Northeast Tanzania - Tanzania del nordest

Northeast Tanzania is a region of the Tanzania extended to the borders with the Kenya.

To know

Territories and tourist destinations

• Territory of the Pare - Underdeveloped mountain region, which possesses the highest peak of the Monti Pare, where it is also possible to go trekking. Lomwe Secondary School located in the unspoiled village of Usangi, has a tourist cultural center, where very affordable excursions can be organized. In Usangi there is a market on Mondays and Tuesdays.
• Usambara Mountains - One of the most ecologically diverse areas on the planet. Lushoto, an attractive and main city, built in a German colonial architectural style, it is an excellent base for trekking in the surrounding forests.
• Northeast coast — Thong is its main city. An hour south is the city of Pangani, surrounded by idyllic beaches and blue sea. Very similar to the beaches of Zanzibar, but less crowded, and this is where Tanzanians go on vacation.

Urban centers

Other destinations

How to get

By plane

The region is served by the "Kilimanjaro International Airport" which is located 40 km from Arusha and offers connections with Europe.

By bus

You can choose to arrive in Arusha, which is the starting point for any safari or trekking throughout the region by bus from Nairobi in Kenya, there are direct connections between the airport and Arusha, travel time about 4/5 hours, including border.

How to get around

The only way to do the safari is the 4X4 jeep, you can rent it with driver in Arusha (usually the drivers are good guides), at one of the many agencies present.

What see

• Usambara Mountains - The Usambara are a part of the ancient Eastern Arc range whose mountains extend into a broken crescent from the Taita hills in the south of Kenya until Morogoro and the southern highlands. It is estimated that they were created at least 100 million years ago and the rocks that form them can be up to 600 million years old. The mountains are home to an exceptional assortment of plants and animals and represent one of the highest levels of biodiversity on the continent. Traces of habitation in the Usambara date back to at least 1.5 million years. Traces that are unique in the history of the world have been found near the summit of Mambo and can still be seen. Nobody knows who were the people who first settled in Usambara; it is only known that the ancestors of the present Sambaa inhabitants came hundreds of years ago. In the mid-18th century a Sambaa kingdom already existed and was made up of about 60,000 people. In the second half of the 19th century it is reported that there was a lot of wars with neighboring tribes which ended with colonization German. The Germans discovered the charm of Usmabara and settled in Lushoto (at that time Wilhelmsthal) which was a privileged vacation spot for colonial administrators. Today there are still many traces of the German period. Tanganyika became a British territory after World War I and the British administration continued to exploit its forests. After independence in 1961, the Ujamaa policy, President Nyerere's so-called "African socialism", resulted in one of the best organized village communities in Africa, which still exists today in Usmabara. Besides the historical sites the Usambara have a lot of interesting places and activities. It is a refined place for hiking, bird watching, mountain biking or just relaxing.

What to do

• Ascent of Kilimanjaro (you see Kilimanjaro National Park)
• Ascent of Mount Ol Doinyo Lengai - a strenuous and spectacular climb even if with an acceptable altitude, namely the Ol Doinyo Lengai, "the Mount of God", the only still active volcano in East Africa that rises like a perfect cone above Lake Natron, this is the mountain sacred of the Masai people, it reaches up to 2,800 m. The slopes are certainly higher than those of Kilimanjaro, but it is not cold, except up to the top of the crater where a windbreaker or a fleece is sufficient. The problem of this experience, on the other hand, is another, that is to descend rather than climb, you will find yourself on real precipices, so steep that sometimes you will have to go down with your butt and hands on the ground, your knees will be put to the test and not there will be no falls and slips on the ground. Here, too, volcanic soil that crumbles as you pass, dangerous for those under you for the stones that could hit it, in fact the equipment that I would recommend, in addition to the boots, the helmet, and, if you suffer from vertigo, forget it. . It starts to climb around midnight with the headlamps, even here a Masai guide is needed that you will recruit very quickly at Lake Natron. Here too the optical effect is terrible, it always seems to be one step away but no, the path does not exist and the guide is essential in order not to find yourself in a crevasse with no way out and go back, so many ravines on the sides, the slopes are very high and you often go up on all fours. You get to the top at 05:30, here the ground has changed, full of white sulfur that looks like snow, and as you go up the first fumaroles begin, some holes that shoot very hot air like a hair dryer, and then, up there, the ring of the crater and very narrow, you can straddle with one leg in and one out, from down below the terrible and scary gurgling of the lava that occasionally explodes with the many fumes that rise. It is a place that is scary, gives an incredible feeling of human smallness in the face of the frightening force of nature. Return to Lake Natron at 11:00 am. It is essential to make the ascent at night, otherwise the heat would be really prohibitive.
• Foot2Afrika (Moshi, Kilimanjaro), ☎ 255 027 2754538, @[email protected]. Non-governmental organization, aimed at helping the local community for economic development through voluntary work. 

Where stay

At the table

Safety

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