Eastern Circuit

The islands became part of the historical record of the wider world when Arab traders discovered them and used them as a base for voyages between Arabia, India, and Africa.

Zanzibar capital City is Stone Town a place of winding lanes, circular towers, carved wooden doors, raised terraces and beautiful mosques. Named for its many multi-story stone buildings, these structures are actually constructed with coral and mortar, not stone. Of the 1,700 stone buildings, 1,100 have been classified as having architectural significance. There are 23 landmark buildings, two cathedrals, over 50 Mosques, 157 balconies, verandas and loggias and more than 200 carved doors. Zanzibar, Stone Town has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Important architectural features are the Livingstone house, the Guliani Bridge, and the House of Wonders.

Saadani is the only wildlife sanctuary in Tanzania bordering the Indian Ocean. Gazetted in 2005, it encompasses a well-preserved ecosystem including the former Saadani Game Reserve, the Mkwanja Ranch Area, the Wami River as well as the Zaraninge Forest. 

Many villages are dotted around the boundaries of the park. Saadani village itself once was an important harbour-town and slave-trading centre in East Africa. Now days it is a small Swahili village of about 800 inhabitants whose livelihood is mostly fishing.

This Park is where crab also meets elephant and the roar of a lion might interrupt your tanning. All the usual suspects, such as zebra, buffalo, elephant, warthog, giraffe, wildebeest and waterbuck are present. 

But you also satand a high chance of capturing different types of hartbeest, the big-eyed Rondo Galago and the elusive sable antelope on camera during your jeep or walking safari. Lion, leopard and spotted hyena might be harder to find, but this makes a sighting a even greater joy.

For someone looking for a quiet vacation and an experience of African culture untouched by modern tourism, Pangani could be the place. A walking tour through the town would include visits to some historical buildings of colonial and traditional Swahili architecture some over 200 years old; a former slave labor camp and slave market site where Arabs traded slaves to India and Arabia; the Freedom Grounds; Islamic and German graves; ancient mosques and traditional houses. One will also see the street “carpet” makers, woodcarvers, basket weavers, painters and other artisans sell a wide variety of hand made cultural items.

Other places of interest in Pangani include the Pangani River itself rich in birds life, the palm fringed sandy bay, and Maziwe Island (sandbank) Marine Reserve offering excellent waters for snorkeling.

In a nutshell, PANGANI will OFFER you with:

• Historical town tour… Explore Historic buildings of Pangani town, slave market, old port and slave routes
• Pangani River cruising
• A boat trip to Maziwe Marine Park Island for swimming, sun-bathing, snorkeling and watching dolphins
• Village tours.. a welcome to Coast people’s home and stay with a family getting an insight of the Swahili culture. Participate in various activities with the family members
• An opportunity to travel or have a safari to Saadani National Park, Where by there will be crossing Pangani river with a ferry (75 km / 3 hours’ drive). then another 35 km to Saadani village.

Climate

Due to close proximity to the equator and the warm Indian Ocean, the city experiences tropical climatic conditions, typified by hot and humid weather throughout much of the year. It has a tropical wet and dry climate (Kopper: Aw). Annual rainfall is approximately 1,100 mm (43 in), and in a normal year there are two rainy seasons: “the long rains” in April and May and “the short rains” in November and December.

From a small Swahili town in the middle of the 19th century, Dar es Salaam has grown into a large metropolitan center with a population of over 3,500,000 dwellers. The city population represents the over 120 tribes of Tanzania with their different cultural backgrounds coming together, alongside the oriental civilizations from the far and middle east, and the Europeans including early Portuguese visitors in the 16th Century, the Germans and later the British.

All cultures at one time or another passed through Dar es Salaam. It is necessary to visit Dar es Salaam to understand the secret of letting different cultures live together in absolute harmony. Being the commercial capital of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam is also the main gateway to the nature reserves of southern Tanzania, which include the Selous Game Reserve and the National Parks of Mikumi, Ruaha and Udzungwa Mountains, Saadani and Kitulo.