Hidden in thick forests, mysterious caves are yet, the other tourist attractions in Southern Tanzania, not yet explored, but rich with exciting Cave Safaris under the earth surface.
Walking safaris through trails inside the natural caves, frequent encounters with nocturnal creatures could be an exciting safari of a lifetime.
Incomparable to other caves in Africa, these underground hollows in southern Tanzania are quite dark, eerie, ghostly and a within-the-ground bizarre world.
These sculptured a whole out-of-the-way underground world of hanging and protruding rocks, statues, endless passages are none other than Kisongo, Lihimalyao, Tung’ande and Nangoma Caves, just to mention a few.
When you visit Tanzania, your expedition will not be absolute without visiting these caves, all located in Kilwa District in Lindi Region of Southern Tanzania, about 400 kilometers from the commercial city of Dar es Salaam.
The uniqueness of these caves is just incomparable. They have been inhibited by humans in past thousands of years before man discovered houses or shelters above the earth. Now these caves are homes for millions of bats hibernating there during the day, also snakes and other nocturnal animals.
Recent visit to those caves by eTN writers proved the reality of the creation of earth and the secrecy of nature which no person can reveal today.
Awesome trip under the earth proved that Tanzania has been endowed with so many tourist attractions which have never been exploited. Kilwa District in southern parts of this African country has all the caves of international recognition.
Other than accommodating the early man on earth, these caves have been a refuge for local residents during infamous tribal wars against Germans which rocked the whole of Southern Tanzania over 100 years ago.
Nang’oma Cave covers an underground area of up to three kilometers and which a visitor could sneak in and takes up to five hours of walking.
This Cave was discovered in 1900 by a local villager while roving through the forests looking for wild, edible roots.
The Cave is made up of six, huge underground chambers connected by an underground passage which passes through, leading to a neighboring settlement where the last chamber is located. It takes up to three hours of walking under the earth to reach the last chamber of the cave then emerging above the ground in a neighboring area.
consumable product like soft drinks or a foodstuff.
A former Roman Catholic priest from the nearby Kipatimu mission, Father Ambrosius Meyer, visited Nangoma Cave shortly after its discovery by German authorities.
The gigantic Nangoma Cave was identified or seen for the first time by German Authorities in 1910, just three years after the tribal wars. Father Meyer said through his written records that this huge cave had a capacity to accommodate more than 5,000 people.
Father Meyer further asserted that villagers from various Matumbi families camped in the cave or sought refuge inside the cave’s gigantic chambers to escape from advancing German forces during the tribal Maji Maji wars.
He said in his account made available at a Catholic Mission that the Cave had several traces of fire, a proof that there were many people who camped inside it.
Another famous, gigantic cave is Lihimalyao Cave which is wider with underground paths connecting one chamber to another, each with different shape and size.
Standing as most attractive one, Lihimalyao Cave looks bigger, spacious and naturally designed hollow which could accommodate up to 4,000 people at once.
There is a big spacious cave with an open roof, and which looks like a big conference hall. Some of its chambers are totally dark and roofed by hard, gypsum granite rock on their top. A thick, natural forest covers the upper ground.
This is an area of about 40 square meters, illuminated from the ceiling of the cave as opposed to other spots, which are totally dark. Here visitors can convene and hold picnics and other merrymakings under the earth.
Before making such an awful trip into the earth, you have to get guidance from the cave curator who is familiar with each cave.
No one can deny that these scattered caves in Kilwa District, Southern Tanzania, are some of the world’s greatest underground attractions, sculptured by nature through the ages with fascinating limestone formations in a wide variety of colors. In short, these caves are the under the earth wonder worth a visit.
Southern Tanzania is an upcoming tourist destination best for historical, geographical and nature tourism.
