Lake Tanganyika is one of the oldest freshwater lakes on the planet and a real miracle of nature! In the waters of Lake Tanganyika, you can witness the incredible wonders of evolution right before your eyes! Diving in this lake means you’ll see endemic species of fish and other animals that are unique to this amazing place. The waters of Lake Tanganyika are still being studied by scientists today! It has the deepest point of any lake in the world at 1,470 m, with only Lake Baikal in Siberia being deeper. And the shores of this magnificent lake are framed with beautiful sandy beaches and tropical forests!
The incredible shoreline of Lake Tanganyika touches four African countries! Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Zambia – all of these incredible countries border the magnificent Lake Tanganyika! But Tanzania has the best views and the most convenient access to the lake! Tanzania also has the immense privilege of owning almost half of the waters of Tanganyika, and the shoreline around Tanzania is blessed with the most delightful beaches, with the sand gently sloping into the water. The DR Congo side boasts rocky cliffs forming a magnificent shore.
The sheer size of Lake Tanganyika is truly astonishing. When you stand on its shore and look across, it seems like a calm sea stretches out before you. The incredible Lake Tanganyika boasts an average width of 50 km! But the most incredible thing of all is that this magnificent lake is 676 km long, stretching from one end to the other! That’s more than the distance between Paris and Milan! Just imagine all this space filled with water! This makes Lake Tanganyika the longest freshwater lake on the planet – an amazing fact!
The lake is teeming with fish, making it a paradise for anglers. And there’s more! You can also catch aquarium fish here, which are a common catch in this area. One of the most incredible sights you’ll ever see is dozens of moored boats with fishing rods bobbing on the water!
Things to See and Do while at L. Tanganyika
Get ready to be blown away by Africa’s deepest lake, which is full of incredible new discoveries just waiting to be discovered! To find them, you can literally dive right in! Or, if you prefer, you can enjoy many of the exciting activities available right on the surface of the water.
- Walking and observing chimpanzees in the parks
There’s nothing quite like exploring the incredible national parks that hug the shores of Lake Tanganyika! Gombe Stream National Park and Mahale Mountains National Park are two of the most popular spots for outdoor enthusiasts. The incredible natural rainforests are the dominant vegetation in both parks.
The parks are home to hundreds of species of birds and mammals, including some amazing predators! But the absolute highlight is seeing the primates living in these forests as families! The most common of all are the amazing chimpanzees, who are our closest relatives (with a whopping 90% genome match)! Just imagine how absolutely thrilling it is to watch our wild cousins in their natural habitat grooming one another, playing complex social games and interacting in a whole variety of other ways!
- Diving in Tanganyika
There’s so much to discover for fishing enthusiasts! While tourist infrastructure outside the national parks is still in its infancy, there are already plenty of opportunities for motorised or manual boats. There are also some fantastic diving centres that run amazing underwater excursions to see the beautiful, colourful fish that abound in the waters of Tanganyika.
- Boating and fishing
The best way to explore the lake is by boat! Take a trip from the shore and discover the beauty of this amazing lake. Local guides will take you to the best spots accessible only by water – it’s an unmissable experience! The incredible natural beauty here is completely untouched by man. It’s a world of tropical vegetation and the richest diversity of the animal kingdom that you really must see for yourself!
Lake Tanganyika is also famous for sport fishing. In March-April, there’s a special fishing championship held on these shores. It is a perfect event to fish for fun! Plus, a great deal of the world’s beautiful aquarium fish are caught here and then dispatched to aquarium enthusiasts.
Have you ever wondered what Lake Tanganyika is?
The magnificent Lake Tanganyika is the oldest rift lake in Africa! It was formed during the movement of two tectonic plates – the Arabian and the African ones – which created the incredible Great Rift Valley and the vast water reservoir that we now call the African Great Lakes. And there are more! Among these lakes are: And there are more! There’s Lake Victoria, Lake Nyasa (Malawi), Lake Rudolf (now Turkana), Lake Edward (Rutangige), Lake Albert and Lake Kivu.
Lake Tanganyika is also the deepest lake in Africa, with a maximum depth of 1471 m – that’s pretty impressive! On a global scale, it is the second deepest in the world, after Lake Baikal at 1642 m deep. The average depth of Lake Tanganyika is an incredible 570 metres! It is absolutely incredible that this magnificent lake is filled with the volume of freshwater that amounts to 18% of the total world’s fresh water supply that humans have access to!
The unique fauna of Tanganyika
The fauna of the lake is made up of a great variety of species – more than 2 thousand in total. A large part of them have walked their evolutionary paths and are to be found only here, at the shores of Lake Tanganyika. Lake Tanganyika and its surroundings are a habitat for a great number of endemic species, and for this reason it is highly prized by both research biologists and rare-fish collectors.
Fish of Tanganyika
The most popular fish sought by anglers are types of sardines, sprat and the four types of perch, and all of them are considered to be endemic to Lake Tanganyika. In addition, catfish and eels inhabit these waters in a number of distinctive species. Even a unique type of poisonous pufferfish is found here.
But most of all, the lake is famous for fish from the cichlid family. At least 250 species of cichlids live here, and almost all of them are unique. Some species still remain unexplored, despite the ongoing scientific research happening within the waters.
