If you happen to travel to Tanzania, either for a Zanzibar holiday or for a Tanzania safari, don’t forget to include a trip to Olduvai Gorge. Even if your planner or tour guide doesn’t explicitly mention a trip to Olduvai Gorge, you should proactively seek a clarification.
Let us talk a bit about Olduvai Gorge. Which is the place where Homo habilis inhabited about 1.9 million years ago? Where did the Paranthropus boiei live about 1.8 million years ago? 1.2 million years ago, Homo erectus had inhabited the Olduvai Gorge and Homo sapiens or we had inhabited this place about 17,000 years ago. Africa is the cradle of mankind and Olduvai Gorge is one place where you should go if you wish to know where we were in the distant past. So many things around us will look so insignificant when you trace back the history of mankind and our evolution through the ages.
From the look of it, Olduvai Gorge is a natural wonder. Some people may think what’s in a gorge but it is much more than that. Also spelled as Oldupai Gorge, it is one of the most important paleoanthropological sites in the whole world. It is one of those few places that have allowed us to know our past and to study our own evolution. The steep sided ravine along the Great Rift Valley stretching through East Africa in Tanzania is a visual spectacle and an enticing sneak peek into our own history.
Planning A Trip To Olduvai Gorge
There are plenty of things to do and a lot to see on a Tanzania safari or Zanzibar holiday. You would want to hit the beaches, you may be interested in the Serengeti wildebeest migration, you may want to spot the big five or at least one of the mighty animals and you may also want to explore one of the islands in the archipelago off the Tanzanian coast. Amidst all that, you should have at least one day for Olduvai Gorge.
The route to Olduvai Gorge isn’t the best of roads so you must brace for it. Don’t forget to visit the museum there. The presentations at the museum are short and you would need a maximum of twenty to thirty minutes. Spare the time as that half an hour will be an evocative experience for you and everyone around you.