The Tanzam Highway leads from

Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

. The highway was built from 1968 to 1973 in several stages and was intended to provide seaport access for Zambia and to expand the transport options for Zambia,

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

and the then Zaire (now

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

Description

{{See also, T2 road (Zambia), T1 road (Tanzania) The Tanzam Highway is about 1950 km long and is paved. The road leads largely through very mountainous areas to an altitude of over 2000 m. It starts in Dar es Salaam, the largest city of Tanzania, and passes through the regions of Coast, Morogoro, Iringa, Njombe, Mbeya and Songwe. The highway crosses the

Mikumi National Park Mikumi National Park is a national park in Tanzania located near the city of Morogoro, with an area of that was established in 1964. It is the fourth largest in the country. Territory Mikumi National Park borders Selous Game Reserve on the so ...

between Morogoro and Iringa. The entire Zambian section of the route is named the Great North Road and is marked T2; in Tanzania it bears the label T1. In the vicinity of Iringa, the highway passes by the site of a battle near Ilula-Lugalo, where a monument commemorates the defeat of the German colonial troops on the Hehe on 17 August 1891. In Zambia, the Great North Road crosses the Kapiri Mposhi and Nakonde areas. The distance between Nakonde and Kapiri Mposhi is approximately 832 km. Within Tanzania, the Tanzam Highway connects with four major routes: * in Chalinze, the main road to Tanga and to

Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world, at above sea level and above its plateau base. It is also the highest volcano i ...

Arusha Arusha is a city in Tanzania. The city is the Capital city, capital of the Arusha Region. It has a population of 617,631 people.

and

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

* in

Morogoro Morogoro is a city located in the eastern part of Tanzania, approximately 196 kilometers (122 miles) west of Dar es Salaam. Retrieved on November 24, 2011. It serves as the capital of the Morogoro Region. Informally, it is referred to as ''Mji ...

, the road to Dodoma in the west, then to Singida, Tabora, Mpanda, Shinyanga, Bariadi, Geita, Mwanza, Musoma, Bukoba and Kigoma * in

Makambako Makambako is a medium-sized town and district in the Njombe Region of the Tanzanian Southern Highlands, located roughly 40 miles north of Njombe city by road. It is located at junction of the A104 and B4 roads between Njombe, Iringa, and Mbeya. It ...

there is a road up to Songea, going on to Mtwara * Uyole/Mbeya is on the road to

through Tukuyu, Rungwe and Kasumulu, Kyela. West from Makambako, Tanzam frequently runs parallel to the

TAZARA Railway The Tazara Railway, also called the Uhuru Railway or the Tanzam Railway, is a railway in East Africa linking the port of Dar es Salaam in east Tanzania with the town of Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia's Central Province. The single-track railway is ...

. This road is the main link between

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

and

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

Significance

During the apartheid era in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and the civil wars in

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

, this highway, together with the

, provided Zambia's only safe access to a seaport (Dar Es Salaam), which was a prerequisite for the survival of the Zambian economy.

References

*Ian Singer, Arthur Steevens, Heather Chalcraft
''The Great North Road. From Great North Road''
Horizont, 1966 Roads in Tanzania Roads in Zambia