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Now that the giant airbuses fly into Kilimanjaro Airport, Arusha is becoming a most accessible gateway to the game parks (Serengeti, Lake Manyara and Tarangire, as well as the Ngorongoro Crater).

 

If your safari doesn't start in neighboring Kenya, it will most likely start in Arusha.  The city (pop. 150,000) doesn't have many attractions of its own, but it sits in a pleasant, lush valley.

 

Divided by the Naura River and set near the base of 15,000-ft/4,575-m Mt. Meru, Arusha is also in sight of Mt. Kilimanjaro (both mountains are frequently hidden by clouds, especially late in the day).

 

The city's streets are dusty, and its shops are fairly ordinary (look for the shoemakers running their treadle machines outdoors).

 

The selection of souvenirs and artwork is not vast but is good. You can see most of the city in a few hours. 300 miles/485 km northwest of Dar es Salaam.

 

Arusha is a manufacturing centre and the processing and shipping hub of a region in which pyrethrum, sisal, and coffee are produced. Locally manufactured goods include plastics, radios, and meerschaum pipes. These are pipes used for smoking tobacco that have a base made of Meerschaum, a type of clay found around the Mediterranean Sea.

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