Tanzania has more than a hundred and twenty ethnic groups, and a few of them will be your neighbours on safari. A cultural day is an easy and rewarding addition to almost any itinerary.
The usual options are a Maasai boma near Ngorongoro or the Serengeti, where you are shown the homestead, the cattle economy and the beadwork; a morning hunting with the Hadzabe near Lake Eyasi, one of the last hunter-gatherer peoples on earth, followed by a visit to the Datoga blacksmiths who make their arrowheads; or the Mto wa Mbu village walk, a bicycle or foot tour through banana plantations, rice fields, a local market and a papyrus workshop.
We are careful about which of these we sell. The ones we use pay a fixed fee directly to the community, are arranged with the village leadership rather than a broker, and do not involve staged performances for photographs. Ask before you photograph anyone, and expect to be asked for a small fee for portraits — that is the local convention, not a scam.