Tanzania Cultural Tourism | Tanzania Safari

The Bunge

The best sightseeing tour in Dodoma is to the African styled Parliament buildings called the Bunge. Tourists can visit during sessions, although they must carry passports in order to enter, to ensure national security.

Nyerere Square

A site that should not be missed is Nyerere Square, a historic landmark that was a local market but has now been built into a town square, which is home to a statue of Julius Kambarage Nyerere, the national founder of Tanzania. 

Dodoma Skate Park

Spending a day at Dodoma Skate Park is an excellent idea. Built to create a safe and nurturing environment for the youth to engage in a healthy sport, the park is an exciting spot for tourists to enjoy skateboarding and support the local economy. 

Kondoa Irangi

Another great day trip idea for tourists is to visit a series of caves carved into a hillside. Here, they can see the famous Kondoa Irangi rock paintings, which are said to be over 50000 years old. 

Mosques

Dodoma has beautiful mosques which the tourists can visit and Muslim visitors can pray in. Gaddafi Mosque is a pink mosque with space for up to 4500 worshippers. The mosque is situated at the centre of the city, and attracts lots of visitors as it is one of the largest mosques in East Africa, and is known for its impressive, beautiful design. Tourists can also go to the Jamatkhana Ismaili mosque which has a neoclassical British design!

Vineyards

In the 1960s, a 4-5 acre vineyard was planted in Isanga Prison in Dodoma’s Kondoa region. Here, red, white, and rosé wines are made from grapes. Tourists can also spot fruits such as mangoes, bananas, and plums. Other vineyards and plantations can be found at Mpunguzi, Msalato, Nkulabi, Nala, and Mundemu in the district. One can also go to Chinagali which has a 300 acre farm where they can observe red and white grapes and learn about how they are grown. In March, August, and September, one can also witness the harvest.

Monduli Juu Cultural Experience

Monduli Juu is a cluster of four small Maasai villages namely Emairete, Enguiki, Eluwai and Mfereji. Emairete consists of a wonderful crater where, in former times, the cattle of only medicine men were supposed to graze. Enguiki village is named after its famous pastures. Eluwai is a village called after the trees where certain small ants have their habitat and that are whistling in the wind. Mfereji is a village down the escarpment that, a long time ago, develop from a place where a South African lived who pulled a ditch down to bring water from the Monduli Mountains.

Mulala Cultural Experience

Mulala is a typical Bantu village.  It is nestled on the green southern slopes of Meru, just below the alpine forest reserve and a few kilometers from the border of Arusha National Park.  The village is about 30km from Arusha Town, and is located to the north side of the Moshi-Arusha highway. Tours to Mulala include crisscrossing coffee and banana farms, and inspecting small women’s business societies that engage in income-generating projects such as cheese making, chilli-growing, and tailoring.  The women are happy to show visitors how coffee is traditionally processed and how some traditional African food is prepared.

Mto wa Mbu Cultural Experience

Mto wa Mbu is situated on the way from Arusha to the great national parks of northern Tanzania, which including Ngorongoro and Serengeti. It is a green oasis just at the foot of the rift valley and bordering to Lake Manyara.  A visit to Mto wa Mbu includes farm tours, country walks and a view into the culture of many different tribes that have migrated to the area but have retained their tribal way of life.

Longido Cultural Experience

Longido offers a walking safaris through the Maasai plains and a climb of the impressive Longido Mountain (2690m) through dense natural forest. A tour of the extensive plains surrounding the mountain features an insight into the traditions of Maasai culture and offers the opportunity to see some of the rare birds and animals of the bush.  Longido is about 80 kilometers north of Arusha on the road to the Namanga border crossing.

Tengeru Cultural Experience

Tengeru is 13 kilometres from Arusha town off the Arusha-Moshi road.  Tengeru offers a glimpse of the culture of the Meru people and their farming methods including tracing the preparation of coffee right from the farm to the table.  Tengeru also offers nature walks along the Mountain Rivers and an excursion to Lake Duluti on the lower slopes of Mount Meru  The organizers of tours have also special programmes to visit families with disabled children and the local village primary schools.

Mkuru Cultural Experience

Mkuru is a Maasai settlement on the northern side of Mount Meru where they have gone a step beyond the traditional cattle-keeping culture by beginning to keep camels.  Mkuru therefore offers camel safaris in addition to bush walks and hill climbing and visits to Maasai homesteads.
From Arusha, the scenic route to Mkuru Juu means “Higher Monduli;” it is a cool, picturesque, green plateau standing in the middle of the usual low Maasai plains.  A visit to Monduli offers a “medicinal” tour to see the herbs and plants of Maasailand that are used in traditional medicine and to enjoy panoramic views of the Rift Valley, the active volcano Oldonyo Lengai, and Lake Natron.

Kilimanjaro Coffe Experience

Don’t just wonder about the origins of coffee or bean. Stay with the small  farmers on the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. 

Main activities during the tour;

– An excursion to a nearby coffee farm
– Coffee berry picking and pulping
– Explanation about organic coffee farming and
-Processing of the coffee from beans to cup
– Coffee drinking at the farm.

Materuni Waterfalls Experience

Materuni Waterfall is a booming waterfall just 15-kilometers from Moshi Town. When combined with a coffee tour in the village, it makes for a perfect day trip before or after your Mount Kilimanjaro climb.

With about eight kilometers of walking throughout the day and 300 meters of incline, this adventure is a great warm-up for the legs while also getting to immerse yourself in the local culture. The tour begins by observing the entire process of making a cup of coffee, from seed to mug. After a locally produced lunch, you head off to explore the massive Materuni Waterfall.

Majimoto Chemka Experience

Experience a local dive to this beautiful recreational oasis an hour away from Arusha town that is Chemka hotsprings. Better known as (Maji moto), this breathtaking geothermal spring surrounded by palm trees and winding roots offers an idyll spot for relaxing, swimming, fun, and camping especially after a long tiresome safari. The water is also refreshing, for a dip along with a beautiful shadow of the fig trees. In here you can have as much fun or pleasure as your heart desires while enjoying a gorgeous view of Mt. Kilimanjaro on your way back to either Moshi or Arusha.

Marangu Day Hike

Kilimanjaro Marangu day hike involves going up to the first camp Mandara hut (2720m) and come back via the same route on the same day. There is a drive about 45km from Moshi town which will take 1 hour. At Marangu gate you have to do some registrations and pay the park entrance fee to get a valid permit to start the hike. Marangu gate is 1879m above sea level and the distance to Mandara hut is 8km (16 km round trip), which will take 3 to 4 hours for each direction.

Machame Cultural Tourism

Established in June 2008 with the vision of conserving the lushness of the environment through agricultural activities and planting trees, the women of Machame Nkweshoo came together to create; ‘Machame Nkweshoo Cultural Tourism Enterprise’. Machame is a typical rural village located on the green slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro with most inhabitants being farmers reliant on their crop harvests from coffee cultivation, the growing of vegetables and fruits. Its location being strategically located made it more effective to start up a cultural tourism enterprise especially for the clients interested in climbing up the mountain for acclimatization purposes. Besides the area being right t Mount Kilimanjaro, there are other historical attractions such as old Chagga caves, Nkosalulu waterfalls, a hot water spring(Kikuletwa) and the oldest churches among other attractions.

Moshi Town and Market Tour

Dive into the colorful bustle of the Moshi city and move around like a local. We will take you around precious landmarks to give you the taste of the small-town culture and lifestyle. Experience busy markets, local buses, small restaurants, and admire the city adorned by the snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro. Perhaps pick a souvenir to keep a memory of this small city. 1. Visit the Memorial market famous for second-hand goods and see how the locals shop.  2. Hop into a dala dala bus ride and visit the Mbuyuni market where you can savor fresh produce of fruits and vegetables. 3. Taste the local Swahili cuisine and enjoy chatting with the locals who will amuse you with their mix of English and Swahili skills  4. Visit the old railway station, which is no longer in use, and admire the slow-paced life while you grab a Kilimanjaro beer and sit in a quiet zone.

 Stone Town Walking Tour and Historic Sites

You will see the following Stone Town historic sites on a private guided walking tour.  We encourage everyone to take a tour to learn the history of Zanzibar and orient yourself to the maze of streets and alleys before venturing out to explore on your own.

Beit el-Ajaib (House of Wonders) dominates the Stone Town waterfront skyline. Built in 1883 by Sultan Barghash as a ceremonial palace it was true to its name for being, among many notable characteristics, the tallest building in East Africa and the first to have running water, electricity, and an elevator.

The Palace Museum. Former residence of Zanzibar’s last sultan, overthrown during the 1964 revolution for Zanzibar independence and ultimate union with mainland Tanganyika to form the Republic of Tanzania.  Three floors chock full of memorabilia not removed in the chaos. Exhibits are labeled, but knowledgeable guides with plenty of stories to tell are available at the entrance.

The Old Fort (Ngome Kongwe) was built around 1700 by the Omanis who ousted the Portuguese from the island. Over the years it has been repurposed many times and presently houses several craft shops, a cafe, tourist information, and an outdoor amphitheater.

Forodhani Gardens. Manicured gardens on the waterfront in proximity to all of the above. Pleasant spot for a rest in the shade, but it really comes alive at night when a street food bazaar materializes with an extensive range of freshly prepared local and locally-inspired dishes (with an emphasis on seafood), along with fresh fruit drinks and more.  Now catering to island visitors, feel free to indulge worry-free!

Anglican Cathedral and Slave Market. With the powerful British empire wielding influence on the island in the 19th century, slavery was outlawed. To prove a point, in 1873 the British built their cathedral on the location of the slave market. In the basement of the old mission hospital next door can be found the tiny dank rooms where slaves were held.

Central Market.  The open-air main market for the city, where you can find everything – from fresh fish to spices to hardware to the latest recordings of local Taarab Music. Prepare for all your sense to be engaged!

In Stone Town there remain more than 500 intricately carved wooden doors, many of them are older than the houses in which they are set.  The doors served as a symbol of the wealth and status of a household. Take note as you wander the streets!

Spice Tour

A popular half-day activity is to tour a spice plantation to see, smell, taste, and learn about the uses of the many different spices grown on the island. As part of the tour you may visit the ancient ruins of the Sultans’ country palace, the Persian baths built for the wife of one of the 19^th century rulers, and see a beachfront shop where craftsmen build traditional sailing dhows using methods handed down for generations.  A longer tour can include a trip to the village of Mwangapwani to explore an underground coral cave and ancient slave chambers; a trip to the Jozani Forest Reserve for a pleasant walk and opportunity to spot the red colobus monkey, found nowhere else in the world.

Festival and Events

Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The island is in a celebratory mood that may last – literally and figuratively – for days.  .

Sauti Za Busara (“Voices of Wisdom”) is a 4-day celebration of African music, drawing performers from all over the continent and beyond.  It is held annually in Stone Town in February.

The Zanzibar International Film Festival is a 10-day cultural extravaganza of film screenings, music, workshops, exhibits, and more.  Stone Town, July.