Lake Tanganyika

Tanzania is a land of giants. The deepest freshwater lake in Africa, Lake Tanganyika, lies along the country’s western border with the Republic of Congo. Known for its extraordinary north-south extension (670 km) and depth (1,470 m), it is the second largest of African lakes, the second deepest (next to Lake Baikal) and the longest lake of the world.

It’s very ancient origin and a long period of isolation resulted in the evolution of a great number of indigenous organisms, including brilliantly colored cichlid fishes, well-known gastropods with the appearance of marine snails, and so on. Of the 214 species of native fishes in the lake, 176 are endemic; the number of endemic genera amounts to 30 in cichlids and 8 in non- cichlid fishes.

The eastern shores of magnificent Lake Tanganyika lead off to Gombe Stream National Park (north of Kigoma) and Mahale Mountains National Park (south of Kigoma). Both these parks offer unique and exclusive game viewing and bird watching experiences. Top of the list is the chance to see chimpanzees in their natural habitat; but many other primates and mammals live in these beautiful parks.

The combination of lake shore and East Rift Escarpment makes this region spectacular to visit.