Arusha

🚴 Cycling in Tanzania: The Ultimate Immersive Adventure

Cycling in Tanzania moves travelers off the beaten path and brings them closer to the local culture and breathtaking landscapes than any vehicle can. It is an active way to experience the transition from high mountains to open savannahs.

1. Cultural & Village Cycling Tours

These are generally easy, half-day to full-day excursions that focus on cultural connection and local life. They are an excellent add-on to any safari itinerary.

The Experience: You ride through vibrant farming communities on gentle dirt tracks, often alongside local residents. The pace is relaxed, allowing for spontaneous interaction.

Key Locations:

Mto wa Mbu: Cycling through banana plantations and local craft markets near Lake Manyara.

Moshi/Kilimanjaro Slopes: Riding through coffee and banana farms, often combined with a visit to a Chagga village or a local waterfall (like Materuni).

Significance: This is a low-impact activity suitable for all fitness levels, offering the deepest level of cultural immersion.

2. Cycling Safaris (Wildlife on Two Wheels)

While cycling is prohibited in the core national parks (Serengeti, Ngorongoro), specialized areas allow you to ride alongside plains game.

Arusha National Park: This is one of the rare places you can cycle inside a National Park. Accompanied by an armed ranger, you cycle the lower slopes of Mount Meru, frequently encountering giraffes, buffalo, and zebras, making for a truly unique, adrenaline-pumping safari experience.

The Rift Valley: Cycling on the edges of protected areas, offering views of the vast plains, potential sightings of wildlife, and the dramatic backdrop of the Great Rift Valley escarpment.

3. Multi-Day Expeditions & Mountain Biking

For the dedicated adventurer, cycling can be the main focus of the trip:

Kilimanjaro Routes: Full-vehicle supported multi-day cycling tours skirt the base of Mount Kilimanjaro, linking small villages and providing stunning scenery. The Kilema Route is the only officially permitted route to ascend the mountain by mountain bike.

Great Rift Valley Descent: Challenging routes descending from the high Ngorongoro Conservation Area down to Lake Natron, combining serious cycling with authentic cultural engagement.

A is an overland journey, usually a trip by tourists to Africa. In the past, the trip was often a big-game hunt, but today, safari often refers to trips to observe and photograph wildlife—or hiking and sightseeing, as well.

The Swahili word safari means journey, originally from the Arabic meaning a journey; the verb for “to travel” in Swahili is kusafiri. These words are used for any type of journey, e.g. by bus from Nairobi to Mombasa or by ferry from Dar es Salaam to Unguja. Safari entered the English language at the end of the 1850s thanks to Richard Francis Burton, the famous explorer.
The Regimental March of the King’s African Rifles was ‘Funga Safari’, literally ‘tie up the March’, or, in other words, pack up equipment ready to march.

In 1836 William Cornwallis Harris led an expedition purely to observe and record wildlife and landscapes by the expedition’s members. Harris established the safari style of journey, starting with a not too strenuous rising at first light, an energetic day walking, an afternoon rest then concluding with a formal dinner and telling stories in the evening over drinks and tobacco.