Arusha
The starting line of the northern circuit, under the cone of Mount Meru, with a jet runway at Kilimanjaro and a busy safari airfield on the edge of town.
- Arrival
- Kilimanjaro International · JRO
- To the city
- About 45 km in a straight line from JRO
- Private jets
- Into JRO; light aircraft from Arusha airport
- Best time
- January to February · June to October
The city
Where the northern circuit begins.
Arusha is the town the safaris of northern Tanzania set out from. Kilimanjaro International, forty-odd kilometres east, receives the long-haul aircraft; Arusha's own airfield, in Olasiti on the western side of the city, sends small planes out to Seronera in the Serengeti, to the Manyara strip for the Ngorongoro highlands, and down to Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam.
Highs run from 23 to 30 °C. The long rains are fierce, close to 340 mm in April, and the short rains return in November. June to October is the dry season, with under 40 mm a month, and January and February are warm and fairly dry.
Arriving
A jet runway east, a safari field west.
Two airports serve the town. Kilimanjaro International, between Arusha and Moshi, handles the long-haul flights and business jets. Arusha airport, on the edge of the city, is the hub for the light aircraft of the safari circuit.
- Kigali 1 h 20
- Addis Ababa 2 h 10
- Abu Dhabi 5 h 05
- Dubai 5 h 10
- Beijing 12 h 25 long-range jet
When to go
January to February, and June to October.
Warm and seldom hot, with highs between 23 and 30 °C. The long rains peak in April, the short rains in November. The dry months, June to October, are the coolest, and January and February bring a warm, drier pause between the rains.
- 29° J 63
- 30° F 64
- 29° M 144
- 26° A 339
- 24° M 169
- 23° J 39
- 23° J 21
- 24° A 16
- 26° S 16
- 28° O 38
- 28° N 126
- 28° D 91
What to see and do
Days in and around Arusha.
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Landmark
Mount Meru
The volcano whose cone rises north of the town, the backdrop to every view from Arusha.
-
Landmark
Arusha National Park
A small park on the lower slopes of Meru, near enough to the town for a morning's game drive.
-
Landmark
Lake Manyara
A national park around its lake, with its own paved airstrip on the way to Ngorongoro.
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Culture
Natural History Museum, Arusha
Housed in the German boma completed in 1900, its best wing traces human evolution through fossils found in Tanzania, with rooms on the colonial era.
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Culture
Cultural Heritage Centre
Carvings, gemstones, textiles and other art from Tanzania and its East African neighbours fill the galleries of this centre on the edge of town.
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Nature
Lake Duluti
A forest reserve rings this small crater lake below Mount Meru, where visitors canoe, walk the shore and look for fish eagles, kingfishers and blue monkeys.
Official site -
Golf
Kilimanjaro Golf Club
David Jones laid out this course on the Kilimanjaro Golf & Wildlife Estate, ranked first in Tanzania by Top 100 Golf Courses, with the Usa River running through it.
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Food & wine
Burka Coffee Estate
Shade-grown Arabica is picked, dried in the sun and roasted on site at one of the oldest coffee farms in the country, on Arusha's western edge.
Where to stay
Two five-star addresses.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
Where to dine
Two tables for the night before the safari.
No MICHELIN Guide covers Tanzania. Fodor’s lists The Grill Room as the fine-dining room of Arusha Coffee Lodge; The Grill is the steakhouse of the Gran Meliá.
- The Grill Room Fodor’s Modern eclectic Arusha Coffee Lodge
- The Grill Gran Meliá Arusha, steakhouse Steakhouse Gran Meliá Arusha, Simeon Road
Elsewhere in Tanzania
More reasons to come.
Flying to Arusha?
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A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.