Tanzania Sightseeing: Rim Views and Old Town
Travel advisory: The US government currently advises reconsidering travel to Tanzania, and the UK advises against all but essential travel within 20 km of the Mozambique border (Cabo Delgado). The views described here are in the north and on Zanzibar, away from that area. Read the latest on travel.state.gov and gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/tanzania before you book.
Tanzania’s best views come from the edge of something: a caldera rim, an escarpment road, a waterfront promenade. Four stops give the strongest panoramas for the least effort.
Ngorongoro Crater rim
The rim stands about 600 m above a caldera floor of roughly 260 km², one of the largest unbroken, unflooded volcanic craters on earth. Bring binoculars, because from above the wildebeest, zebra and black rhinos around the soda lake look like scattered grains. Entry to the conservation area is about USD 70.80 per adult (USD 23.60 for children 5 to 15). Going down onto the floor adds a USD 295 service fee per vehicle. Pay by card or e-payment, as gates do not take cash.
Olduvai Gorge is inside the same area, so the same permit applies. Its museum shows casts of fossils and Oldowan tools above a dramatic badlands canyon.
Kilimanjaro from Moshi
On clear mornings the snow-capped dome of Kibo rises above Moshi town. Seeing the mountain costs nothing, but climbing it requires a registered operator and a guide, and it takes many days, so it is no quick add-on.
Great Rift Valley escarpment
The paved road climbing the Rift Valley wall gives a lookout over Lake Manyara, whose shallows are often fringed by flamingos. It is an easy stop on the drive between Arusha and Ngorongoro, and needs no ticket.
Stone Town, Zanzibar
The old quarter is UNESCO-listed, with the details at UNESCO World Heritage . A walk past the Old Fort (Ngome Kongwe) and the Forodhani waterfront takes in the sultan’s palace, the House of Wonders, which can be admired from the outside only because the interior has been closed since a partial collapse in December 2020. Carved wooden doors with brass studs line the alleys. Cover shoulders and knees in town.
Planning the sightseeing
- The Serengeti is not a day trip. It is about 8 to 9 hours by road from Arusha to Seronera, and fees are USD 82.60 per adult per 24 hours at peak.
- Entry rules: e-visa, plus the mandatory travel insurance (USD 44, up to 92 days, for mainland and Zanzibar).
- Malaria: present below about 1,800 m, so take advice on prophylaxis.
- Bags: plastic carrier bags are banned, but a zip-lock toiletry bag is fine.
To pull views together into a route, the 4-day itinerary fits the rim, the escarpment and a park into one loop. Local guides can also be found through GetYourGuide .
Verdict: if you only have one viewpoint day, take the Ngorongoro rim at sunrise, then add Moshi for the mountain.