Coast

PEMBA

Size :

52 Kms²

 

Activities :

Lots of opportunity for watersports or simply relaxation, also a number of tours organized by us

 

pemba sealifePemba Island is located off the coast of Tanzania just 50 Kms North of Zanzibar. Isolated from Arab and then European colonization, it has remained completely untouched and unspoiled by any modern development.

 

This sleepy island is an ideal place for a honeymoon or just to relax and unwind! The Island is surrounded by exotic coral reefs of every form and description, beautiful smaller islands, deep channels and exotic white sandy beaches. Pemba is now listed as one of the top dives spots and offers superb diving opportunities with un-spoilt coral gardens and a vast array of marine life.

 

The island is also dotted with ruins dating to the 7th century, when Arab traders built permanent mosques to spread Islam. Pemba has been an important trading center along the Swahili coast for 3,000 years and once played a major role in trade with Persian Gulf countries and India.

MAFIA

Size :

50 Kms long and 15 Kms wide

 

Location :

20 Kms from the Rufiji River Delta

 

Activities :

Lots of opportunity for watersports or simply relaxation, also a number of tours organized by us

 

Mafia Island is set off the coast of central Tanzania, about 20 Kms from the Rufiji River Delta. It is a beautiful island, famous for deep sea fishing and absolutely incredible for scuba diving. It offers diving and snorkeling, and the whole island is surrounded by an unbroken barrier reef. The Island, 50 Kms long and 15 Kms wide, is the largest island in this archipelago, made up of many smaller islands atolls and tidal sandbars. There are no tar roads here and the whole island is locked in a time warp. If you desire to escape from the madding crowd and relax away from the hectic world Mafia is your paradise.

 

mafia sealifeThe island has thriving tidal mangroves, palm wooded grassland and lowland rainforest – with the huge Baobab also found here. The center of the island is dotted with a series of reed lined lakes, which are home to a number of small hippopotami. It also has a colony of flying foxes, bush babies, monkeys, squirrels and monitor lizards. Aquatic life is abundant and the coral gardens are pristine due to the protection of the Mafia Island Marine Park. The reefs around Mafia are home to over 400 species of fish, 5 species of marine turtles, 48 genera of corals, 7 species of mangroves, 12 species of sea grass, 134 species of marine algae.

DAR ES SALAAM

Dar es Salaam is a patchwork of past and contemporary cultures with Eastern, German and British influence – Eastern in the shops and Bazaars of India street, German in the almost Bavarian Railway station and the post telegraph offices, British in the legacy of flowers and gardens.

 

It is fundamentally, however, a Swahili city. The first quality of the city that the visitor notices is the extreme friendliness of the people – beaming smiles enthusiastic conversation at the drop of a hat. The word Dar es Salaam is Kiswahili for ‘Haven of Peace’ whose most attractive feature is its habour. The crescent bay is fringed with palm trees and gorgeously wrought sailing craft often waft into port. The city’s natural harbour and its central location on the coast made it a natural choice for a trading centre. Sultan Majid bin Said of Zanzibar had planned to develop the harbour in 1866. German colonists revived the Sultan’s plan in 1887.

 

Dar es Salaam is the largest city and the political and economic capital of Tanzania. Located in a quiet bay off the Indian Ocean coast, the city has grown in economic importance to become a prosperous centre of the entire East African region. The city displays the many influences of its history. Its mixture of Arabic, Asian and European history gives a special atmosphere to surroundings, streets and life. A tour though the city to experience the true warmth and hospitality of the people of Dar es Salaam is a must!

.:: SITES TO SEE ::.

 

St. Joseph’s Cathedral : St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Cathedral was started by missionaries in 1897 and took five years to finish. The Gothic style church dominates the harbor with a shingled spire, a vaulted interior and a carved relief above the main altar. The interior of St Joseph’s features artwork and original German inscriptions.

 

National Museum of Arts (Nyumba ya Sanaa) : Located in the heart of Dar es Salaam, Nyumba ya Sanaa is known for creating and selling Tanzanian arts and crafts. Many of the artists working here have developed their talents through training which enable them to transform traditional materials, designs and motifs into contemporary forms.

 

Karibu Arts Gallery : Karibu Arts Gallery located along Bagamoyo road, is dedicated to providing African artists with a base from which to display and sell their unique works. It is a job-creation project which buys arts at retail prices from the sellers on the streets of Africa, and makes their products available to a worldwide client-base. The gallery offers a wide range of beautifully designed utensils, baskets, pottery, chairs, jewellery and carvings.

 

Village Museum : The Village Museum is 12 Kms North of the centre of Dar es Salaam. It is an open-air site which has a collection of authentically constructed traditional houses of various Tanzanian tribes. It displays several distinct architectural styles with building materials ranging from sand, grass and poles to mud and rock. Villagers demonstrate their ancient skills of carving and weaving and offer their products for sale. Here, you can also enjoy traditional dance performances (ngoma) during the weekends.

 

Kariakoo Market : This beautiful main market has an interesting local colour and a diversity of peoples as well as exotic fruits, fresh fish, food products, handicrafts, local textile material and many other locally made products. The market’s colour, charm and character make it a must for every visitor.

 

Kivukoni Fish Market : Life in Dar es Salaam revolves around the huge harbour, with the business district fanning out from here in a series of fascinating side and main streets. On the northern arm of the harbour is Kivukoni Front, with its bustling fish market, where every morning at dawn the dhows sail in to offload the night’s catch and yelling vendors sell an assortment of seafood from giant crabs, lobster and red snapper, to more unusual items such as bluefish and sea urchins.

 

University of Dar es Salaam : The University is situated on the West side of the city of Dar es Salaam, occupying 1,625 acres on Observation Hill, 13kms from the centre of the city of Dar es Salaam. Itwas born out of a decision taken on March 25th, 1970, by the East African Authority, to split the then University of East Africa into three independent universities for Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

 

Mwenge Craft Market : Mwenge Village is the site of a score or more stalls selling carvings, jewellery, exotic cloth and trinkets of all kinds at bargain prices.

 

National Museum : The outstanding attraction is the Hall of Man where Dr. Leakey’s finds from Olduvai Gorge including the skull of Nutcrackerman (Zinjanthropus bosei) and other human fossils are displayed. The Museum offers an outstanding ethnographic collection of tribal ornaments, head-dresses, witch-craft paraphernalia and traditional musical instruments collected from various regions in Tanzania. Also, the history of the East African Coast is well portrayed with Chinese porcelain glazed pottery, trade wide beads from India and a series of copper coins from the Sultan of Kilwa.

 

Morogoro Stores : Morogoro Stores is a place where you will find many Tinga Tinga artists who make and sell Tinga Tinga paintings. Tinga Tinga is one of the many forms of impressionism the beautiful and mysterious continent of Africa has given birth to. Artists use their brushes to express their thoughts in bright, eye-catching colours. A must buy for friends and family back home!

BAGAMOYO TANZANIA

HUB OF SLAVE TRADE

Some 75 kilometers to the north of Dar Es Salaam is the former capital of Germany East, Africa, Bagamoyo once the mainland centre of the slave trade. The name Bagamoyo is derived from the name Bwaga Moyo “lay down your heart” because from here kidnapped Africans were sent to Zanzibar and across the sea into slavery.

 

Many of the European explorers passed through here including Burton, Speke, Grant, Stanley and Livingstone. The church, built by the Holy Ghost Fathers, is the oldest in the East Africa, and it was here that Livingstone’s remains rested before being taken to Zanzibar then England. The mission has a wonderful collection of photographs and mementos relating to Livingstone and to colonial times.
Reminders of the slave trade can also be found here; shackle rings, stone pens, and freedom certificates.

 

The beach that stretches to either side of Bagamoyo, is everyone’s idea of a tropical paradise. The Kaole ruins, date from the 13th Century include what is thought to be the oldest mosque and on the East African mainland, Bagamoyo Art College has free shows of traditional music, dancing and mime on weekends.

 

Located on the Bagamoyo-Pangani road, the Saadani Game reserves is one of the least visited in Tanzania. It is the only east African coastal reserve to harbor large mammals and is also the only place where the elephants can still being seen bathing from Indian Ocean.

 

Where to stay;

There are many hotels in Bagamoyo, with varying amenities and costs to fit every budget. There are tented camps at Saadani National Park

PANGANI

The name Pangani owes to the river that runs through northern part of the Historical Town. Pangani is a very old town, it is believed to be established before 6th Century BC as a coastal dhow port, but later became a station on the caravan route from Late Tanganyika for exporting slaves and ivory. Several historical sites in and around the town serve as reminders for the strong Arabic influence and the later German, British colonial era in Tanganyika. The town served as port, when sisal plantations were set up in the colonial period, before the Tanga Harbor constructed. Nowadays it is mainly a fishing town with a lot of coconut trees, providing nice beaches for quiet vacation.

 

Pangani is situated about 50km south of Tanga on the mouth of River Pangani that flows from the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro

 

Attraction: Pangani Falls, a water fall that provides electricity for Tanga, Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Moshi. Boat Safari on the Pangani River, which hosts birds and crocodiles. Maziwi Island, which was submerged due to environmental destruction and the effect of the global climate changes; is a nature reserve which provides ground for snorkeling opportunity and dolphins tour. Walking tour in the historical town to see some of old buildings aged more than 200 years old, visits to a former slave labor camps and slave market site.

 

Pangani is close to the Saadani National Park (especially on the Mkwaja side) the only place where one can see wildlife basking on the beach.