Dishes to try
- Ugali — a stiff maize porridge, the staple across Tanzania. Tear off a piece with your right hand and use it to scoop up stew or greens.
- Nyama choma — grilled meat, usually goat or beef, eaten with friends and a cold drink. Often served with kachumbari, a fresh tomato and onion salad.
- Wali na maharage — rice and beans in coconut sauce; simple and filling.
- Pilau — rice cooked with cumin, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon, a dish of the Swahili coast.
- Mishkaki — marinated meat skewers grilled over charcoal.
- Chipsi mayai — chips cooked into an omelette; Tanzania's favourite street food.
- Ndizi — bananas and plantains, cooked in stews (especially by the Chagga on Kilimanjaro), fried or grilled.
- Mchicha — leafy greens cooked with tomato, onion and sometimes peanuts.
- Mandazi — lightly sweet fried dough, eaten with tea for breakfast.
Zanzibar and the coast
Zanzibar's food shows its history as a spice island: coconut curries, octopus and fish in rich sauces, biryani and pilau. In Stone Town, the evening food market in Forodhani Gardens is the place to try grilled seafood, "Zanzibar pizza" (a stuffed, folded pancake) and urojo, a tangy soup sometimes called Zanzibar mix. A spice farm tour shows you cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla growing.
Drinks
- Coffee — grown on the slopes of Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru. A coffee farm visit near Moshi or Arusha is a lovely half day; see our day trips.
- Chai — tea, often sweet and spiced with ginger or cardamom.
- Fresh juices — mango, passion fruit, pineapple and sugar cane.
- Local beers — such as Kilimanjaro, Safari and Serengeti lagers.
Eating on safari
All meals are included while you are on safari with us. Lodges and camps serve generous breakfasts, lunches and three-course dinners — often a mix of international dishes and Tanzanian favourites — and many set up bush breakfasts or dinners under the stars. On full-day game drives you take a packed lunch and eat at a picnic site in the park.
Vegetarian, vegan, halal, gluten-free and other diets are well catered for at most lodges and camps if they know in advance. Tell us about any dietary needs or allergies when you book, so they can be arranged with every lodge on your route.
Food and water safety
- Drink bottled or filtered water — we provide drinking water on safari.
- Lodge food is prepared to high standards. In town, choose busy places where food is cooked fresh and served hot.
- Peel fruit yourself, and avoid ice of unknown origin.
- Wash or sanitise your hands before eating, especially when eating with your hands.
