Northern Tanzania

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A group of zebras in a grassy field in the Tarangire National Park.

©cinoby/Getty Images

Overview

To paraphrase that well-known quote about Africa, those of you who've never been to northern Tanzania are to be envied, because you still have so much to look forward to. Northern Tanzania is a land of superlatives, from Africa's highest mountain to one of the greatest wildlife spectacles on the planet. But Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti are mere starting points to so many journeys of a lifetime. Mt Meru is Kilimanjaro's rival in both beauty and the challenge of climbing it, while the Crater Highlands could be Africa's most haunting landscape. When it comes to wildlife, there's Tarangire's baobab-and-elephant kingdom, Lake Manyara's tree-climbing lions and the flamingos of Lake Natron. And venturing down into Ngorongoro's crater can feel like returning to earth's first morning.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Blue Wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus in Serengeti.

    Serengeti National Park

    Northern Tanzania

    Few people forget their first encounter with the Serengeti. Perhaps it's the view from the summit of Naabi Hill at the park's entrance, from where the…

  • Mt. Kilimanjaro from Amboseli National Park.

    Mt Kilimanjaro National Park

    Northern Tanzania

    Since its official opening in 1977, Mt Kilimanjaro National Park has become one of Tanzania’s most visited parks. Unlike the other northern parks, this…

  • Empakaai Crater in Tanzania, Africa.

    Empakaai Crater

    Northern Tanzania

    Lake-filled Empakaai Crater, 23km northeast of Olmoti Crater, may not be as famous as Ngorongoro, but many travellers consider it to be its match in…

  • Tarangire National Park

    Tarangire National Park

    Northern Tanzania

    Welcome to one of Africa's most underrated parks. Thanks to its proximity to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro, Tarangire is usually assigned only a day visit…

  • Treetop walkway in Lake Manyara National Park.

    Lake Manyara Treetop Walkway

    Lake Manyara National Park

    Enjoy a guided bird's-eye view of Manyara on Tanzania's first treetop walkway (370m). It begins at ground level and climbs gently into the canopy,…

  • The Ngorongoro Conservation area in Tanzania. Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania, Eastern Africa, Africa, outdoors, daytime, nobody, travel, travel destinations, national park, public land, landscape, view from above, cloud, sky, plain, field, rural scene, savannah, grassland, vanishing point, idyllic

    Ngorongoro Conservation Area

    Northern Tanzania

    This astounding conservation area and Unesco World Heritage Site encompasses the Ngorongoro Crater, Oldupai Gorge and much of the Crater Highlands. It can…

  • Ol Doinyo Lengai, Tanzania - January 1, 2007: A group of tourists is hiking down from the top of Ol Doinyo Lengai into the green Rift Valley, in the background the Escarpment of the Rift Valley is visible. In the foreground there is some volcanic smoke coming out of a crack.

    Ol Doinyo Lengai

    Northern Tanzania

    The northernmost (and youngest) volcano in the Crater Highlands, Ol Doinyo Lengai (2878m), ‘Mountain of God’ in the Maasai language, is an almost perfect…

  • 525334221 Africa; Animals In The Wild; Biodiversity; Ngorongoro Conservation Area; Ngorongoro Crater; Outdoors; Photography; Safari; Safari Animals; Wildebeest; Zebra; Horizontal; Tanzania; The Ngorongoro Crater teeming with grazing wildlife.

    Ngorongoro Crater

    Northern Tanzania

    At 19km wide and with a surface of 264 sq km, Ngorongoro is one of the largest unbroken calderas in the world that isn’t a lake. Its steep walls soar 400m…

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