Arusha – More than a Gateway

If you’re planning a safari to Tanzania then you’ll be most likely be flying into the town of Arusha. You may be going direct to Kilimanjaro International Airport or to the local regional airport but either way, Arusha is the gateway to classic safari destinations such as the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire.

Now the trouble with gateway destinations – Maun and the Okavango Delta, Hoedspruit and the Kruger Park – is that most travellers want to get out of them as soon as possible. Who wants to sit in an airport hotel room when there are animals to see and things to do on safari?

Thing is, with a Tanzania safari you may not have a choice. Tanzania is a huge country with distances between destinations not always aligning with airline schedules. An overnight in Arusha is often necessary at the beginning of a safari as the road transfers to safari destinations are too long for an afternoon start. Or it may be that the morning scheduled flight is too early to make from your camp and you need to fly in the day before.

Arusha has developed to make the most of this: there is a wide range of accommodation available and domestic flights arrive in time for check-in and an afternoon activity. So, on the grounds that you are most likely going to spend a night and the better part of a day in Arusha, let’s make the most of it. Who knows – you may end up booking another night.

ACCOMMODATION

Arusha accommodation can be divided into two broad camps: a familiar hotel-style, or country lodge. The lodges are often former – or working – coffee farms and have been beautifully converted into boutique accommodation that make the most of their views of Mount Meru. They make the ideal place to relax for a day or two after a long itinerary and the prospect of a long flight home.

You’ll find Arusha’s accommodation mostly out of town, some close by but others an hour’s drive away. They’ll all offer day tours, some have bikes and many have spa treatments on offer but if you want to get the safari theme going as soon as possible, then there are lodges in or next to Arusha National Park, one of Tanzania’s much-overlooked wildlife reserves. Now you can fit a game drive into your first day on safari. Or your last.

ACTIVITIES

Given its total dependence on tourism, Arusha has a reputation as a safe city in which to walk around and explore. There are local markets and restaurants and – surprise, surprise – plenty of souvenir shops. Most travellers are there to relax and one of the most popular activities is a coffee plantation tour where you’ll follow your beverage’s journey from bean to cup. But Arusha is also the jumping off point for Mount Kilimanjaro hikers; Africa’s highest mountain is only a two-hour drive away and that makes Arusha perfect as the start and end base for a Kilimanjaro trek.

But if you don’t have the time for a hike to the top – or perhaps the fitness – then there are shorter and less demanding Kilimanjaro hikes on offer, including a day hike. Or you could make it easier: the continent’s seventh biggest – Mount Meru – is even closer to Arusha. In fact, it’s in Arusha National Park, not even an hour’s drive away, and offers short hikes through its rainforest with barely another visitor around.

You could also go on a game drive in Arusha National Park; it’s not the Serengeti, but it’s full of big African animals such as giraffe, buffalo and elephant. And if you are a birder, then the park offers no fewer than 400 species spread across three biomes: forest, moorland and savannah. There are predators there – leopard and hyena – but more visible (and audible) are Arusha’s primates: this is a great place to see the black-and-white colobus monkey, blue monkey and olive baboon.

Sounds interesting? There are also guided canoe trips on the park’s two lakes as well as walks, all under the gaze of mighty Mount Meru – put it all together on a day trip and you’ll be glad you spent a night in Arusha.