Story#204
Slow to the summit
The guide said pole pole about four hundred times in five days. On summit night, walking at half the pace felt absurd until we passed the fast group sitting down in the dark.
Tanzania
A collapsed volcano holding 25,000 animals, and the shortest war in history.
6 entries · 2 stories, 4 fun facts
Tanzania at a glance
The practical numbers, before the stories.
- Capital
- Dodoma (official); Dar es Salaam is the largest city
- Currency
- Tanzanian shilling (TZS)
- Official language
- Swahili and English
- Climate
- Tropical on the coast and Zanzibar, temperate on the highlands, cold on Kilimanjaro. Long rains March–May.
- Best time to go
- June–October for wildlife, January–February for the calving season
- Time zone
- UTC+3
- Driving side
- Left
- Plugs and voltage
- Type D / G, 230 V
Worth knowing: Kilimanjaro summit night is below freezing even though you started the trek in shorts.
Planning a trip to Tanzania
The decisions that determine whether the trip works, whichever country you are going to.
The Ngorongoro Crater is a caldera twenty kilometres across, home to around 25,000 large animals that rarely need to leave it. Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, is built from three cones - Kibo, Mawenzi and Shira - and Kibo is dormant rather than extinct.
The Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896 lasted under 45 minutes, the shortest recorded war anywhere. The entries here also include the guide who says pole pole about four hundred times in five days, and the moment on summit night when walking at half speed stops feeling absurd because you have just passed the fast group sitting down in the dark.
Entries from Tanzania
Story#206
Zanzibar at low tide
The sea went out nearly a kilometre and the whole village walked out onto the flats with buckets. Children raced the incoming tide back to shore as if it were a game invented that morning.
Fun fact#432
Kilimanjaro has three volcanic cones
Africa's highest mountain is made of Kibo, Mawenzi and Shira. Kibo is dormant rather than extinct.
Fun fact#434
Zanzibar fought the shortest war
The Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896 lasted under 45 minutes, the shortest recorded war in history.
Fun fact#436
Ngorongoro is a collapsed volcano
The crater is a caldera 20 kilometres wide, home to around 25,000 large animals that rarely need to leave.
Fun fact#572
The Rift Valley lakes are alkaline
Some rift lakes are so alkaline they can burn skin, yet flamingos thrive on the algae that grow there.
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Tanzania is one of 36 countries in the library. Read straight through a continent, or start from the map of everywhere we have written about.