15 Tanzania fun facts
Tanzania is one of the world’s most famous safari destinations. But how well do you already know this country? Find out some interesting Tanzania fun facts.
- Tanzania is the largest country in East Africa, about 4 times the size of Great Britain.
- Football (soccer) and rugby are the favourite sports in Tanzania.
- Zanzibar is the largest producer of cloves in the world.
- The largest crab in the world, the coconut crab, can be found on Zanzibar (Chumbe Island).
- The oldest person ever to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro was 87-year-old Frenchman Valtee Daniel.
- The world’s earliest human skull was found in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania.
- The iconic African baobab trees can easily live over 1000 years. These epic trees look like their roots are sticking up into the sky.
- Freddie Mercury, the singer of former rock band Queen, was born on Zanzibar Island (Tanzania).
- The Mpingo tree (African blackwood tree) in Tanzania is the most expensive hardwood tree in the world. It is used to make furniture and musical instruments.
- The colours of Tanzania’s flag represent the 4 elements of daily life: green symbolises the beauty of nature, blue signifies the great lakes, black embodies the people and yellow the mineral sources (like gold) of the country.
- Mount Kilimanjaro has a snow-capped peak although it’s close to the Equator.
- There are about 130 different tribes living in Tanzania, each unique in their own way.
- The fasted verified ascent of Mt. Kilimanjaro occurred in 2001 when Italian Bruno Brunod summited Uhuru Peak in 5 hours 38 minutes 40 seconds. The fastest roundtrip was accomplished in 2004, when local guide Simon Mtuy went up and down the mountain in 8:27.
- The name Serengeti means ‘endless plains’.
- Dar es Salaam is the largest Swahili-speaking city in the world.
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