Dar Es Saalam Tourism

Dar es Salaam has two of the five museums comprising the National Museum of Tanzania consortium, namely the National Museum proper and the Village Museum. The National Museum is dedicated to the history of Tanzania; most notably, it exhibits some of the bones of Paranthropus boisei that were among the findings of Louis Leakey at Olduvai. The Village Museum, located in the outskirts of the city on the road to Bagamoyo, showcases traditional huts from 16 different Tanzanian ethnic groups. There are also examples of traditional cultivations, and traditional music and dance shows are held daily.

Close to the National Museum are also the botanical gardens, with some specimens of tropical plants and trees.

                                                         Kaole Ruins in Bagamoyo, Tanzania

Within an hour's drive north is Bagamoyo, which is home to the Kaole ruins.

There are beaches on the Msasani peninsula north of Dar es Salaam and in Kigamboni to the south where residents and tourists alike frequently visit. Trips to the nearby islands of the Dar es Salaam Marine Reserve are a popular daytrip from the city and a favourite spot for snorkeling, swimming and sunbathing. In addition to that, Bongoyo Island is just a boat ride away from the Msasani Slipway. Although the variety and population of coral and fish species are not as numerous as other sites on Zanzibar, Pemba, and Mafia Island, the Bongoyo Island Marine Reserve is well worth a visit and is a great way to spend a day out and see the coast.

Dar Es Saalam Economy and infrastructure

 

Dar es Salaam is Tanzania's most important city for both business and government. The city contains unusually high concentrations of trade and other services and manufacturing compared to other parts of Tanzania, which has about 80 percent of its population in rural areas. For example, about one half of Tanzania's manufacturing employment is located in the city despite the fact that Dar holds only ten percent of Tanzania's population. Downtown Dar es Salaam includes many small businesses, many of which are run by traders and proprietors whose families originated from the Middle East and Indian sub-continent — areas of the world with which the settlements of the Tanzanian coast have had long-standing trading relations.

Dar es Salaam has a problem with slums. According to a United Nations estimate, 70 percent of Dar es Salaam's population lives in informal settlements. The divisions in Tanzania's lop-sided economy, with a tiny super-rich elite and a vast poor majority, are reflected in its main city. The poorer residents crowd into dilapidated downtown areas or sprawling slums, many without running water or basic services. Their rich counterparts can choose among US$1 million beachside mansions in the city's posh northern districts.(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18655647)

Located on a natural harbour on the Indian Ocean, it is the hub of the Tanzanian transportation system as all of the country's main railways and several highways originate in or near the city.
Its status as an administrative and trade centre has put Dar es Salaam in position to benefit disproportionately from Tanzania's high growth rate since the year 2000 so that by now its poverty rates are much lower than the rest of the country. The Benjamin William Mkapa Pension Tower with more than 21 stories is the tallest building in the city and the country. Dar es Salaam and other Tanzanian cities have had, in the past few years, a major construction boom, despite a much higher demand for electricity, which is rationed around the country. Since 2000, Dar es Salaam had a face-lift, but the major infrastructural problems remain. Among those problems are an outdated transport infrastructure and power rationing, which continues to badly affect the Tanzanian economy. Air Tanzania, the national airline, has its head office in Dar es Salaam.

About Dar es Salaam

The City of Dar es Salaam (Arabic: دار السلام‎ Dār as-Salām , literally "The abode of peace"), formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. The city of Dar es Salaam is located within the Dar es Salaam Region, an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: Kinondoni to the north, Ilala in the centre of the region, and Temeke to the south. The Dar es Salaam Region had a population of 4,364,541 as of the official 2012 census. Though Dar es Salaam lost its official status as capital city to Dodoma in 1974 (a move which was not complete until 1996), it remains the centre of the permanent central government bureaucracy and continues to serve as the capital for the surrounding Dar es Salaam Region.