North to Kilimanjaro and Moshi travel guide

The main road out of Dar es Salaam travels inland and joins the highway that runs the length of Tanzania and effectively links Kenya to the north with Malawi to the south. Travelling north from Dar to Arusha is a scenic drive of some 650 km, through extensive farmland and sisal plantations with the ever-present backdrop of the Pare and Usambara mountain ranges to the east. The main road is very busy, with a steady stream of buses linking Dar with Arusha, and the small regional towns offer petrol stations and services for bus passengers and drivers wishing to take a break from their journey. Away from the main road is the small mountain town of Lushoto, which is very attractive and a recommended spot for some good hiking in the hills. The forests and mountain scenery of the Usambara are not what is normally expected by visitors to Tanzania. Moshi is the town at the foot of Kilimanjaro and climbs start just a few kilometres away at the entrance of the Kilimanjaro National Park. On the approach to Moshi you may well be rewarded with a glimpse of the snow- capped top of Kili when the mists lift off the summit in the late afternoon. Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is an adventurous break from game viewing and reaching the ‘Roof of Africa’ is one of the continent’s greatest challenges. It is the highest mountain in the world that can simply be walked up.