Tanzania with Zanzibar

In the vast plains of the 15'000 km² Serengeti National Park, Tanzania's oldest park, you are surrounded by the mysteries, power and beauty of nature. For centuries, one of the most impressive natural cycles on earth has played out here, when hundreds of thousands of hooved animals, driven by survival rhythms, are constantly on the lookout for new grasslands. Best known and most numerous are the wildebeest (of which there are about 1.5 million), whose annual migration is one of Serengeti's greatest attractions. The national park is also known for predators, especially the lions but also leopard, cheetah and spotted hyena.

Since its official opening in 1977, Kilimanjaro National Park has become one of Tanzania's most visited parks. Unlike the other northern parks, this is not a place you come for the wildlife, even if there is some. Rather, people come here to marvel at the snow-capped mountain on the equator and to climb to the top of Africa. The centrepiece of the park is the 5'896 m high Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa and one of the most beautiful sights on the continent.

This amazing nature reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site includes the Ngorongoro Crater, Olduvai Gorge, as well as parts of the Crater Highlands, and can be experienced in many ways. However, you visit, it is an essential part of any trip to northern Tanzania. With a width of 19 km and an area of 264 km², Ngorongoro is one of the largest unbroken craters in the world that is not a lake. The steep walls rise 400 m to 610 m in height and form the backdrop for an incredible natural spectacle where prey and predators clash on the open grasslands, swamps and acacia forests of the crater floor.

Tarangire has the second highest concentration of wildlife of all Tanzanian national parks (after the Serengeti). The Tarangire ecosystem, of which the park is the heart, is also home to many lions, which are frequently sighted. Less visible, but still present, are leopards and cheetahs. They are accompanied by large herds of zebra, wildebeest, antelope, giraffe and buffalo. With more than 450 species, including many rare ones, Tarangire is one of the best destinations for bird watching in Tanzania. The park's 2'850 km² are dominated by some of northern Tanzania's most diverse landscapes. The epic baobabs should be reason enough to come here.

Lake Manyara National Park is one of the smaller and most underrated parks in Tanzania. Although it is not as large and diverse as other northern destinations, its vegetation is very varied. The chance to see families of elephants, or Lake Manyara's famous population of tree-climbing lions (although sightings are increasingly rare) are reason enough alone to visit. The dramatic escarpment of the Rift Valley forms the western boundary of the park. To the east is the alkaline Lake Manyara, which attracts millions of flamingos and other bird species during the rainy season.

Zanzibar – the island 40 km off the coast of Tanzania – enchants with endless white sandy beaches and a turquoise blue sea just like on postcards. But the island offers much more than beach holidays, as it is an important supplier of spices and fruits and the home of the endangered red colobus monkeys. It is also one of the world's great cultural crossroads, where Africa meets Arabia meets the Indian Ocean. Zanzibar has preserved its oriental-African impression over time and charms with palaces and houses in the old Stone Town, reminiscent of the times of the sultans.