Arusha · Tanzania
Arusha
The gateway city to the northern safari circuit, and a national park in its own right.
Overview
Arusha sits at about 1,400 metres under Mount Meru, and almost every northern-circuit safari begins or ends here. It is a working city of around half a million people rather than a resort: coffee estates on the slopes above, a busy central market, the Tanzanite trade, and the Arusha International Conference Centre where the Rwanda tribunal sat for two decades. Most visitors treat it as a night either side of the parks, but the immediate surroundings reward a day. Arusha National Park, 40 minutes away, is small and unusually varied - the Momella lakes with their flamingos, Ngurdoto Crater, giraffe and colobus monkeys in the forest, and the only park on the circuit where you can walk with an armed ranger or canoe. Mount Meru, 4,566 m, rises from it and is the best acclimatisation climb before Kilimanjaro as well as a fine three-day trek on its own. Day trips run to the Maasai villages at Longido, the coffee farms of Ilkiding'a, and the Chemka hot springs.
Browse by category in Arusha
Photos of Arusha
Trips visiting Arusha
Things to do in Arusha
Places and experiences rather than companies. Each one carries the thing you would otherwise find out by turning up.
Maasai Market
CultureThe craft market in the centre of town.
Prices open at three to four times what things sell for. That is expected, not an insult — haggling is the transaction, and walking away is part of it.
2 hoursFree
Walking safari in Arusha National Park
WildlifeGiraffe, colobus and buffalo on foot, with Mount Meru above.
No lion or elephant, which is exactly why walking is allowed. The best first day of a trip: it is forty minutes from town and it acclimatises you to the altitude.
5 hoursPaid
Coffee estate tour
CulturePicking, pulping, drying and roasting on the slopes south of town.
Harvest runs July to December; outside it you see the process explained rather than happening.
3 hoursPaid
Where these are, around Arusha
60 listings with a mapped location.
Map of 60 listings
- Listed
- Placed from the town
When to visit Arusha
Month by month: wildlife, weather and how busy it gets.
October
Dry season — good roads, thinner bush, animals gathering at water.
- Wildlife
- —
- Weather
- Weather: 4 / 5
- Crowds
- Crowds: 3 / 5
- Rainfall
- 40 mm
- Temperature
- 14–27 °C
Show all twelve monthsHide the full table
| Best time to visit | Wildlife | Weather | Crowds | Rainfall | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JanuaryShort rains — brief afternoon storms, green landscapes, fewer visitors. | — | Weather: 4 / 5 | Crowds: 3 / 5 | 60 mm | 14–27 °C |
| FebruaryDry season — good roads, thinner bush, animals gathering at water. | — | Weather: 4 / 5 | Crowds: 3 / 5 | 55 mm | 14–27 °C |
| MarchWet month — expect rain most days, and lush, difficult country. | — | Weather: 3 / 5 | Crowds: 2 / 5 | 110 mm | 14–26 °C |
| AprilLong rains — some tracks impassable and some camps closed. Lowest prices. | — | Weather: 2 / 5 | Crowds: 2 / 5 | 200 mm | 14–25 °C |
| MayLong rains — some tracks impassable and some camps closed. Lowest prices. | — | Weather: 2 / 5 | Crowds: 2 / 5 | 150 mm | 13–25 °C |
| JunePeak dry season — the best game viewing and the highest prices. | — | Weather: 5 / 5 | Crowds: 4 / 5 | 30 mm | 12–25 °C |
| JulyPeak seasonSafari season — book vehicles and guides well ahead. | — | Weather: 5 / 5 | Crowds: 5 / 5 | 10 mm | 12–24 °C |
| AugustPeak seasonPeak dry season — the best game viewing and the highest prices. | — | Weather: 5 / 5 | Crowds: 5 / 5 | 10 mm | 12–24 °C |
| SeptemberPeak dry season — the best game viewing and the highest prices. | — | Weather: 5 / 5 | Crowds: 4 / 5 | 15 mm | 13–26 °C |
| OctoberDry season — good roads, thinner bush, animals gathering at water. | — | Weather: 4 / 5 | Crowds: 3 / 5 | 40 mm | 14–27 °C |
| NovemberWet month — expect rain most days, and lush, difficult country. | — | Weather: 3 / 5 | Crowds: 2 / 5 | 105 mm | 14–26 °C |
| DecemberShort rains — brief afternoon storms, green landscapes, fewer visitors. | — | Weather: 4 / 5 | Crowds: 3 / 5 | 90 mm | 14–27 °C |