Arusha (Region)
Arusha is one of Tanzania's 26 administrative regions.
General
The capital and largest city of the region is also called Arusha. Other important cities in the region are Monduli south, Longido and Loliondo to the north, Mto wa Mbu and Karatu to the west and Usa River to the east of Arusha.
The region consists of five districts: Ngorongoro, Monduli, Karatu, Arumeru and Arusha. The Regional Commissioner of the region is Mohamed A. Babu. According to a census in 2002 there were at this time in the Arusha Region 1,292,973 people. For 2010, it was assumed that a population amounting to 1.66478 million.
The town of Arusha lies at the southern foot of Mount Meru. Since this area has a sufficient amount of water, it is densely populated and is used for agriculture. Most residents speak Swahili, the official language of Tanzania, and their own tribal language. Many also speak English as an educational and lingua franca.
The Maasai are an influential tribe in the region. They live on the edge of Mount Meru, in Rwa, Mbulu, Iraqw, Temi, Mbugwe and other smaller towns. The city of Arusha is suffering from increasing urbanization, as rural people moving into the city to find work.
Tourism
As the center of the Safari Tourism in Tanzania, the Arusha region is a popular tourist destination. In 2004, 250,000 tourists visited the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to the west of the region. Other National Parks of Arusha region are the Serengeti ( the majority, however, lies in the region of Mara ), the Arusha National Park, Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park and a World Heritage Site designated by UNESCO Kilimanjaro. The Great Rift Valley of the village Engaruka stone structures were found in the vicinity which are several thousand years old.
Geography
The Great Rift Valley divides Tanzania from north to south. The Oldoinyo Lengai ( the Maasai language mountain of God) is an active volcano in the north of the Ngorongoro Crater. The differences in height in the region are very large, on average, between 900 meters and 1600 meters. The Mount Meru, the second highest mountain in Tanzania is 4562 meters high.
Former parts of the region of Arusha as the southern Kiteto, Babati, Mbulu, Hanang and a small part of Monduli were recently combined to Manyara region.
Transportation
Most roads in the region are not paved, but there are three main asphalt roads. The first runs from the east to the Kilimanjaro International Airport. It runs from east of Arusha town to Arusha, then runs north through the Mount Meru region and ends in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Therefore, it is also commonly referred to as the Nairobi road. The second begins in the town of Arusha and runs west through Kisongo, Meserani and Monduli. After 50 miles, near Mto wa Mbu, the road bends to the south, past the Lake Manyara and Babati and ends in the capital, Dodoma. This street is therefore also called Dodoma Road. The third, newly built road leads from Dodoma via Mto wa Mbu and ends at the Ngorongoro Crater. This road is mainly used by tourists.
The Arusha region is landlocked and there is no beschiffbaren rivers. The great lakes in the Great Rift Valley are not used for transportation.
The Kilimanjaro International Airport serves the two cities Arusha and Moshi as a transportation center and a focal point for tourists. The airport is shared by the airlines Air Tanzania, Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways and KLM.
Public transport in Tanzania consist mainly of large tour buses. Only in the larger cities, there are also minibuses, known as Dala- Dalas jockey for the passengers. In addition, performs a railway from Moshi to Arusha via Dar Es Salaam as well as Voi in Kenya.
In addition, there are numerous unofficial taxi companies, which are mainly used by tourists. But many of these companies are aimed at the exploitation of their unsuspecting customers.