Mikumi National Parkk in the south. Gombe National Park in
the west is known as the site of Dr. Jane Goodall's studies of
chimpanzee behavior. Taarab music is a fusion of pre-Islamic Swahili tunes sung in rhythmic poetic style spiced with general Islamic melodies. It is an extremely lively art form springing from a classical culture, still immensely popular with women, drawing all the time from old and new sources. Taarab forms a major part of the social life of the Swahili people along the coastal areas; especially Zanzibar, Tanga and even further in Mombasa and Malindi along the Kenya coast. Wherever the Swahili speaking people travelled, Tarabu culture moved with them. It has penetrated to as far as Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi in the interior of East Africa where taarab groups compete in popularity with other western-music inspired groups. These days a taarab revolution is taking place and much heated debate continues about the music which has been changed drastically by the East African Melody phenomenon. Melody, as they are affectionately known by their mostly women fans, play modern taarab, which, for the first time, is 'taarab to dance to' and features direct lyrics, by- passing the unwritten laws of lyrical subtlety of the older groups such as Egyptian Musical Club and Al-Wattan Musical Club where meaning to their songs was only alluded to, and never directly inferred. Today, taarab songs are explicit - sometimes even graphic - in sexual connotation, and much of the music of groups like Melody and Muungano is composed and played on keyboards, increasing portability, hence the group is much smaller in number than 'real taarab' orchestras and therefore more readily available to tour and play shows throughout the region and beyond. Mbaraka Mwinshehe was the most popular and original musician of Tanzania, also there is a greater influx of musicians from the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), who were entering the country as refugees and made residence in the country. But in recent years, mainly from the mid-nineties, new generation of musicians has emerged and are coming up with popular tunes which are Tanzanian in composition. Bands like Twanga Pepeta have managed to carve a new tune distinct from imported Zairean tunes, and are competing with Zairean bands in popularity and audience acceptance. The Tanzanian artistes have devised a new style going by the name of "Bongo Flava", which is a blend of all sorts of melodies, beats, rhythms and sounds. The trend among the Tanzanian music consumers has started changing towards favouring products from their local artists who sing in Swahili, the national language. The mushrooming of FM music stations and reasonable production studios has been a major boost to the music industry in the country. Contemporary artists like Juma Nature, Lady Jaydee, Mr. Nice, Mr. II, Sammy & The Passions, Cool James, Dully Sykes, Professor Jay and many others command a huge audience of followers in the country and neighbouring countries. More information about Tanzanian music and events can be found on the various web portals that have sprung up recently. Tanzania has an enormously high growth rate for internet technologies, estimated at up to 500% per year. Because costs for computers are still quite high, many users share connections at internet cafes or at work. naomba.com business directory, Movie and Sports information, Arusha locality information all are part of an increasing number of websites dedicated to the region. As of 2006, the estimated population is 38,329,000, with an estimated growth rate of 2%. Population distribution is extremely uneven, with density varying from 1 person per square kilometer (3/mi²) in arid regions to 51 per square kilometer (133/mi²) in the mainland's well-watered highlands, to 134 per square kilometer (347/mi²) on Zanzibar. More than 80% of the population is rural. Dar es Salaam is the largest city and is the commercial capital; Dodoma, located in the center of Tanzania is the new capital and houses the Union's Parliament. Zanzibar Town houses the Zanzibar Parliament. The African population consists of more than 120 ethnic groups, of which the Sukuma, Haya, Nyakyusa, Nyamwezi, and Chagga have more than 1 million members. Other groups include the Pare, Sambaa or Shambala and Ngoni. The majority of Tanzanians, including such large ethnic groups as the Sukuma and the Nyamwezi, have Bantu origins. Groups of Nilotic or related origin include the nomadic Masai and the Luo, both of which are found in greater numbers in neighboring Kenya. Two small groups speak languages of the Khoisan family peculiar to the people of the Kalahari in southern Africa. Cushitic-speaking peoples, originally from the Ethiopian highlands, reside in a few areas of Tanzania. Other Bantu groups were refugees from Mozambique. Although much of Zanzibar's African population came from the mainland, one group known as Shirazis claims its origins to be the supposed island's early Persian settlers. Non-Africans residing on the mainland and Zanzibar account for 1% of the total population. The Asian community, including Hindus, Sikhs, Shi'a and Sunni Muslims, Parsis and Goans, has declined by 50% in the past decade to 50,000 on the mainland and 4,000 on Zanzibar. An estimated 70,000 Arabs and 10,000 Europeans still reside in Tanzania. In the 1960s and 1970s thousands of Asians emigrated, frequently under duress. Often they attempted to emigrate to the United Kingdom. Each ethnic group has its own language. No language is de jure official, but Swahili is the de facto official national language, used for intertribal communication and for official matters. After independence, English, the language of colonial administration during the era of British rule, was still used for some official issues, and was thus considered de facto official alongside Swahili. As official usage of English has greatly diminished during the first thirty years following independence, and it was more common to regard Swahili as the only de facto official language. However the political reforms which turned Tanzania away from a closed and socialist environment and a centrally planned economy inevitably resulted in a dramatic opening up of the country. The attendant growth of the private sector and new investment has resulted in English having increasing importance, and there are a plethora of schools in which English is the medium of instruction. Universities all use English as the medium of instruction, which often causes problems for students who have previously only taken English as a subject in school. Other spoken languages are Indian languages, especially Gujarati, and Portuguese (both spoken by Mozambican blacks and Goans). Historically German was widely spoken during that colonial period, but few remain alive who remember that period. Tanzania is a religiously divided society. It is difficult to determine which is the largest religion, since this question, together with tribal affiliation, has not been answered in the national census. According to the CIA Factbook, Muslims account for 35% of the population, an estimated 30% of the population is Christian, and 35% adheres to traditional faiths. On Zanzibar, by contrast, the population is 99% Muslim Tropical weather prevails. In the coastal area, hot and humid. In the northern circuit, cool weather between May and September. Temperatures vary between 60-70F during the day and a bit cooler at night.
Required for all visitors who are not on the list of exempted countries. Citizens of some specified countries of Europe and North America may get visas at their port of entry in Tanzania – one of the International Airports, or the border ports. Visas are obtainable from any Tanzania Embassy or High Commission. For more recent/up to date visa requirements, contact your nearest Tanzanian Embassy /High Commission. You may also check with the UK based Tanzanian High Commission web site. Tanzania High Commission Tanzanian Embassy Tanzania National Parks and Game Reserves Tanzania proudly boasts of 15 National parks that have vast potential as tourism destinations. While visiting the parks, visitors are previledged to enjoy exceptional wildlife via incomparable and unique game viewing, bush lunch and dinner, picnicing, walking safaris tanzania, bird watching, sports fishing, mountain hiking and climbing, chimpanzee trekking, canoeing, balloon safaris and night game drives. Interestingly, each park is unique from the other. Arrays of spectacular biodiversity and sceneary views of each park, make a visitor forget the rest and decide for a longer stay or plan to visit again. Tanzania safaris and tours are categorised according to zones/ circuits: the Southern, Northern, Eastern and Western and Historical sites. Southern Circuit Northern Circuit Coastal Circuit and the
off-shore Islands Western Circuit For Full & Detailed Information on our National Parks & Tanzania Safari Packages please fill up our |
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