STAFF REPORT
Few destinations can evoke such a striking and vivid experience as Tanzania. The biggest country of East Africa has everything, and more, than one can dream of. From the dry endless plains of the African Savanna full of wildlife, to lush green tropical rain forests with colorful birds, paradise islands with powder white beaches and lively coral reefs. Not to be outdone, there is Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain of Africa and arguably the most beautiful, which on its own is an amazing sight worthy of a trip to this land.
As the soul of Africa, Tanzania offers an amazing glimpse of the continent with a warm hospitality that can be a feature on any trip. The visit can be captivating, and the magical experience will never be forgotten. Traveling to Tanzania from Kuwait is easy and comfortable with the services offered by Ethiopian Airlines. The largest and most-awarded African carrier, Ethiopian Airlines serves hundreds of destinations on the African continent and beyond with amazing service standards that go far beyond anyone’s expectation.
The fascination of Africa, the vast continent whose oldest roads are elephant paths, is simply indescribable to someone who has never visited the continent. Wildlife is arguably the main reason people travel to countries in the world’s most exciting continent, and Tanzania is second to none in terms of diversity, volume and sheer ease with which you can view these animals. Couple this with truly spectacular backdrops — desert, mountain, rivers and forest scenery — and the experience is beyond most people’s imagination.
Encounters with wildlife can be so thrilling that some memories will never fade. Coming face to face with a lion who stares back at you can be intimidating, as it can be captivating. Seeing wildlife in its most natural habitat, preserved and protected, can be awe inspiring and a return to nature that so many of us have never been fortunate to experience. Tanzania has established ‘tourist circuits’ largely due the size of the country, which encompasses a variety of distances, travel costs and time. The four circuits include the Northern Safari Circuit, the Southern Safari Circuit, the Great Lakes Circuit and the Coastal Circuit.
The Northern Safari Circuit is the most celebrated Safari area in Africa. Home to the world-famous Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, the sheer concentration of Africa’s big game in this area is phenomenal. It includes some of the most famous and remarkable sights in the world, such as the annual wildebeest migration and the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater, a cultural and natural heritage site.
Ngorongoro is a huge caldera (collapsed volcano) 250 square kilometers in size and 600 meters deep. The crater alone has over 20,000 large animals including Tanzania’s last remaining Black Rhino. The crater, which boasts of the finest blend of landscapes, wildlife, archaeological sites and the Maasai people, is often called the African Eden and the eighth wonder of the natural world.
No fences or boundaries border the crater walls, animals are free to enter or leave the crater, but many of them stay for the plentiful water and grazing available on the crater floor throughout the year. Open grassland covers most of the crater floor, turning yellow with wild flowers in June.
Game viewing around Lake Makat is especially rewarding — large antelopes, zebras and gazelles come to drink, while herds of hippos sunbathe in thick lakeshore mud. The small forest patches on the crater floor are home to leopards, monkeys, baboons and antelopes such as waterbuck and bushbuck. The most numerous and recent inhabitants of the Ngorongoro area are the Maasai, who arrived 200 years ago.
Moving on from the spectacular Ngorongoro to the incredible Serengeti National Park is a trip filled with memories and adventure. An overnight stay in Serengeti in the night camp can bring one as close to nature as possible. Luxury camps are spread over the basin so that an early morning rise and visit to the Serengeti becomes a true nature experience.
The moment one sets their eyes on the vast unlimited plains of the Serengeti, it can sear your eyes forever. The Park is one of the most well-known of all wildlife areas and attracts thousands of visitors each year for the annual wildebeest migration, which is a must-see for its sheer beauty. The great wildebeest migration comprises the largest movement of land animals on the planet.
Witnessing even a small part of this greatest animal show on earth it can be beyond one’s imagination, a glimpse of the migration where more than one million wildebeest, zebras and gazelles gather on the vast plains of Tanzania’s Serengeti and travel north towards Kenya’s Masai Mara and back again in an annual clockwise circle. It is truly a tantalizing experience to witness.
With over 25 percent of the country’s total landmass dedicated to wildlife parks and conservation areas, Tanzania remains wholeheartedly committed to the preservation of Africa’s great wilderness and incredible range of animal species.
The abiding appeal of observing lions, leopards, cheetahs and so many more in their natural wild habitat, which is what makes the view so captivating to watch, can leave you breathless. Just to spend time in the company of these animals is a privilege for all those who witness it.
The beauty of this African safari is such that it can be a trip that appeals to all levels of knowledge, interest and experience, and for first-timers it can be the experience of a lifetime.