We are intending to do some walking in the Usumbara Mountains in July after a safari that finishes in Arusha. We would prefer all money we spend to go to the locals but also want to be safe. Can you walk without a guide from village to village safely and organise accommodation and food along the way -if your language is limited to a swahili phrase book and a few basic greetings?
If not ,can you get a local guide easily and what would we expect to pay. Some of the organised walking trips seem incredibly expensive. Any suggestions? We would love to see some of the programs that schools and development groups are running and possibly do some volunteer work along the way
What will it cost to get a clean room for the night and is it hard to get one with a good mosquito net and some water for washing.
We were thinking of walking for 5 or 6 days.
Also, we haven't got our tickets back to Nairobi yet. Can you get flights easily from Dar and Zanzibar or do we really need to book in advance. We don't really want to stay in Nairobi any longer than necessary before we fly out on the 6th.
Any feedback on any of this would be greatly appreciated
Kathie
Check out Tayodea - Tanga Youth development association. They are a local group, great guys, that do walks for resonably prices, as far as I remember.
Walking to Irente viewpoint on your own is no problem if you stick to the main track, but for the longer routes you really need a knowledgable guide who knows the language and the paths.
Hi! I went trekking in the Usambara Mountains back in Janurary. On the advise of a friend who had been a few months earlier we headed for Lushoto on the bus and then went to the 'Friends of Usambara Society' at the Tourist Information Centre. They run loads of different excursions but we picked a three night guided walk. It cost about 120,000 TZ shillings which is $100 per person - all-inclusive bar extra drinking water. I think that's a rather good price personally although of course you could do it cheaper independantly. However, there is no way we would have been able to find our way along some of the farm paths without our excellent guide Kiki and we would have missed the pleasure of his company. Plus when you are without a guide there is much higher chance of being hassled and unofficial guides latching on to you.
The only bad part of the trip was the first nights accommodation which was seriously basic. After that however, we stayed in a beautiful convent which was incredilby relaxing and the nun's cooking was great! Then we stayed in a more modern guesthouse on the third night. Over-all it was an amazing experience which I would fully reccommend.
We stayed in Lushoto a few more nights for independant trekking but this is only really possible along roads and well established routes. Don't pay anyone to take you to Irente View Point -its easy to find and there is a great farm you can eat at! But you'll no doubt get offers of guides as you walk. Enjoy this beautiful area!
This sounds great too and very reasonable. We had seen trips for hundreds a day advertised!! Do you think it would be possible to do some walking in east and west usumbaras in a week? Also if you are happy with the guide can you extend your trip do you think or do they all stick to certain areas and have to be back at the arranged time
The espensive trek you have seen may have been within a NP or conservation area, like for example the (very beautiful) Crater Highlands Trek, starting near Ngorongoro, or of course Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Meru. The Usambara mountains are different in that you don't have to pay any government fees for entry or accomodation, so the fees you pay are for the services of the guide (and his agency) and food and accomodation only.
It's a different kind of trekking, though, as it won't be in a remote wilderness area, but in a fairly densely populated area, where you will be walking through and staying in villages and small towns.
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