20 Tanzania Facts You Didn't Know

1. The Nile River Starts Here: Lake Victoria

2. Home of the Spice Island: Zanzibar

3. Birthplace of Humanity: Olduvai Gorge

4. Origin of most spoken African Language- Kiswahili There are more than 130 tribes in Tanzania that speak a unique language. 1st president Julius “Walimu” Nyerere, selflessly chose Kiswahili as the official language of Tanzania instead of his native Zanaki tribe. The Swahili tribe live along the east coast of Africa. To date Kiswahili is the most dispersed dialect in Africa. Tanzania is also the 1st sub-saharan country to use an African language as the main language for its entire education system. It has recently denounced English as an official language.

5. Worlds Largest Animal Migration: Serengeti

6. Safari Capital of the world.

Beach safaris, camel safari, ballon safaris, boat safaris, night safaris and more! 30% of Tanzania's land is preserved for wildlife so there is plenty of room for the classic Rover safari. Over 4 million animals and the largest concentration of wildlife per square mile. You will not find caged zoo animals in these parks.

1. Highest Mountain in Africa- Mt. Kilimanjaro

2. Largest Lake in Africa- Lake Victoria It's also 2nd Largest freshwater lake in the world. 3 countries surround it: Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda

3. Deepest freshwater Lake in Africa- Lake Tanganyika 2nd oldest lake in the world and a fifth of world's fresh water supply. Millions rely on it's existence from Tanzania, Burundi, the Democratic of Congo, and Zambia. Unsustainable practices now has it threatened.

4. Only place with ALL the Big 5: Ngorongoro Crater If you are on a short trip and only have 1 day to the Royal Big Five, this is the only place you are guaranteed to see them all in one day.

5. Tree Climbing Lions: Lake Manyara & Serengeti

1. Dar es Salaam means ‘City of Peace’ Tanzania has 2 capitals: Dar es Salaam & Dododma The name -Dar es Salaam- couldn’t be more perfect. This tropical oasis is 40x safer than both America and Europe. There have never been any civil wars, ethnic conflicts, and almost zero terrorist attacks. You don’t have to worry about school shootings or mass public shootings here (knock on wood). It is a culture of people that pride themselves on peace and love. Tanzanians are welcoming with open arms and hearts

2. Serengeti National Park is ~6,000mi² 14,763km² to be exact. That is massive. Almost the size of New Jersey. Can you imagine exploring a National Park that is larger than a state? Well Tanzania has 16 for you choose from. The average national park size in Tanzania is 2,000mi². That means there is plenty to see everywhere.

3. Oldest city in East Africa- Stone Town, Zanzibar

It is also the only ancient town that is still economically vibrant in East Africa.

1. World’s largest inactive volcanic caldera Ngorongoro crater makes the list again because it is just that special.

2. You can snorkel in Africa’s only Coral Reef Park

3. Pink flamingos live on Pink lakes Lake Natron is a pink salt lake that is only inhabitable by thousands of flamingos and thermophiles. It can turn other animals to stone.

4. Largest land Crab in the world: Coconut Crab 3ft of yummy scrumptious deliciousness. Best crab on the planet. Why? Well, they eat a coconut diet. That's right they can open a coconut.

5. Secret Red Chicken is served only at night. It's not a secret to locals but tourist usually miss out on this delectable delight. At sunset the restaurants and street vendors open up just to sell this life changing masterpiece. In Zanzibar it comes in both yellow and red. Guaranteed to be the best chicken you've ever tasted.

6. Tanzania, Zimbabwe and South Africa share the same National Anthem: Mungu Ibariki​