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 ab ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. 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 (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

and the then Zaire (now

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Description

{{See also, T2 road (Zambia) The Tanzam Highway is about 2400 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 near Morogoro, Tanzania with an area of that was established in 1964. It is the fourth largest in the country. The park is crossed by Tanzania's A-7 highway. Territory Mikumi National Park borders Selou ...

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 has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and a ...

Arusha Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census). Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern bran ...

and

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

* in

Morogoro Morogoro is a city in the eastern part of Tanzania west of Dar es Salaam. Morogoro is the capital of the Morogoro Region. It is also known informally as "Mji kasoro bahari" which translates to “city short of an ocean/port." The Belgian based ...

, 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. I ...

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 along 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, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

and

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

Significance

During the

apartheid era Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and the civil wars in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, 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 Transport in Zambia Transport in Tanzania Roads in Tanzania Roads in Zambia