It was mission impossible. To just. go off on a solo adventure in Tanzania seemed like I was trying to break the law. From necessary park rangers, to required guidesby government law, it was just never allowed. Finally, I heard it was legal. tohike alone in Usambara, mostly because it’s not a hiking destination and just a connected village route. However, even still many people tried to convince me I would have to hire a guide.
It’s expensive but also limits your experience. If you are always with a guide who organizes everything and talks with locals you miss out on those interactions. Locals also interact with you differently when you are with a guide. It might not sound like a big deal but there’s a reason Usambara was close to my favorite trek in Tanzania. It was chill, on my terms and I had some unique and funny interactions with locals that would never have happened under the watchful eye of a worried guide.
This week I spent the entire seven days in Usambara. I took the bus to and from Arusha on eight and twelve hour journeys and then hiked from Lushoto to Mtae.
The Usambara Mountains are one of the hidden gems of Tanzania. A rich biodiversity hotspot with lush forests, incredible cliffs and mountain ranges, a network of local villages, and rare wildlife such as chameleons. Lushoto is the main town in the region and acts as the entry point to the mountains. It’s here that I began my journey as I trekked all the way to Mtae, passing through villages and forests throughout my 82-kilometer journey.
I wrote a huge 5,000 word blog post about the experience and I really hope you check that out here: USAMBARA MOUNTAINS: HIKING ALONE FROM LUSHOTO TO MTAE
I’ll add some of my favorite photos from the trek below but for all the photos, stories and details about the trek do check the link above.
Said
Monday 3rd of July 2023
Hope all is good with you. We greet you from Usambara mountain.
BOOK A TOUR WITH LOCAL ORGANISATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE ECO CULTURAL TOURISM AND SUPPORT LOCAL ECONOMY.
In Usambara we have been running cultural tourism for such a long time and the world appreciate this initiative as it improve life of the locals in many ways such as provision of employment to young people who work as tour guides as well as environmental conservation using money obtained from the tour activities.
The government along with international organisation initiated cultural tourism programmes so as to fight poverty in local level and improve people's living standard and this is the ​world millennia goals to eradicate poverty in developing countries
By encouraging a tour without a guide in Usambara through blog posts you are discouraging and kill the entire sustainable cultural tourism in Usambara and all offices will be closed. All environmental care initiatives taken by these organisation will stop.
Remember tour guides works with registered local organisations which pays taxes and do a lot to the community. It does not make sense for a tourist to climb Kilimanjaro+ safari and pay 3000 USD and when he comes to Usambara does a tour alone to save 90 USD and take part in dicouraging and killing cultural tourism initiatives.
Now days we witness groups of tourist who hates tour guides and local organisations in Usambara so as they can do trip on their own without a guide or local office and as a result it creates a gap between locals and foreigners.
This started soon after blogers started writing about Usambara that you don't need a guide for cultural experiences which is not true meaning for the cultural interaction .
Dear bloggers You can not easily understand the negative impact you have caused to the Usambara community whose daily life depend on tourism through your posts. The wearer of the shoe knows where it pinches.
Some professional tour guides of Usambara are now moving to other urban areas to look for jobs out of their professions some are now motor bike riders working as taxes, these are some of the negative impacts.
We know blogers make money by using blogs as you promote others people's business ,get followers but we kindly ask you to appreciate the initiatives of the locals and let tourists decide on their own on what to do rather than reading on blog which mis lead them on how to do things they way they did.
One tourist got lost in Magamba forest after reading the blog post and then asked for our support to go get him out.
Sometimes we go discovering beautiful routes to connect villages and attractions but once blogers are familiar with these routes they start promoting them as guide free route without even appreciating the work of those who sweat for that. Now we realized that our enemy is not the tourists but the blogers who make money online by sharing informations. THANKS.