What to Visit in Dar Es Salaam?

What to Visit in Dar Es Salaam?  Now that you’ve learned what to expect once you come to this city through our website, we will tell you what the most popular tourist attractions and some of the less known, yet exciting sights are:

View of Dar es Salaam

If you climb to the top of the Tanzanite Executive Suites hotel, you will get a stunning view of the city. You can see how it looks and is it worth overcoming the fear of heights, in our YouTube video.

If you decide to be brave and go there, you’ll see both modern and rural part of the city’s landscape. You can also choose any other high building or hotel in the area to get the same effect. This activity will give you a chance to experience the contrast we were talking about; you will witness the glory of gold and modern architecture and both productivity and poorness hidden in the rural parts of Daar Es Salaam.

Azania Lutheran Church

One of the most important and well-known landmarks in Daar Es Salaam is Azania Lutheran Church. Add it to your checklist and remember not to skip it. This fantastic edifice was built back in 1899. It stands proudly right in the middle of the city center, close to the ocean. With a red-tiled roof, Bavarian style and bright white walls, the church’s beauty will leave you speechless.

Kariakoo Market

Just like Zanzibar city, Dar Es Salaam has a lively, colorful market, where you can buy anything you imagine. As you walk down the streets of Kariakoo ward, you will notice numerous street sellers. They offer fruit, shoe repairs, souvenirs, whatever you like. Their cute stores will remind you of the ones you’ve seen in Disney’s Aladdin, and you will have a chance to buy anything from vegetables to African jewelry.

The Kariakoo Market is probably the busiest, most crowded market in Dar Es Salaam, and it is located in the Ilala District on Tandamuti Street.

Temple Road

If you loved the idea of visiting Azania Lutheran Church and you interested in religion and different buildings tied to it, head to a downtown Dar es Salaam and take a stroll down the Temple Road.

As the name of the road suggests, you will find a selection of Dar Es Salaam’s most beautiful temples here. You can visit a few, and have a look around or just admire their magnificence from a distance.

Village Museum (Kijiji cha Makumbusho)

Visiting the Village Museum or, Kijiji cha Makumbusho, as locals call it, is the key to getting to know the real Tanzanian culture. This institution is built as a village, but it is a museum at the same time. It might be confusing to you right now, but once you visit the place, you will see what are we talking about. It’s neither a museum nor a village in the conventional sense, yet it is both.

It is situated 10 km north of the city center and houses different exhibits that will tell you amazing stories about the history and natural environment of Tanzania.

Village museum will allow you to see and enter traditional Tanzanian huts or enjoy and join a dance and drum performance!

The best beaches

Once you get tired of strolling around the city and you wish to relax in the sun or jump into the ocean, it is time to visit Dar Es Salaam’s beaches.

As the city is located on the coast of the Indian ocean, in East Africa, you can expect to come across many beautiful beaches. However, these are the top ones in our opinion: Coco Beach, Kigamboni, South Beach, Kunduchi, Bongoyo Island, Mbudya Island and Sandbank.

If you want to explore the ocean’s flora and fauna first hand, visit the Bongoyo Island Marine Reserve. It is located about seven kilometers north of the city, and it offers fantastic snorkeling and diving tours. Bongoyo Island Marine Reserve is an excellent place for a one-day-excursion, especially if you are coming with kids.

Various monuments of culture

If you want to explore Dar Es Salaam’s history and culture in more detail, we would recommend you to see St. Joseph’s Cathedral which is near the White Fathers Mission House, the old State House (also known as the White House or Ikulu) and the National Museum.

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