Dar es Salaam, Tanzania — Where to Go
Dar es Salaam Sightseeing Overview
The chaotic city centre runs along Samora Avenue and is lined with amenities including banks, exchange bureaus and shops. Northwest of here is the Asian Quarter where a labyrinth of small streets conceal Indian merchants and market traders.
On the opposite side of town, northeast of the center, is a more peaceful district centerd on Dar es Salaam’s handful of tourist attractions, the National Museum and Botanical Gardens and the well-protected State House. Here tree-lined streets are free from the frenetic hustle and bustle of the busier districts. Further north, along the coast are the middle-class suburbs and residential areas of the city.
Dar es Salaam’s only real beach is the stretch of sand at Coco Beach, near Oyster Bay, but better beaches can be found to the north and south of the city.
Dar es Salaam Tourist Information
Tanzania Tourist Board Information Center
Samora Avenue
Tel: (022) 212 0373.
Website: http://tanzaniatouristboard.com/
The tourist board has useful city information, a list of licensed tour operators and free photocopied city maps. Maps are also available from the government’s Surveys and Mapping Division Map Sales Office on the corner of Kivukoni Front and Luthuli Street.
For information about events in Dar es Salaam, pick up the monthly publication What’s Happening in Dar es Salaam, which is available free from the tourist office, many hotel lobbies, cafés and travel agents.
Key Attractions in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
National Museum
Located close to the Botanic Gardens, this museum is home to the famous fossil discoveries made by Leakey in Olduvai Gorge, including the well-known ‘Nutcracker Man.’ There is a further assortment of historical displays on regional civilizations, the development of the slave trade and the German and British colonial periods of Tanzania’s history.
Shaaban Robert Street
Tel: (022) 212 2030.
Admission charge.
Village Museum
This open-air museum, situated 10km (6 miles) north of the city center, features a collection of 19 authentically reconstructed dwellings that show traditional ways of living from throughout Tanzania. The museum also lays on traditional dance and music performances during the afternoons.
New Bagamayo Road at Makaburi Street
Tel: (022) 270 0437.
Admission charge.
Botanical Gardens
These leafy, tranquil gardens, which date from the German colonial era, offer a haven of peace from the maelstrom of central Dar es Salaam. Numerous types of attractive palms and ferns flourish here, while peacocks can be found roaming the grounds.
Samora Avenue
Free admission.
Nyumba Ya Sanaa (Nyerere Cultural Center)
The ‘House of Arts’ as it is also known is a handicraft center where young artisans congregate to work, display and sell their wares. Jewelry, textiles, pottery, etchings, paintings and carvings are all on display and available at very reasonable rates. There’s also the chance to participate in some of the craft work. The center lays on traditional dance performances at the weekends, when there is a bar and small restaurant open too.
Ohio Street
Tel: (022) 213 1727.
Free admission.
Further Distractions
Msasani Peninsula
To the north of the city center lies the Msasani Peninsula, on the western side of which is an attractive, lively Msasani fishing village, which is thought to stand on the site of one of East Africa’s oldest coastal Arabic settlements. Further west along Msasani Bay are a series of 17th-century ruins that are thought to be Dar es Salaam’s oldest graveyard.
Beaches around 25km (16 miles) to the north of Dar es Salaam are lined with resorts and make for excellent outings or short escapes from the city. Also, set a little back from the beaches amidst baobab trees are the Kunduchi ruins, which include a 16th-century mosque and Arabic graves from the 18th and 19th centuries.
To the south of the city the coastline becomes increasingly tropical. There are good beaches here too, particularly those just to the south of Kigamboni and around Gezaulole village.
