Things to do in Arusha

Arusha sits at about 1,350m. Nights are cool enough that a fleece earns its place in the bag. The clock tower marks the centre, once wrongly billed as the midpoint between Cairo and Cape Town.

The gateway to the northern circuit

Most visitors barely see the town itself before a safari vehicle collects them the next morning. A market, a few good coffee shops and a Maasai market for souvenirs fill the rest of a stopover day. That's about all there is.

• Arusha National Park. Under an hour out, Mount Meru's forest and crater floor, walkable with an armed ranger.
• Lake Duluti. A crater lake close to town, canoeing and a short forest walk.
• Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, Serengeti. The northern circuit parks, from two to seven hours out by road.
• Kilimanjaro International Airport. About an hour away, roughly midway to Moshi.

The circuit, park by park

Tarangire, the closest of the big parks at around two hours, is known for its baobabs and elephant herds. Lake Manyara, another hour on, adds flamingos and tree-climbing lions on a good day. Both work as a single long day from here.

Ngorongoro Crater is four hours away. There's a steep per-vehicle fee for the descent into it, on top of the park fee itself.

Serengeti is further still. It runs six to eight hours by road, and many visitors fly in from Arusha instead. A three-day loop through Tarangire, Lake Eyasi and Ngorongoro covers all three without that final push.

Practical

• Weather. Tempered by altitude: warmer months October-March (24-29C by day) and a cooler, drier June-August (21-26C), with rain heaviest March-May and a lighter spell October-December.
• Getting around. Kilimanjaro International Airport is about an hour away; almost every safari includes vehicle transfers, so a taxi in town is rarely needed.
• What to book ahead. Ngorongoro's crater descent and Serengeti flights fill up in the July-October peak; book a multi-day safari weeks, not days, ahead.
• Tipping. Guides and drivers are tipped per day of the safari, in cash, separate from any tip left at a lodge.