EDCTP

Tanzania
Tanzania is the largest country in East Africa, bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north; Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. Dodoma is the country's political capital. It has a population of almost 300,000 (1998) and is located at a distance of 309 km west of Dar es Salaam (the country's commercial capital). Other big urban centres include Arusha; Moshi, Tanga and Mwanza to the north of the country, Morogoro in the east; Mbeya and Iringa, to the west. Tabora and Shinyanga are also important economic hubs in central Tanzania. Mwanza and Dar es Salaam are two cities in Tanzania so far.

Arusha
Arusha is a city of approximately 400,000 people in northern Tanzania, East Africa. It is regarded as the gateway to the popular Northern Safari Circuit. Arusha, also known as "A" Town by the locals, is situated at the foot of Mount Meru, Africa's 5th highest mountain. The altitude gives the city a pleasant climate and lush green environment.

Climate
Tanzania has a tropical type of climate. In the highlands, temperatures range between 10 degrees and 20 degrees Celsius during cold and hot seasons respectively. The rest of the country has temperatures never falling lower than 20 degrees C. The hottest period spreads between November and February (25 degrees C to 30 degrees C) while the coldest period occurs between May and August (15 degrees C to 20 degrees C).

There are no discernible seasons, such as winter and summer - only the dry and wet seasons. Two rainfall regimes exist over Tanzania. One is unimodal (December - April), which prevales in southern, south-west, central and western parts of the country, and the other is bimodal (October -December and March - May) which is found to the north and northern coast. In the bimodal regime the March - May rains are referred to as the long rains or Masika, whereas the October - December rains are generally known as short rains or Vuli.

Land Coverage

Language
Kiswahili or Swahili (official); Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar); English (official, the primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education); Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), plus many local languages.

Money
The currency of Tanzania is known as the Tanzanian Shilling (TSH, /=). There are 5 notes and 6 coins: 

• Notes - 10000 (Red); 5000 (Violet); 2000 (Brown); 1000 (Blue), and 500 (Green) denominations. 
• Coins - 200, 100, 50, 20, 10, and 5 denominations.

Conversion rates (approx.):
TZS 100.00  =   € 0.06    US$ 0.08    £ 0.05    R 0.70

It is advisable to carry American dollars in cash which may be exchanged at any branch of the commercial banks or through authorised dealers and at Bureaux de Change. ATMs are mostly located in the city center and on the Msasani Peninsula. For those wishing to withdraw money from bank accounts back home, in general, Barclay's, Standard Charter, CRDB and NBC ATMs work with PLUS and Cirrus compatible cards. Additionally, if you have a PIN code for your credit card, almost all Tanzanian banks with ATMs will allow cash advances on credit cards like Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Credit Cards can only be used in large hotels, resorts, and with certain travel agents; Tanzania is still a cash society.

Business hours

Electricity 220 volts, 50 hertz

Time
Zone GMT + 3 hours

Telephone calls
The "Tanzania Telecommunications Company Ltd" (TTCL) is the state owned telecom, operating all pay phones and landlines in Tanzania. The major mobile service providers operate all over the country, even in some of the most remote areas, although service interruptions are common. The telephone rates are high in Tanzania, even more so when calling from hotels. Do inquire about the charge before you make a call.

Making calls within Tanzania to a mobile phone
Dial "0 & (telephone number)" or "+255 & (telephone number)"
Making calls within Tanzania to a landline
Dial "0 & (city code) & (telephone number)" or "+255 & (city code) & (telephone number)"
00 255 27 - Arusha

Emergency
Emergency Services: 112