PANGANI

At the point where the massive Pangani River empties itself into the Indian Ocean, a village has grown.

The Pangani River passes through the north side of the town, separating the old buildings and the present-day market from the farms and small houses on the south side.

The river itself requires a ferry to cross, its dark brown waters heavy with alluvial silt as it meanders slowly into the ocean. On either side of the little town, coconut palms and sisal plantations undulate towards the horizon.

Once a centre of Swahili trade with the African mainland, the town of Pangani is now a sleepy backwater that little remembers its days of splendors.

The old German administrative boma still stands behind a colonnade of tall shade trees and the former prison, painted a fading ocher red, looks over the river’s lazy waters.

Old houses along the main road offer lived-in examples of colonial and traditional Swahili architecture, the buildings slowly crumbling against the monsoon winds. Visitors passing through the area would do well to explore what remains of the old town on foot.

Even a short walk rewards visitors with a glimpse of quiet life in the old trading towns along the Swahili Coast.

Suggested Itineraries for Pangani : Minimum 4 Days/ 3 Night Safari

Accommodations in Pangani

KILWA

Along the southern coast of Tanzania, the ancient ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani give themselves slowly to the encroaching jungle and the relentless cycles of the tide.

Once the very epicenter of Swahili culture and civilization, all that is left of Kilwa Kisiwani are the old building blocks of the town — fire baked limestone, coral blocks, a few shattered tiles.

Nothing else remains except the lush coconuts and old trees that give witness to habitation here many years ago.
The ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani were once the centre of trade along the entire East African coast and the driving force behind the complex networks of trade caravans and dhow expeditions that encouraged the Swahili to thrive and prosper.

During its heyday in the 13th to 15th century, trade with Sofala in Mozambique, India to the east, and Arabia to the north propelled Kilwa’s fortunes to unbelievable heights.

Together with the nearby ruins of Songo Mnara, archaeologists and historians consider Kilwa one of the most important sites of Swahili civilization in the region

The coral and limestone walls of the old mosque, sultans’ palaces, and merchants’ houses are all the more sumptuous in their rather dilapidated state – fig tree roots weave in and out of old windows and the rustle of the ocean palms never far away.

Getting to Kilwa : 5 hour drive from Dar es salaam / 3 hr drive from Selous

Suggested Itineraries for Kilwa : Minimum 4 Days/ 3 Night Safari : Kilwa can be combined with Selous : Check for Itineraries

Accommodations in Kilwa

DAR ES SALAAM

Boasts one of the finest natural harbour in the world while it has become a bustling port and economic centre, it remains a place of fascination, with reminders of its colorful past. Dhows still ply its water. Dug-out canoes, filled with fish, bob by the harbour side. Many beautiful and unspoiled beaches are within easy reach.

Accommodations in Dar es salaam

BAGAMOYO

Bagamoyo was the former capital of German East Africa colony and also was starting point of the slave caravan routes and also the terminus of the white missionaries. Like Burton Speke, Stanley Livingstone.

Bagamoyo has natural harbour for sailing vessels and dhow.

Historical sites to be visited:

Kaole ruins, German Museum, German State house, the old market, Caravan sarai, the old fort, Arabic tea house, Crocodile farm, 1^st East African post office, 1^st East African Secondary School.

Getting to Bagamoyo : 1 hr drive from Dar es salaam

Suggested Itineraries for Bagamoyo : A day trip or 2 Days/ 1 Night : Bagamoyo can be combined with Saadani & Pangani : Check for Itineraries

Accommodations in Bagamoyo