Tanga

Tanga sits on the Indian Ocean near the Kenyan border, and is one of the largest cities in Tanzania yet feels remarkably quiet and unhurried compared to Arusha or Moshi. The name Tanga is thought to come from a Persian word meaning sail or a Swahili word for a cultivated field, and both etymologies point to its long history as a Swahili port. It was the terminus of the German-built Usambara railway and one of the most important centres of German East Africa; today it retains long jacaranda-lined avenues, old German administrative buildings, and a slow, pleasant pace.

For visitors Tanga is a base for several unusual half-day excursions. Amboni Caves eight kilometres north of the city are the largest limestone cave system in East Africa, formed 150 million years ago and still used as a place of worship by local communities today. Galanos Sulphur Springs feed a warm mineral pool set among coconut palms, popular with locals for their therapeutic properties. Toten Island in the harbour has old Persian ruins and the tombs of early sultans, reached by a short dhow ride from the town centre.

The old town itself rewards a slow walk. The Kaiser's Wilhelmstal customs house, the German cemetery, the Tanga Yacht Club, the fish market and the mango-lined seaside promenade at Ras Kazone are all within walking distance of each other. A late afternoon on the seawall with a cold drink and the trade winds coming off the ocean is one of the great low-key pleasures of the northern coast.

Tanga combines naturally with Pangani for a beach extension south, with Mkomazi and Usambara for a north-eastern circuit, or with Zanzibar as an alternative gateway to the coast that avoids Dar es Salaam.