Lake Tanganyika

Clear waters of Lake Tanganyika make up the second biggest volume of any freshwater lake in the world. The depth of almost 1500 metres, far into the Rift Valley, is the greatest in Africa.

Wildlife interests lie in the national parks at Gombe Stream and Mahale. Both are known for the chimpanzees that live on the thickly forested mountainous slopes of the Rift Valley escarpment.

Kigoma is the main port, close to an Arab slaving route through Ujiji to the coast. It was at Ujiji that newspaperman HM Stanley famously located Dr Livingstone, whereabouts previously unknown after his years of exploration.

Just as remarkably, Lake Tanganyika was the scene of deployment of Mimi and Toutou. The pair of armed motor boats were pretty much manhandled from the coast to combat the occupying German forces during World War One.