We always love Conde Naste Traveller’s travel destination lists – and we keep our eyes peeled for any mention of one of our exciting African destinations. In their list of ‘Best Holiday Destinations for 2022’, they mention Central Tanzania which got us hopping about in excitement, as we love the opportunity to showcase something a little different.
As Conde Naste Traveller says:
‘2022 is a chance for us to reconnect to the best holiday destinations in a deeper, more authentic way. We’ll be reminded often of why we travel; those sparks of curiosity and adventure will be fanned to roaring flames, and as travel steadily finds its way back into our lives, we’ll appreciate every moment that comes with it.
Although replete with the kind of fecund scenery that inspires poets, painters and natural history filmmakers, central Tanzania is often overlooked by tourists, who flock instead to the country’s much-touted Big Five safari hotspots. But as the way we travel is evolving – encouraging us to pause for breath in those ‘in betweeny’ spots – this previously underrated area is finally getting its time in the sun.
In Tanzania’s Uluguru Nature Forest reserve – where the climate is so humid and land so isolated it has resulted in an eruption of diverse and endemic species – money has been funnelled into boosting tourism as well as ensuring sustainable farming practices. Local authorities have been working alongside traditional beekeepers to promote safer methods of harvesting, while wildfires have been drastically reduced and visitor numbers are on the up due to much-needed improvements to the roads.
In the south-central Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Tanzania, you’ll find the second-largest biodiversity of any national park in Africa (earning it the tantalising nickname ‘the African Galapagos’). The mountain range here is the most extensive in Tanzania, formed at least 100 million years ago by ancient crystalline rocks that were gradually uplifted through fault lines. ‘Old man’ colobus monkeys and Sanje crested mangabeys swing on stringy limbs through the trees, and the park sustains over 400 bird species, including four that appear nowhere else on the planet, making this overlooked prospect a true nature lover’s utopia.’
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