Discovering Tanzania: Independence, Nature, and Heritage

Tanzania, previously known as Tanganyika, gained independence from British colonial rule in 1961. Julius Nyerere became its first president, later leading the union with Zanzibar in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania.

Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak, hosts almost every kind of ecological system: cultivated land, rainforest, heath, moorland, alpine desert, and an arctic summit. The mountain is a stratovolcano composed of three distinct volcanic cones.

Tanzania is the only source of tanzanite, a blue-violet gemstone found in the Mererani Hills. Discovered in 1967, tanzanite is a thousand times rarer than diamonds and exclusive to the region.

The Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania is a significant paleoanthropological site, where some of the oldest hominid fossils have been found, offering insights into early human evolution dating back millions of years.

Tanzania dedicates over 30% of its land to national parks and protected areas, including the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, making it a global leader in wildlife preservation and conservation tourism.

In Tanzania's Lake Manyara National Park, lions defy nature by climbing trees, a rare behavior among these big cats.