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CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

SAFARIS | TREKKING | BEACH  | CULTURAL  

Though tourism is a high-income earner for Tanzania, its benefits don’t always reach the local people. Half of the population lives below the poverty line. While stunning wildlife and dramatic landscapes may delight visitors, it is the friendliness and good hospitality of the people that ultimately seals their memories. Tanzania, unlike its neighbors, is home to over 120 tribes and ethnic groups, peacefully coexisting and retaining a unified national identity.

There are many ways of interacting with the locals, learn and appreciate their ways of life and at the same time by your very visit make a small contribution to their living standard. Cultural Tourism Programmers’ set up and run by the villagers themselves can be found in many parts of the country. The village remains functional as it is while village appointed guides show you around their small subsistence farms, cottage industries many of which are run by women, schools, clinics and other projects. Be delighted in hearing the myths and legends unique to each tribe. Some villages have their own medicine men who have learnt the passed down art of using herbs and plants for natural healing.

 

TENGERU VILLAGE

  • Coffee farm tour
  • Tree planting project tour Visiting the school
  • Visiting Tengeru market

MARANGU CULTURAL TOUR

  • A view into the culture of the Wa-Arusha.
  • A warm welcome in a local household. Visits to craftsmen and a traditional healer.
  • Traditional food prepared by our women.
  • A walk through the farms where people produce cash crops to supply Arusha.
  • A rest at impressive viewpoints overlooking Arusha town.
  • Hikes along narrow footpaths, crossing a canyon, and climbing small hills

Logindo cultural tour

  • A nature trail to spot birds
  • A climb to the impressive Longido Mountain through a dense natural forest
  • Walking safari through the Maasai plains an over the slopes of Longido mountain
  • A visit to a traditional Maasai Village
  • A tour of historical sites dating back to British colonial times

Mto wa Mbu – Manyara

Starting from the market, where you visit a Chagga family producing banana beer, you walk northwards passing many different farms.

Papyrus Lake Tour

This walk starts five kilometer north of Mto wa Mbu, where the Miwaleni waterfall that falls down from the rift valley has created a green oasis.

Balaa Hill Tour

Starting from Mto wa Mbu you walk at the foot of the rift valley in northern direction.

Depending on the village visited and the time you are there, there would be opportunities for bird watching, hikes on small hills or to waterfalls, coffee making, witnessing the colorful local market auctions, cooking and much more. For those villages with older cultural tourism programmes, visitors can see the positive outcome of new tourism revenue in the form of new classrooms, irrigation projects etc.

Many visitors choose to spend a day on a chosen cultural tourism programme either before or after their safari and or trek. However, for those wishing to spend more time overnight stays in tents or basic accommodation in the village, where possible, can also be arranged.

CULTURAL TOURS TO CHOOSE FROM:

Mto wa Mbu Farming Tour

Starting from the market, where you visit a Chagga family producing banana beer, you walk northwards passing many different farms. On your way, you get an extensive explanation of the various fruits and vegetables growing in the area. Mzee Filipo, a farmer from Kigoma, will show you his oil press and tell you about the history of irrigation in the area. Your trip ends at a farm built by the Belgium Development Organization ACT, where you can visit their sunflower seeds production and make marvelous pictures of colourful flower fields with the rift valley as background.

Papyrus Lake Tour
This walk starts five kilometers north of Mto wa Mbu, where the Miwaleni waterfall that falls down from the rift valley has created a green oasis. Passing some little streams you walk in the direction of the Papyrus Lake, from where the Rangi people collect the materials for the mats and baskets they make. On your way, you can see rice farming and visit Sandawe families who still make traditional bows and arrows for hunting. The walk can be extended with a climb to the waterfall at the rift valley.
Balaa Hill Tour

Starting from Mto wa Mbu you walk at the foot of the rift valley in the northern direction. The farmers in this area mainly grow bananas (many different 30 varieties) and the big leaves provide a pleasant shade. On your way, you can visit some farms and get an explanation about the irrigation methods in the area. Finally, you can climb Balaa Hill, "the hill of misfortune", in about twenty minutes and enjoy the beautiful view over the green oasis of Mto wa Mbu. On the top, the guides will explain to you why the hill got its mysterious name. The walk can be extended with a visit to the Njoro springs, one of the main water sources for the area and a nearby waterfall.

One day walk

People who like walking can combine the three half a day tours into a one-day walk. Starting from the Mto wa Mbu market you go via the farm of ACT to the Papyrus Lake. On your way back to Mto wa Mbu you walk along the foot of the rift valley, passing the Njoro springs and the Balaa hill.

Development Projects
In the eighties, the ILO had a Flood control program in Mto wa Mbu, that also assisted the district in improving the irrigation system. Various intakes and aqueducts ensure that the water flows to all farms in the area. At the border of the irrigated land, there are however serious problems of salutation, created by volcanic activities in the past. In this area, the Belgium organization ACT has in cooperation with the Monduli District Council built up a farm in order to try to use the land in a productive way and create employment for the local people. Among the crops that grow on the farm are many colourful flowers. The farm is also used as a centre from which ACT carries out its various community development activities. Nearby a dam has been built, where the Maasai cattle can drink water, even in the dry period. With support from ACT a Maasai women's group is producing energy saving stoves that use three times less firewood and therefore help to preserve the natural forests and reduce the workload of women. The profit from the tourism programme will be used for the promotion of these stoves and other development purposes in the area. When you are in Mto wa Mbu, feel free to visit the Maasai women's group on Mondays and Wednesdays, when they produce the stoves. The women will proudly show you their production method.
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