Topping the list of the most famous festivals in Tanzania is Sauti za Busara festival. It is an African track festival, held each year in February in Zanzibar, Tanzania. It is focused withinside the Old Fort (Ngome Kongwe), with fringe occasions taking area on the identical time round Stone Town - which includes a carnival avenue parade (Beni).

Sauti za Busara has turned out to be one in every one of the most important track fairs in East Africa, with numerous masses of artists collaborating every year. It showcases a numerous and dynamic programme of solely African track and has over time furnished a degree for neighborhood Swahili talent, from Taarab legends like Bi Kidude and Culture Musical Club, to homegrown Tanzanian pop and hip-hop. Sauti za Busara is greater than only a track festival: it contributes to the improvement and professionalization of the innovative zone withinside the region; gives possibilities for study, alternate and employment, and promotes Zanzibar globally as a main vacation spot for cultural tourism.

Time: February

Location: Zanzibar, Tanzania

Every May, journey dealers and excursion operators converge underneath Mount Kilimanjaro and the crater of Mt. Meru for the East African journey occasion of the year. Originally it began out to exhibit East African excursion operators and destinations, the Karibu Travel and Tourism Fair has been so a success that its recognition has deployed to the journey enterprise remote places, and every yr attendance with the aid of using exhibitors and site visitors a long way exceeds the former.

During the fair, remote places dealers and delegates meet with different excursion operators, motel managers, safari guides, and the folks who upload that unique contact to a Tanzanian safari that makes it any such memorable revel in. Agents have the possibility to go to the residences they sell firsthand, and get to recognize the corporations their commercial enterprise supports. The Karibu Travel and Tourism Fair lets in touring delegates the possibility to revel in the nice and cozy hospitality of East Africa at the same time as networking and increasing commercial enterprise contacts at the same time — an impossible to resist combination.

Time: May

Location: Magareza ground, Arusha

‘Mwaka Kogwa’ is the conventional Shirazi or Persian New Year celebrations that take vicinity in Zanzibar and even though the competition has its origins with inside the Zoastrian religion, the Zanzibaris have truly taken it to heart.Mwaka Kogwa takes vicinity each year across the 23 - 24 of July. Despite the competition being celebrated across the island, the village of Makunduchi, on southern Unguja, is the important thing in recognition of the ritual activities and every year a massive crowd gathers to wait for the celebration.

Together with the same old singing, dancing, feasting and drumming that is going with all East African festivals, Mwaka Kogwa consists of precise rituals destined to carry true good fortune withinside the New Year. To provoke the celebration, a play combat takes place and all of the guys of the village beat each other to vent their aggression from beyondyear. Real guns have been used withinside the beyond however now banana sticks are desired due to the fact they're much less violent.

Traditional Swahili meals are observed by means of taarab music, and at the seashores the drums and dancing retain lengthy into the night.

Time: 23 - 24 of July.

Location: Makunduchi Village, Zanzibar

The first Serengeti Cultural Festival took place in 2012 as an attempt to bring holidaymakers to the city of Mugumu, which takes place every year . The motive of the Festival is to permit vacationers to revel in genuine African subculture truly. Mugumu is more or less 2 hours from the Serengeti National Park, making the competition available to the vacationers who are touring in and across the National Park. This is one of the most famous festivals that any visitor to Tazania should not miss.

The Festival is normally open-air competition, and the crowds and the lineup get larger and better. A variety of human beings from numerous tribes throughout Tanzania participates in this competition. Each of those tribes plays their conventional cultural dances of their local garb, giving the target market a flavor in their traditions.

Apart from conventional enjoyment, the competition ha plenty of amusing enjoyment and meals on offer! Purchase nearby crafts and clothing, curios, artwork and different innovative goodies. Pop in on the exhibitions onsite and get a flavor of what Tanzania has to offer.

Time: July

Location: Serengeti National Park

Situated south of the equator – in Tanzania – at 5895 meters, that is Africa’s highest mountain and the best unfastened status mountain withinside the world (because it isn't always a part of a mountain range). Huge everlasting glaciers float down from the summit, and the sheer presence of this large mountain dominates the complete area. An icon in Africa, “Kili “ as she is affectionately known, is one of the attractions anybody need to see as a minimum as soon as in his or her life. Every year, on the quit of February/starting March, a popular 42,2 km marathon, a 21,1 km half of marathon and a five km amusing run might be held withinside the metropolis of Moshi, Tanzania.

This race has been installed to sell the game in Tanzania, and has the respectable backing of the Tanzania Tourist Board, the Tanzania Amateur Athletics Association, the IAAF, and is registered with AIMS. The race is administered below the watchful eye of Mount Kilimanjaro, with the altitude benefit being pretty viable and with the complete race being finished among 830 and 1150m asl, on top tarred roads. The Kilimanjaro Marathon is hosted by the town of Moshi, Tanzania.

Time: at the end of February/beginning March

Location: Moshi stadium

The Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF), additionally referred to as Festival of the Dhow Countries, is an annual movie competition held in Zanzibar, Tanzania. It has been defined as the most important cultural occasion in East Africa. ZIFF is a non-governmental organization hooked up in 1997 to broaden and sell movies and different cultural industries as catalysts for the nearby social and financial growth.

The annual multi disciplinary arts and cultural competition is ZIFF’s fundamental activity; the competition is an all-arts affair, with eight days of nearby and global dialogue panels, workshops, 10 days of screenings of the satisfactory nearby and global cinema and evenings of musical live shows which include a Gala every evening. All competition applications are a fruit of the belief of the potential of movies to fuse collectively the satisfaction of every artwork-form, supplying a extensive variety of Entertainment, Educating and Networking alternatives for global audiences.

The competition is arguably the most important multidisciplinary artwork and cultural competition in Africa, and keeps to guide as a traveler enchantment occasion withinside the region. ZIFF now offers 12 International Awards offered with the aid of five International Juries. It is anticipated that 7000 western vacationers got here to Zanzibar to wait for the competition and the full competition target market turned into an extra 100,000 with extensive enchantment throughout race, magnificence and religions. Its effect on the financial system of Zanzibar is unquestionable.

Time: October

Location: The coastal city of Bagamoyo

The Bagamoyo Arts Festival is one of the most famous festivals on the Tanzanian mainland. It takes place yearly in autumn and is a colourful blend of music, theater, dance, acrobatics, discussions and exhibitions.

Several dozen cultural businesses from all elements of Tanzania participate in every competition. There also are businesses from different black African international locations and now and again visitor businesses from Europe. Bagamoyo Arts Festival is organized yearly withinside the month of October withinside the arts capital of Tanzania, Bagamoyo. Visitors can both take part or simply look at the occasions consisting of acrobatics, sculpture exhibitions, poetry reading, conventional dance and drama performances amongst different things. It is held each year to sell the craftsmen, sculptors and the artist and theater businesses of East Africa. The arts and tradition exhibition is subsidized by means of the Bagamoyo College of Arts or Chuo cha Sanaa as they name it.

Time: in the last week of October

Location: The coastal city of Bagamoyo