Tours in Mto wa mbu

Its extraordinary diversity. Over 120 ethnic groups live in this one village, drawn from every corner of Tanzania by irrigated farmland fed by water running off the Rift Valley escarpment, and it is often described as the only settlement in the country where all of Tanzania's major language families are spoken together. That mix shows in the market, the food and the crafts. It is also the last reliable place to buy supplies before Ngorongoro.

It is one of the oldest and best-organised cultural tourism programmes in Tanzania, and considerably more substantive than the village visits sold at many safari stops. Walks take in banana beer brewing, Makonde ebony carving, rice paddies and irrigated smallholdings, typically over two to three hours. Book through the official cultural tourism office rather than roadside touts so that fees reach the community and fund the schools and clinics they support.

It sits directly at the Lake Manyara National Park gate, about two hours from Arusha, and every northern circuit itinerary passes through on the way to Ngorongoro and the Serengeti. Most visitors stop for lunch or a cultural walk rather than staying overnight, though there are lodges. It works well as a half day paired with a Lake Manyara game drive, or as a practical lunch stop on longer driving days.

It translates from Swahili as River of Mosquitoes, a reference to the wetland conditions created by streams running off the escarpment onto the valley floor. Those same waters are what make the area so unusually fertile and drew farmers from across the country in the first place. Malaria prophylaxis and repellent are sensible precautions, though the village is no worse than anywhere else on the Rift Valley floor. The village is also the last reliable place to buy fresh produce, water and fuel before the climb toward Ngorongoro.

Makonde ebony carving is the speciality, produced in workshops along the main road by artisans from the far south of Tanzania, and quality varies enormously so it is worth looking at several before buying. Beadwork, batik and paintings are also widely sold. Prices along the roadside are set high for passing safari vehicles, so negotiate firmly, or buy through the cultural tourism office where prices are more transparent. Arrive in the morning rather than the afternoon, both for the light and because the market is at its most active early.

Most visitors do not, treating the village as a stop between Arusha and Ngorongoro, but an overnight has real advantages. It puts you at the Lake Manyara gate at opening rather than mid-morning, allows the longer version of the cultural walk that reaches the outlying farms, and lets you see the market early when it is busiest. Several comfortable lodges sit just outside the village. Book cultural walks through the official tourism office rather than with people offering along the roadside.

Mbege is brewed from ripe bananas mixed with millet flour and left to ferment, producing a cloudy, mildly alcoholic drink that has been made in this region for generations. It is genuinely part of daily social life rather than a tourist demonstration, and most cultural walks include a visit to a homestead where it is brewed and a chance to taste it. The flavour is sour and unlike commercial beer.

The village lies about 120 kilometres west of Arusha, roughly two hours on good tarmac, directly at the Lake Manyara park gate. Every northern circuit vehicle passes through it, so any safari operator will include a stop on request. Light aircraft also serve the Lake Manyara airstrip a short distance away, with connections from Arusha, the Serengeti and Zanzibar for visitors on shorter itineraries. The village is also the last reliable place to buy fresh produce, water and fuel before the climb toward Ngorongoro.