Hosted, not visited.
THE COMMUNITIES
MAASAI · LAKE NATRON & NGORONGORO
I / V
Homesteads, herding and life on the open plains
Semi-nomadic herders whose lives still revolve around cattle, moving with the seasons across some of Tanzania’s most famous land. In Ngorongoro they live alongside the wildlife, one of the few places in Africa where people and animals share the same protected ground. You are welcomed into a family’s boma, not a show village.
I
LAKE NATRON & NGORONGORO
Homesteads, herding and life on the open plains
Semi-nomadic herders whose lives still revolve around cattle, moving with the seasons across some of Tanzania’s most famous land. In Ngorongoro they live alongside the wildlife, one of the few places in Africa where people and animals share the same protected ground. You are welcomed into a family’s boma, not a show village.
II
LAKE EYASI
Dawn with one of Africa’s last hunter-gatherer peoples
One of the last hunter-gatherer peoples in Africa, numbering only around a thousand. They speak a click language found nowhere else and still live mostly from what they hunt and gather. Mornings start before sunrise, following the men out with bows or the women out for roots and berries.
III
LAKE EYASI
Blacksmiths shaping metal the way their elders did
Herders and skilled blacksmiths who live near the Hadzabe and trade with them. They melt down scrap metal to forge arrowheads, tools and jewellery, by hand, over open fire. Watching a piece made from start to finish is one of the quieter highlights of the lake.
IV
LAKE VICTORIA
Drums, dance and farming life by the great lake
Tanzania’s largest community, farmers and herders on the plains south of Lake Victoria. They are known for their dance societies and drumming, including the famous snake dancers. Far from the safari circuit, it is a side of Tanzania few visitors ever see.
V
STONE TOWN
Carved doors, spice farms and life along the coast
The coastal culture shaped by centuries of trade between Africa, Arabia, Persia and India. You’ll find it in the carved doors, the call to prayer over the rooftops, taarab music and food cooked with spices from the island’s own farms. It is best experienced on foot, with someone who grew up in the alleys.
HOW IT FITS INTO YOUR TRIP
ON A NORTHERN SAFARI
A half day with the Hadzabe and Datoga fits naturally between the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti.
See our safarisBEFORE OR AFTER KILIMANJARO
A morning with a Maasai family on the plains west of Kilimanjaro, a gentle way to arrive or to recover after the summit.
SEE KILIMANJAROON THE COAST
The old town, its food and its history, easily added to any stay on Zanzibar.
See the coastTHE WAY WE VISIT
Each visit is planned with the community, at their homes and at their pace, never staged.
The community is paid directly for every visit. The larger share of the cost covers getting there, your guide and a translator.
Only your group, with time to sit, ask questions and be asked some in return.
BEFORE YOU GO
Let's talk about your Tanzania.