Tanzania is a kaleidoscope of cultures with rare richness. The country counts more than 120 ethnic groups — Sukuma, Nyamwezi, Chaga, Haya, Hadza, Iraqw — and is probably the only example in the world of a nation successfully built on such diversity, thanks largely to the choice of Swahili as a common language from independence by founding president Julius Nyerere. This Bantu language, enriched with Arabic words by centuries of trade with the Arabian peninsula, is today the lingua franca of all East Africa and Tanzania's first official language. English remains the second official language, used in higher education and administration.
The Maasai are doubtless the region's most iconic people. This semi-nomadic community of cattle herders has lived mainly on the highlands around Ngorongoro and the Serengeti plains for four centuries. Their traditional dress — a red or blue shuka draped over the shoulder, polychrome beaded necklaces, wooden staffs — is immediately recognisable. Maasai pastoralism, based on cattle and transhumance, is changing rapidly under demographic pressure and the creation of protected areas, but remains a major cultural pillar. Visits to authentic Maasai villages (not staged for tourism) are possible through local guides and offer a powerful human encounter.
Along the coast and in Zanzibar, Swahili culture dominates. Born of a millennium of mixing between African Bantu populations, Arab traders, Persians (Shirazi) and Indians, this civilisation has produced one of Africa's most singular urban architectures: houses with inner courtyards, doors carved with floral and calligraphic motifs, carved wooden balconies, white mosques with elegant minarets. Stone Town, Zanzibar's old city, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000 — a labyrinth of alleys perfumed with cloves, saffron and cardamom, where the call to prayer rings out five times a day. Taarab music, a blend of sung Arabic-Swahili poetry and string orchestra, is the most refined musical expression of this culture.
Tanzania's UNESCO heritage covers 7 sites: Stone Town of Zanzibar, Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara (former medieval Swahili city-state), the Kondoa rock paintings (10,000 years), the Selous Game Reserve (today Nyerere National Park) and Kilimanjaro National Park.
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- Northern Circuit: Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire — The benchmark safari circuit: the Great Migration, the crater and Tarangire's giant baobabs.
- Zanzibar: Stone Town and turquoise beaches — The Swahili archipelago, its UNESCO alleys, spice plantations and paradise white-sand beaches.
- Kilimanjaro: Africa's roof — 5,895 m, the continent's highest peak — a legendary 5-9 day climb via Machame, Marangu or Lemosho routes.
- Dar es Salaam, Selous and the southern coast — The economic capital, Nyerere National Park (formerly Selous) — Africa's largest reserve — and Mafia Island.