TANZANIA

East Africa's largest nation, United Republic of Tanzania, is reknown for numerous natural and human wonders including Mt. Kilimanjaro, the island of Zanzibar, the Serengeti Plain, Mikumi National Park, Lake Victoria, the Great Ruaha Rift, the Masai and Hehe tribes and perhaps the best safari areas on earth.

Tanzania shares its borders with, Burundi, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. At 939,652 square kilometers or 362,706 square miles, the country consists of the mainland plus the major islands of Zanzibar, Poem and Mafia.

Tanzania is Africa's prime game-viewing country. From the vast plains of the Serengeti in the north, to the chimpanzee sanctuaries of Gombe and Mahale in the west and the lesser-known 'jewels' of Ruaha and the Selous in the south, Tanzania's biodiversity is truly breathtaking. The sheer numbers of birds and animals - there are an estimated 32,000 elephants in Selous Game Reserve alone - are testament to the fact that almost a quarter of the country's total land area is protected, either as national parks, reserves or conservation areas. And research projects carried out in these protected areas continue to make an impact on science at large: from Marion East's study of Serengeti spotted hyenas, which shows how this female-dominated society 'commute', often hundreds of kilometres, to their prey; to the Mkomazi Research Project, a collaborative study of the flora and fauna in Mkomazi Game Reserve, by Tanzania's Department of Wildlife, the Royal Geographical Society and Oxford University, which has yielded a number of new species.

Tanzania is home to 20 species of primates, 34 species of antelopes, 290 species of reptiles, 40 species of amphibians and 11,000 species of invertebrates. In addition, the nation boasts more than 1,000 bird species, with Lake Manyara alone home to more than 400. It is a year round birding destination, but at the height of the northern winter, some 160 species of migrating birds make their way south.

Furthermore, its grasslands and open woodlands of the Serengeti and Maasai Steppe in the north-west and north-east of Tanzania support some of the greatest concentration of large mammals in the world. More than 19% of Tanzania's surface area is devoted to wildlife in protected areas where no human settlement is allowed and 9% wildlife co-exists with humans.

An African safari provides you with a vacation and experience of a lifetime. Choosing your African safari or tour is always a daunting task, we have put together a selection of our favourites:

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