Best time to go:
June-August (dry&cooler 28°C)
January- February (dry but very hot) & more expensive
Serengeti National Park: all year around (wildebeest, zebras, antelopes, gazelles, lions)
Katavi National Park: June to mid-October
Tarangire National Park: June to mid-October
Mount Kilimanjaro: best months for climbing are August to October and from January to March.
See the official website of “Tanzania National Parks”
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General information:
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Name: United Republic of Tanzania
Area: 945,000m²
Capital: nominal Dodoma (population of approx. 300,000), factual: Daressalam (population of approx. 3 million)
Population: in 2005: 38,3 million (World bank), in Zanzibar: approx 1 million foreign nationals: approx. 20.000 Indian, 5.000 other nationality’s; compound <a annual growth growth rate: approx 1,8% (World bank)
Climate: tropical, all year wet and hot
open Borders: Kenya,Malawi, Mozambique,Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia
unsafe Borders: Congo (Zaire) and Burundi are not advised
Languages: Kiswahili, English
Religion: approx. 40% Christians, ca. 30% Moslem’s, ca. 30% other; Zanzibar ca. 95% Moslem’s
Head of government: Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, CCM, President of United Republic of Tanzania, since Dec. 2005 (premiership 5 years)
Picture: President of the United Republic of Tanzania – Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete. pic 2006
Gross domestic product (GDP): 2007: US$ 14,2 billion
GDP/person: US£ 355 in 2007
Expectancy of life: Men 46years/Women 47years (see “Brot fuer die Welt”)
Infant death: 7,6 %
National holiday:
1 January – New Year
12 January – Zanzibar Revolution Day
25 March – Good Friday
28 March – Easter Monday
26 April – Union Day (Tanganyika and Zanzibar)
29* April – Maulid
1 May – Labour Day
7 July – International Trade Fair
8 August – Farmers’ Day
14 October – Mwalimu Nyerere Day and Climax of “uhuru Torch Race”
3* & 4 * November – Idd – El Fitr
9 December – Indepedence Day
25 December – Christmas Day
26 December – Boxing Day
Tel: international code 000, country code 255
The supply is generally 220-240v and plugs are three-pin square or round. If you have a video or digital camera, make sure your battery charger is of the same voltage.
Visa: US$50 for 30 days issued at the borders.
Tip: This is where a little knowledge of Kiswahili can cause some inconveniences. Tanzanians don’t function on the same time as Westerners. For Tanzanians, it’s illogical that the day would start in the middle of the night. Since sunrise and sunset happen pretty much at the same time all year round, 6am and 6pm, the day starts at 6am which is 0 hour. So when telling time in Kiswahili, Tanzanians always subtracted 6 hours for western time. 11am is 5am to a Tanzanian. To avoid any confusion, a Tanzanian will tell time in English if they want to use the western standard and in Kiswahili if they use local standard. If you want to practice your Kiswahili, just keep this in mind if you discuss appointment times with a Tanzanian. If you say Saa kumi na moja asabuhi (11:00am), instead of Saa tano asabuhi (5:00am), you’ll end up waiting for 6 hours for the person to arrive, that’s if they are on time!Tanzani
