A bustling sea port of more than 1.3 million people, Dar es Salaam is relaxed and appealingly cosmopolitan. The city centres on its huge harbour, where you can sit in one of the many cafés or restaurants and enjoy a drink at the water’s edge watching as the dhow boats arrive and depart, weaving around the great cargo ships that dock in the harbour.
Dar es Salaam’s architecture is a striking blend of styles, ranging from the stark Gothic character of the Lutheran church and the Bavarian austerity of the German colonial buildings, to the Swahili opulence of State House and the sheer extravagance of the Aga Khan mosque. Once a British and later German colonial outpost, the Europeans left their mark on the city, including their taste for gardens and green avenues: bougainvillea, laburnum, oleander and jacaranda trees perfume the air and provide welcome respite from the sun.
Perhaps more characteristic of the city (and the Swahili coast in general), however, are the narrow winding streets, with their tall, multi-storey houses, that take up much of Dar’s busy city centre (though in recent years increasingly overshadowed by the new governmental buildings and resort hotels that have come to monopolise the city skyline).
In and around Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
There’s plenty to see in Dar. The city is home to Tanzania’s National Museum, an interesting ethnographical collection with a valuable display on Olduvai Gorge. The White Father’s Mission House, St Joseph’s Cathedral, Aga Khan Mosque, and State House, are all revealing of the very different influences that have contributed to the city’s development. Do also take the time to visit Dar es Salaam's fish and Kariakoo markets, both of which are local, not tourist markets.
A short distance from Dar es Salaam, the Village Museum offers examples of traditional Tanzanian tribal houses and regular cultural dances and displays. Also nearby is a community of Makonde carvers, famous for their unique wood carvings.
A few miles north of the city, Bongoyo Island Marine Reserve offers generally good diving and attractive beaches. It's not comparable to Zanzibar or Pemba, but it can be worth a day trip for those with little time to explore the coast.
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