Cultural safaris involve visits to local tribal communities in rural areas. There are large number of tribes with very different historical background and cultures within easy travel distance of our Arusha office, including the pastoral Maasai and Barabaig, the athletic Iraqw of Mbulu highlands, and the agricultural Bantu tribes like the Chagga, Meru and Shambaa on the slopes of the mountains.

A typical cultural tour includes calling at a tribal village in a remote rural setting, entering a traditional homestead or kraal, walking across farms, fields and settlements, visiting local historical sites, visiting community development projects and even dining with local families. Simultaneous with this, the visitor gets a chance to speak to local people, listen to tribal storytellers, meet traditional healers, greet school children and other such interactions. The excitement of such a visit culminates with touring the attractions of the country and so could include paddling a primitive fishing boat, participating in a social activity, watching a craftsperson make traditional pottery or metalwork, and so on.

These visits aim to allow the visitor to experience real African daily life. Local guides accompany the visitors and help interpret and show interesting details of life to the guest.

Visits are arranged in advance but since life in rural Africa does not run to a clock, guests should be prepared to be patient and wait if delays occur. All visits are made with the permission of local communities, who benefit from an agreed fee for each visit. However, guests should behave appropriately and ask for permission before taking photographs. Similarly visitors should wear appropriate clothing, this usually means covering legs and chest.

At the moment, cultural tours through our programmes cover the tribal cultures of North Eastern Tanzania in the four provinces of Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Tanga and Manyara. This area alone has about twenty different tribes each concentrated in its own ancestral land.

Pastoralist nilotic tribes include the Barbaig and the Maasai, located to the South and West of Arusha region [more].

Bantu tribes include the Chagga, Sambaa and Pare tribes live in Arusha town and toward the East [more]

The Sandawe tribe are of Khoisan descent and related to the Bushmen people of Southern Africa. They live by hunting, gathering and fishing and speak a form of click language [more]

The Iraqw tribe are also of Nilotic descent but have adapted to farm and are no longer pastoralists [more]