Tanga, One of the biggest towns in Tanzania is Tanga, which is in the north. It is the regional capital. It’s not as busy as Arusha or Moshi, but it has about the same number of people. The city of Tanga is on the Indian Ocean, not far from the Kenyan border.

The History of Tanga

From the word “sail,” Tanga gets its name. The port and the area around it are still the center of life in Tanga. Sisal, coffee, tea, and cotton are the most important things that the port exports. The Portuguese already used it as a place to trade.

Between 1500 and 1700, they were in charge of the area around Tanga. The village was then taken over by the Sultanate of Oman. A lot of ivory and slaves were brought to and from the city until 1873, when European countries ended slavery. In 1891, the Germans bought the coast of Tanzania from the Sultan of Zanzibar. It was the first town to be built in German East Africa and the administrative center of the German colonies. Later, in the early 1900s, Dar es Salaam was formed.

Tanga, a city on the coast, was at the front lines of the First World War with British East Africa (Kenya). Following the war, Great Britain took over Tanganyika. The city grew and made use of its farming potential.

Even after the country got its freedom in 1961, the port of Tanga continued to be a major route for exporting sisal from the area. But because the government controls trade in agriculture and sisal costs have gone down on the world market. There was less money coming into the port of Tanga.

Even though it’s not very big, Tanga is a nice place to visit today. It has a sleepy, semi-colonial vibe, wide streets full of bikes and motorbikes, interesting buildings, and an old-fashioned charm.

Good and bad things about

Some good and bad things about Tanga are that it is not a very popular tourist spot.

Good things:

The place is less busy and quiet, and there aren’t many tourists. It’s a real place where you can see how people live their daily lives.

The rooms are more simple.

It’s not easy to get to because it’s not close to other hot spots.

Trips outside of Tanga

A bike trip is the best way to see the city’s interesting and beautiful buildings. Take a ride on one of those big Chinese bikes! Along the Ras Kazone Peninsula’s winding sandy paths, south of Tanga, you can find beautiful Art Deco houses. Some are falling apart, but others have been lovingly restored and show how prosperous Tanga used to be when it traded sisal.

Houses and the grand colonial homes of the most important people in the British Empire live next to each other near the water. The first Bombo Hospital stands out like a castle in a fairy tale. It is right on the main road to Ras Kazone. The Germans built the hospital, but it has been in bad shape for a long time and is now home to many birds. Stand in the empty rooms with creeping plants and feel like you’re back in a different time.

Tanga has many older buildings in the Arabic style. These buildings have mahogany balconies with lots of decorations, walls that are a meter high, colored glass windows and heavy, dark doors, and inner gardens where cats sneak around in the deep shadows. If it’s too hot to ride your bike, find a mango tree for shade. Someone will probably be selling you hot, sweet espresso and tasty kashata, which is a type of peanut candy.

Other untouched places close to Tanga: Mkomazi National Park is about a four- to five-hour drive away.

Pangani is a great place to visit that most tourists miss. It’s only 50 km south of Tanga. Just an hour’s drive away…

It takes about three hours to drive (110 km) west of Tanga to get to the Usambara Mountains.

If you want to get to Dar Es Salaam, you’ll have to drive for 6 hours.

The Mkonge Hotel, the Nyumbani Hotel Tanga, and the Tanga Beach Resort are the best hotels in the area.