This city is also called the “A Town” by mostly the locals. The Arusha city is located in the North eastern part of Tanzania. On the eastern foothills of the Meru Mountain is the place this town bases. It’s at the edge of the great eastern rift valley.
The city as a very good climate with reliable rainfall since it’s at the base of a tropical rain forest of mountain Meru. The city has a population of about 4000 people with a lot of mixed backgrounds.
The town is originally African but is predominately inhabited by Arabic Tanzanians and Indian Tanzanians. It’s one of the safari capitals of Tanzania since you can connect to several destinations from there.
Some of the destinations you can visit from Arusha are: Serengeti National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Kilimanjaro Mountain, Arusha National Park and Tarangire National Park.
Arusha was conquered by the Germans in 1896 and this was the beginning of the development of this town. Before the coming of the Germans, the Masai that inhabited this area where just pastoralists.
They also dealt in Honey, grains and brewing beer. The administration of the Germans set up their offices and structures here. The British took over from the Germans in the 1920s and there was rapid growth here as well.
The population of Arusha has been growing rapidly and it was declared a city in 2006 by the Government of Tanzania.
The city is home to a number of high international office and diplomatic missions, some of which are the headquarters and parliament of the East African Community.
The city also hosted the International criminal Tribunal of Rwanda which ran from 1994 to 2005. The African court on Human rights is also housed in Arusha. There are so many other international corporations here.
While you are on your journey to the tallest mountain in Africa, The Kilimanjaro, you may stop over in Arusha. There is the Kilimanjaro International Airport as well here. Is the biggest airport in Tanzania after the Dar es Salaam international airport.
There is also a smaller domestic airport called the Arusha Municipal airport that handles domestic traffic, domestic flights can also land at the Kilimanjaro International Airport.
Places to visit while in Arusha City
Arusha city is a starting point for many safari destinations especially on the northern circuit. The nearest attraction here is the Mount Meru since the city is just on the base of this mountain. Most travelers actually use this mountain as a training camp for the taller Kilimanjaro Mountain. The Hike to the Meru Mountains can take between 3 to 4 days.
There is the National Museum of History that was started in Arusha in 1987. This museum is home to some of the early discoveries in Human evolution. There is also the Declaration Museum in Arusha on the Kaloleni road. This museum exhibits the documents from the colonial times.
Arusha has a very big market where the local trade especially on food products. The market is called “soko kuu” which means the big market. This market is very chaotic. This market is a one stop center for most of the Masai culture in terms of food and fabrics. You will have a chance to get yourself a souvenir for yourself.
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