--- title: "Top 10 Things To Do in Arusha, Tanzania | Wimup" description: "Arusha is Tanzania’s safari capital and a city worth its own days. Ten ranked things to do, from Arusha National Park to the tanzanite museum on India Street." url: https://wimup.com/city/arusha type: City guide updated: 2026-10-17 publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com) --- # Top 10 Things To Do in Arusha Arusha, Tanzania · Africa · By Wimup Editorial, 14 min read Every northern safari circuit starts here, and most visitors see the airport road and a lodge garden. Arusha deserves better than that: a national park on the city edge, an active volcano behind it, and a working city of markets, museums and coffee estates at 1,400 metres. ## Quick answer Give Arusha two days before the safari and one after. Day one is Arusha National Park, 40 minutes east, for Ngurdoto Crater, the Momella Lakes and the only walking safari in the northern circuit. Day two is the city, which fits into an afternoon: the tanzanite museum on India Street, the Old Boma, Soko Kuu and the Cultural Heritage Centre out on the Dodoma road. ## Quick facts - **Best months:** June to October (dry), January and February between the rains - **Ideal length:** 2 to 3 days, plus the safari - **Budget per day:** $40-100 - **Language:** Swahili, with English used across tourism - **Getting around:** Dala dala minibuses, taxis and Bolt ## The 10 best things to do in Arusha ### 1. Arusha National Park National park · Off the Arusha to Moshi road via Usa River, about 40 minutes east The one northern park you can cross on foot. A ranger walks you past giraffe and buffalo to the Tululusia waterfall, the Momella Lakes hold flamingos when the water is high, and Ngurdoto Crater is the drive-up half. Non-resident entry is USD 50 in high season, before the 18% tax. - **Time:** Full day - **Cost:** USD 50 non-resident in high season, plus 18% tax - **Best at:** Early morning, before the cloud settles on Meru - **Tip:** Book the walking safari ahead; an armed ranger has to come with you Links: [TANAPA](https://www.tanzaniaparks.go.tz/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ### 2. Mount Meru Trek · Momella Gate, Arusha National Park At 4,562 m this is the acclimatisation climb most Kilimanjaro crews recommend, and a better walk than that makes it sound. Three or four days up the Momella route, sleeping at Mirakamba Hut (2,514 m) and Saddle Hut (3,566 m), with an armed ranger on every group. - **Time:** 3 to 4 days - **Cost:** Park fees plus guide, ranger and porters - **Best at:** June to October - **Tip:** Momella Gate only starts climbers between 9am and 3pm Links: [TANAPA](https://www.tanzaniaparks.go.tz/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ### 3. Cultural Heritage Centre Gallery · Dodoma Road, on the western edge of the city Founded in 1993 and closer to a museum than a curio stop: a spiral gallery of contemporary African painting, a Makonde carving collection, and a counter of graded tanzanite. Prices are fixed, which after the Maasai Market is either a relief or a disappointment. - **Time:** 1 to 2 hours - **Cost:** Free to enter - **Best at:** Late morning - **Tip:** The gallery is upstairs and most visitors never get past the ground-floor shops Links: [Cultural Heritage](https://culturalheritagetz.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ### 4. The Tanzanite Experience Museum · 3rd floor, Plot 35/E, India Street Tanzanite comes from roughly four square kilometres of the Merelani Hills and nowhere else on earth. This small free museum explains how it formed, how it is graded and what a mine shaft looks like, and it makes the shops downstairs legible in about forty minutes. - **Time:** 45 minutes - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Any weekday - **Tip:** Learn the grading scale here before you buy a stone anywhere in Arusha Links: [Tanzanite Experience](https://www.tanzaniteexperience.com/tanzanite-museum/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ### 5. Lake Duluti Crater lake · Off the Arusha to Moshi road at Tengeru, about 20 minutes east A crater lake in a forest reserve, filling a side vent of Mount Meru. The two-hour canoe circuit is the reason to come: fish eagles, giant kingfishers and darters at eye level, and Meru behind you when the cloud lifts. A rim trail does the same walk dry. - **Time:** Half a day - **Cost:** Reserve entry around USD 12 for non-residents, canoe extra - **Best at:** Early morning - **Tip:** Canoes are hired at the restaurant on the northern shore ### 6. Natural History Museum at the Old Boma Museum · Boma Road, off the Clock Tower roundabout The German garrison boma, finished in 1900, now holds the country’s best small display on human evolution, which is the right place for it: most of what is known came out of Tanzanian ground. The colonial rooms and the insect cases are the thinner half. - **Time:** 1 hour - **Cost:** About USD 5 for non-residents - **Best at:** Morning - **Tip:** The evolution wing is the reason to come, so start there Links: [National Museum of Tanzania](https://www.nmt.go.tz/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ### 7. Shanga at Burka Coffee Estate Workshop · Burka Coffee Estate, off the Dodoma road An open-air workshop on a working coffee estate where more than sixty artisans with disabilities blow recycled glass, weave and bead. You watch the glass being blown rather than a film of it, and the shop sells what was made ten metres away. - **Time:** 1 hour - **Cost:** Free to visit - **Best at:** Weekday mornings, while the furnace is running - **Tip:** Pair it with the coffee estate walk on the same grounds Links: [Shanga](https://www.shanga.org/experienceshanga?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ### 8. Maasai Market Market · Rotates on Saturdays between Njiro, Usa River and Haile Selassie Road Beadwork, kangas, soapstone and carvings in narrow aisles, sold largely by the people who made them. It moves: the Saturday market rotates between Njiro Complex, Rivertrees at Usa River and the Oiko grounds. Haggle, and watch your pockets in the crush. - **Time:** 1 hour - **Cost:** Free to browse - **Best at:** Saturday morning - **Tip:** Ask your hotel which of the three sites is hosting that week ### 9. Chemka (Kikuletwa) Hot Springs Hot springs · Near Boma la Ngombe, about 70 km east of Arusha Groundwater off Kilimanjaro surfacing into a fig-shaded pool clear enough to see the roots below you. It is 70 km out and about an hour and twenty each way, so it takes a whole day, and it is the only thing near Arusha that is a swim rather than a viewing. - **Time:** Full day - **Cost:** Gate fee plus transport - **Best at:** Weekday mornings, before the tour vans - **Tip:** The last stretch is rough road, so take a 4x4 or a booked transfer ### 10. Arusha Declaration Museum Museum · Central Arusha, beside the Uhuru roundabout The 1967 Arusha Declaration was signed in this city and committed Tanzania to self-reliance and ujamaa for the next two decades. The museum is small and unglossy, and it is the one place that lays the whole argument out in Nyerere’s own words. - **Time:** 45 minutes - **Cost:** Small admission at the door - **Best at:** Weekday morning - **Tip:** Read it after the Old Boma; together they cover the colonial and independence arc Links: [National Museum of Tanzania](https://www.nmt.go.tz/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ## Safari parks within reach of Arusha The five parks Arusha is the doorway to, with real road distances. 1. **Tarangire National Park** (120 km · about 2 hr · Manyara Region): Baobabs and the densest elephant herds in the north, on the Dodoma road south-west of the city. [TANAPA](https://www.tanzaniaparks.go.tz/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) 2. **Lake Manyara National Park** (125 km · 2 to 3 hr · Manyara Region): A narrow strip between the Rift wall and the lake. Baboons, flamingos and a short first day out. [TANAPA](https://www.tanzaniaparks.go.tz/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) 3. **Ngorongoro Crater** (190 km · 3 to 4 hr · Ngorongoro Conservation Area): A collapsed caldera with resident lion, elephant and rhino, run by its own authority rather than by TANAPA. [NCAA](https://www.ncaa.go.tz/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) 4. **Serengeti National Park** (420 km · fly or a full day · Northern Tanzania): The long drive, and the reason most people came. Around 420 km by road, or a light aircraft hop from Arusha Airport. [TANAPA](https://www.tanzaniaparks.go.tz/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) 5. **Kilimanjaro National Park** (Climbed from Moshi · Kilimanjaro Region): The mountain is climbed from Moshi, but the crews, kit and briefings are Arusha’s business. [TANAPA](https://www.tanzaniaparks.go.tz/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ## Best markets in Arusha Three working markets, none of them built for visitors. 1. **Arusha Central Market (Soko Kuu)** (Daily · Kati): Bondeni Street, and sensory overload: produce, spices, secondhand clothes and carvings in one block. 2. **Kilombero Market** (Daily · Kati): Sokoine Road. The second-largest produce market, and a far easier first visit than Soko Kuu. 3. **Tengeru Market** (Wed and Sat · Tengeru): Wednesdays and Saturdays, 13 km east on the Moshi road. This is where the region actually shops. ## Best restaurants in Arusha Five Arusha tables, from a pavement grill to a hillside terrace. 1. **Khan’s BBQ** (Grill · Central Arusha): A spare-parts shop by day and Arusha’s best-known pavement grill after dark. Mishkaki, chicken, naan, no menu. 2. **The Blue Heron** (Continental · Haile Selassie Road): Continental plates and wood-fired pizza in a garden off Haile Selassie Road. 3. **Onsea House** (Fine dining · North of the centre): A hillside terrace north of the centre with a Belgian-run kitchen, and the view most Arusha kitchens lack. 4. **Africafe Coffee House** (Coffee · Central Arusha): Tanzanian beans roasted properly, and the default Arusha breakfast before a 6am departure. 5. **Fifi’s** (Breakfast · Central Arusha): All-day breakfast and baking, and where the NGO and tour-operator half of the city reads its email. ## Waterfalls around Arusha Three falls on the mountain’s southern slopes, each a morning’s work. 1. **Themi Falls** (5 km · Olgilai): The closest, about 5 km out at Olgilai on Meru’s lower slopes, with a leisure park at the foot. 2. **Napuru Waterfalls** (12 km · 30 to 40 min drive · Meru District): Twelve kilometres from town, then a walk in through farm plots and forest to the pool. 3. **Tululusia Waterfall** (Inside the park · Arusha National Park): A 28 metre drop inside Arusha National Park, reached on foot. A ranger has to walk you in. ## Arusha neighbourhoods Five Arusha wards and what each one is for. 1. **Kati** (Central · Kati): The central business ward: the Clock Tower, Soko Kuu, the Old Boma and most of the safari offices. 2. **Sekei** (Residential · Sekei): North-east of the centre, named for the seki tree that grew here before the town did. 3. **Themi** (Institutional · Themi): The AICC flats and the diplomatic end of the city, on the slope above the Themi river. 4. **Unga Limited** (Industrial · Unga Limited): Named for the flour mill, and still the warehouse and workshop side of Arusha. 5. **Usa River** (Lodges · Meru District): East on the Moshi road, seat of Meru District, and where the lodges and the park turn are. ## Day trips from Arusha Four days out that do not involve a park gate. 1. **Meserani Snake Park** (25 km · Meserani): Twenty-five kilometres west on the Dodoma road: Tanzania’s snakes, a Maasai museum and camel rides. [Meserani Snake Park](https://meseranisnakepark.net/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) 2. **Mto wa Mbu** (120 km · Manyara Region): A village of many tribes at the foot of the Rift wall, and one of Tanzania’s first cultural tourism sites. 3. **Longido** (80 km · Longido District): Eighty kilometres north on the Namanga road: Maasai walks, and a mountain you can climb in a day. 4. **Moshi** (80 km · Kilimanjaro Region): An hour and a half east under Kilimanjaro, slower than Arusha, and the start line of the Kilimanjaro Marathon. ## Arusha landmarks Three places that explain why a safari town has an international quarter. 1. **The Clock Tower** (Free · Kati): The city’s reference point for directions, and the roundabout locals say sits midway between Cairo and Cape Town. 2. **Arusha International Conference Centre** (Exterior only · Themi): Headquarters of the East African Community, seat of the African Court, and where the Rwanda tribunal sat. [East African Community](https://www.eac.int/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) 3. **Arusha Declaration Monument** (Free · Kati): The Uhuru roundabout memorial, unveiled in 1977 for the declaration’s tenth anniversary, panelled with farmers and their tools. ## Festivals & annual events in Arusha (2026) - **Kilimanjaro Marathon** (Late February or early March): Run from Moshi, 80 km east, with a half and a fun run alongside the full distance. - **Karibu-KiliFair** (Early June): East Africa’s largest tourism trade fair, alternating each year between Arusha and Moshi. - **Union Day** (26 April): Marks the 1964 union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. A public holiday, so museums and offices shut. - **Saba Saba** (7 July): Industry and trade day, named for the seventh day of the seventh month. A public holiday. - **Nane Nane** (8 August): Farmers’ day, marked with a week-long agricultural exhibition in each zone. A public holiday. - **Nyerere Day** (14 October): The anniversary of Julius Nyerere’s death in 1999, and a public holiday nationwide. - **Independence Day** (9 December): Tanganyika’s independence from Britain in 1961. Parades, and a public holiday. - **Eid al-Fitr** (Moves with the lunar calendar): Two public holidays close Ramadan. Shops shut and the markets are quiet the morning after. ## Must-try dishes in Arusha, Tanzania - **Nyama choma**: Goat or beef grilled over charcoal, cut at the table and eaten with salt and kachumbari. - **Mishkaki**: Marinated beef skewers off a pavement grill. The default Arusha street dinner. - **Ndizi nyama**: Chagga cooking from the Kilimanjaro slopes: green bananas stewed down with meat. - **Mchemsho**: The northern boiled plate: meat with potato, carrot, plantain and green pepper. - **Chipsi mayai**: Chips folded into an omelette on the same grills. Breakfast or 2am, rarely between. - **Ugali**: Stiff maize meal, torn by hand and used to lift stew. The staple everything is served against. - **Kachumbari**: Raw tomato, onion and chilli cut fine. It arrives with the grill whether you ask or not. - **Mandazi**: Lightly sweet fried dough, sold by the bag at bus stands and eaten with chai. ## Arusha transport & airports - **Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO)**: The long-haul gateway, about 50 km east of Arusha and roughly an hour by road. Shuttles, licensed taxis and lodge transfers all meet arrivals. [Kilimanjaro Airport](https://www.kilimanjaroairport.go.tz/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - **Arusha Airport (ARK)**: A few kilometres west of the centre, and the base for light aircraft to the Serengeti, Manyara and Zanzibar. [Tanzania Airports Authority](https://www.taa.go.tz/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - **Dala dala**: Minibuses running fixed routes and flagged down anywhere along them. A single ride is around TZS 400, paid in cash to the conductor. - **Taxis and Bolt**: Bolt covers the city and settles most short hops at a few thousand shillings. Street taxis are unmetered, so agree the fare before you get in. [Bolt](https://bolt.eu/en/cities/arusha/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ## Arusha at a glance - **Country:** Tanzania - **Region:** Arusha Region, northern Tanzania - **Population:** 617,631 in the city (2022 census) - **Founded:** German garrison post, boma completed 1900 - **Nickname:** The Geneva of Africa, for its tribunals and the East African Community - **Language:** Swahili is official; English carries tourism and business - **Currency:** Tanzanian shilling (TZS) - **Time zone:** East Africa Time (UTC+3), no daylight saving - **Calling code:** +255, area code 027 - **Airports:** Kilimanjaro International (JRO) 50 km east; Arusha Airport (ARK) for light aircraft - **Power:** 230V, 50Hz, plug types D and G - **Emergency:** 112 police, 114 ambulance, 115 fire ## Interesting facts - Tanzanite is mined in about four square kilometres of the Merelani Hills and nowhere else on earth. - The Rwanda tribunal was seated in Arusha from the mid-1990s until it closed in December 2015. - The city is headquarters of the East African Community and seat of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. - The Arusha Declaration of 1967 was signed here and set Tanzania’s course of self-reliance for two decades. - Arusha sits at about 1,400 m, which is why the nights need a jacket in every month of the year. ## Watch [Arusha Travel Guide](https://wimup.com/watch/arusha.md), 11:54 ## Arusha travel FAQ ### Is Arusha worth staying in, or only a stop before the safari? Two days justify it. Arusha National Park is 40 minutes east and is the only northern park you can walk in, and the city holds the tanzanite museum, the Old Boma and three working markets. Most itineraries allow one night, which is one too few. ### When is the best time to visit Arusha? June to October is dry, clear and cool, and it is when the safari parks read best. January and February sit between the two rainy seasons and are a good second choice. The long rains run March to May, the short rains November to December. ### How do you get from Kilimanjaro Airport to Arusha? The airport is about 50 km east and the drive takes roughly an hour. Shuttle buses, licensed taxis and lodge transfers all meet arriving flights. Agree the fare before leaving the terminal if you are taking a street taxi rather than a booked transfer. ### Do you need a visa for Tanzania? Most visitors do. The ordinary single-entry tourist visa costs USD 50 and is applied for through the government eVisa portal before travel. United States passport holders are issued a USD 100 multiple-entry visa instead. Approval usually takes a few working days. ### Can you climb Mount Meru without doing Kilimanjaro? Yes, and plenty of people climb it as the acclimatisation trek before Kilimanjaro. The Momella route takes three or four days from Arusha National Park, with huts at 2,514 m and 3,566 m. An armed ranger walks with every group and unguided ascents are not allowed. ## Nearby guides - [Nairobi](https://wimup.com/city/nairobi.md): Kenya · 10 picks - [Mombasa](https://wimup.com/city/mombasa.md): Kenya · 10 picks - [Zanzibar](https://wimup.com/city/zanzibar.md): Tanzania · 10 picks - [All of Africa →](https://wimup.com/africa): 69 cities Part of the [Tanzania guide](https://wimup.com/country/tanzania.md) · [Africa](https://wimup.com/africa.md) ## Sources - [Arusha National Park: TANAPA](https://www.tanzaniaparks.go.tz/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Cultural Heritage Centre: Cultural Heritage](https://culturalheritagetz.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [The Tanzanite Experience: Tanzanite Experience](https://www.tanzaniteexperience.com/tanzanite-museum/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Natural History Museum at the Old Boma: National Museum of Tanzania](https://www.nmt.go.tz/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Shanga at Burka Coffee Estate: Shanga](https://www.shanga.org/experienceshanga?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Ngorongoro Crater: NCAA](https://www.ncaa.go.tz/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Meserani Snake Park: Meserani Snake Park](https://meseranisnakepark.net/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Arusha International Conference Centre: East African Community](https://www.eac.int/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO): Kilimanjaro Airport](https://www.kilimanjaroairport.go.tz/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Arusha Airport (ARK): Tanzania Airports Authority](https://www.taa.go.tz/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Taxis and Bolt: Bolt](https://bolt.eu/en/cities/arusha/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.