Arusha

About Arusha

Arusha is the town where almost every northern Tanzania safari begins and ends. It sits at about 1,400 m on the southern slopes of Mount Meru, which at 4,562 m is the second-highest mountain in Tanzania, and the altitude keeps the evenings cooler than you might expect. Our own office is here, on the Nairobi Road in Sakina, and it is where our guides meet guests before driving out to the parks. Most international visitors land at Kilimanjaro International Airport, about 60 km east of Arusha and roughly halfway to Moshi. Arusha Airport, on the west side of town, handles the light aircraft that fly on to the Serengeti airstrips. By road, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area lies about 180 km to the west, with Tarangire and Lake Manyara along the same route, so the first day of a safari rarely means a punishing drive. Like much of northern Tanzania, Arusha has two rainy seasons: the long rains from March to May and the short rains in November and December. The town works in any month. When you go really depends on what you want to see in the parks, not on Arusha itself. We nearly always suggest one night here after a long-haul flight. You start your first game drive rested, and a late connection does not cost you a day in the bush. A last night on the way home does the same job in reverse: time to repack, wash off the dust and fly without rushing. A spare day has more to offer than most people expect. The main gate of Arusha National Park is about 25 km east of the city. In a single day you can walk with an armed ranger, look for black-and-white colobus monkeys in the forest and drive past the Momella Lakes, which draw large numbers of wading birds. Our Arusha National Park Day Trip with Walking Safari covers exactly that, and we also run day trips from Arusha to Tarangire and to Lake Manyara. In town, the Cultural Heritage Centre is a large private gallery of African art and a good place to spend a slow afternoon. Arusha is a working city of more than 600,000 people at the 2022 census, not a resort. It is the headquarters of the East African Community, and the Arusha Declaration was signed here in 1967. Expect markets, busy roads and a lot of traffic at rush hour. Where you stay depends on what the night is for. Mount Meru Hotel, beside the Arusha golf course, and Gran Melia Arusha, set among coffee plantations with Meru behind it, are large hotels that suit an arrival night. Arusha Coffee Lodge has plantation houses spread through the Burka Coffee Estate on the edge of town. Onsea House is a small family-run guesthouse on a hilltop, and Tulia Boutique Hotel & Spa is a 23-room hotel in Sakina, close to our office. We match the hotel to your flight times and your first day's drive.