Arusha Information
Built by the Germans as a centre for colonial administration in the 19th century, Arusha was a sleepy little town with a few shops and a grassy roundabout. From its backwater status amidst farmlands and plantations, it’s now grown and developed into one of the country’s most prosperous and thriving towns.
It receives around 400,000 foreign visitors each year and has a myriad of interesting shops, bustling markets, exciting cultural events, vibrant night life and innumerable bars and restaurants that provide plenty of fun, activities and entertainment to warrant a longer stay. Arusha is also the site for the United Nations Criminal Tribunal on the Rwandan genocide and headquarters of the East African Cooperation.
Located in the northern highlands of Tanzania beneath the twin peaks of Mt. Meru and Mt. Kilimanjaro, Arusha is the safari capital of the country. It rests in a fertile valley that’s the bread and vegetable basket of the country, producing half the nation’s wheat, and substantial amounts of coffee, flowers, beans and pyrethrum for export, along with bananas, maize, millet and vegetables for domestic use.
Arusha is also ideally located as a departure point into the northern circuit of the Tanzanian wilderness. There’s Arusha National Park just 35 kilometres away, Tarangire National Park and Lake Manyara National Park’s biosphere and nature reserve less than a day’s journey away. Other famous landmarks are the Ngorongoro Crater--the eighth wonder of the world; the spectacular endless plains of Serengeti National Park and the annual wildebeest migration; Olduvai Gorge where two-million year-old fossil bones of some of our earliest human ancestors were discovered along with their ancient stone tools and the remains of many extinct animals, and; Africa’s the towering snow-capped s slopes of Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain.
Arrival and Information
Arusha is well connected to the rest of Tanzania (and Nairobi, Kenya) by both road and air. Several international airlines (KLM, Ethiopian Airways and British Airways to name the few) touch down at Kilimanjaro International airport (KIA). Passport and customs formalities are efficient and you can obtain your visa at the airport immigration desk if you haven’t already got one.
Town Transport
Daladalas (town mini-buses) cover much of the town’s outskirts at a cost of Tshs 250 (about $ 0.2) though destinations further out cost a few hundred shillings more. Taxis can be rented outside The Arusha Hotel, AICC, along Sokoine Road, along Makongoro Road, along Joel Maeda Street and at most other main road interconnections in town. A ride within town costs around Tshs 2000 (approximately $2)
Geography and Climate
Despite its proximity to the equator, Arusha's elevation of 1400 m on the southern slopes of Mount Meru keeps temperatures down and alleviates humidity. Cool dry air is prevalent for much of the year and temperatures range between 13 and 30 degrees Celsius with an average around 25 degrees. It has distinct wet and dry seasons, and experiences an eastern prevailing wind from the Indian Ocean, a couple of hundred miles to the east.
