WHAT TO DO IN IRINGA
Ruaha national park is one of the few
Tanzania’s famous wilderness area where one can have a rare experience of game
viewing spiced up by the fascinating landscape. The park is rich of plants and
animals such as Greater Kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) which can not be
found in any other national park. The park boasts of her almost untouched and
unexplored ecosystem, making visitors’ safari experience very unique.
The Great Ruaha River as other rivers like Mwagusi, Jongomero and Mzombe save as the life line of the park. During dry season, these rivers become mostly the main source of water for wildlife. There are few natural springs saving the same purpose.
In the pick of dry season, elephants obtain water from dry sand rivers using their front feet and trunks. The remaining water falls along the Great Ruaha River are also important habitat for hippopotamus, fish and crocodiles.
Official Ruaha National Park page
2. IsimilaStone-age Site
Isimila
Stone-age Site is 16km’s from Iringa from the bottom of the hill turning
towards Mbeya. The site occupies what was once a lake bed, many stone age tools
and the bones and skeletons of prehistoric animals have been discovered there.This
is one of the most interesting stone age sites in East Africa and is well worth
a visit
The site was
discovered in 1951 by Mr. D.A.Maclennan of the St. Peters School in
Johannesburg, South Africa who was on his way from Nairobi to Johannesburg. He
collected some stone tools from the site and deposited them for the
archeological survey. The first excavation work at the site was carried out by
experts from Chicago University in USA. These were Dr. F. Clark Howell and his
fellow Director Dr. Glan Colen.
The work took
place between July-November 1957. Both directors were accompanied by a Tanzanian
scholar Mr. Mturi who by then represented Tanganyika’s government. Ten years
later, they were followed by Dr. C.M.Keller and Dr. Carl Hansen both from Illon
University in USA. During these two excavations, Dr. F.G.Haldeman and Dr.
R.Pickening of geological survey in Dodoma also carried geological survey of
the Isimila site.
The area has
become one of the most tourist sites in the country attracting over 25,000
visitors per year, both local and foreign tourists. According to a tour guide
Mr. Lihoha, great number of foreign tourists comes from the USA, UK and German.
According to him, foreigners pays Tshs. 3,000/- per person while an ordinary
Tanzanian who is not a student pays Tshs. 1,000/-.
Students from
higher learning institutions pays Tsh. 500/- while students from secondary
schools and pupils from primary schools pays Tsh 200/- each. The Isimila site
museum therefore present ethnographic, historical and archeological material
from the Southern Highlands region of Tanzania purposely to highlight people’s
ingenuity as manifested by material culture showing technological continuity
and innovations.
3. Kalenga
Kalenga is a very
historical village, this was the headquarters of Chief Mkwawa,the place from
where he commanded the whole of Hehe region. His official residence and
military base were inside a stone fort called Lipuli.
Chief Mkwawa's fortress
was 12 feet high and eight miles long. The fort was built for four years, it is
estimated that it was started in 1887at a time when Chief Mkwawa knew about
German activities near the coast.Chief Mkwawa got the idea from seeing other
stone forts in Unyamwezi or the building of Arabs and Europeans near the coast.
When you visit Kalenga, you will find a small museum housing Chief Mkwawa's skull. The museum is also decorated with his weapons including clubs, spears, shields and guns. Outside the museum there are two tombs, there is a tomb of Chief Sapi Mkwawa the throne successor and that of Chief Adam Sapi Mkwawa the grandson of Chief Mkwawa.
About 500 meters from the museum you will find a tomb
with a small monument. The tomb holds the body of Commander Erich Maas.
Commander Erich Maas was shot dead by one of the Hehe soldiers during hours of
hand-to-hand fighting when Germans managed to break into the fort.
Gangilonga Rock (talking stone). This large rock
gives you great views over Iringa. To get to it you have to walk out past
Lulu's/bakery/Ruaha Club way through the well-off suburb where all the rich NGO
and government workers houses are. The rock itself is covered in graffiti from
Local youth.
Gangilonga Rock (The talking stone, a description
in Hehe tribe), a site just outside of the town, is a legendary spot where the
Hehe Chief at that time, met with senior Hehe tribesmen to mediate on how to
fight the Germans.
Today, the rock provides an excellent views of the town and
the surrounding countryside. Historically, Iringa was also the site of several
battles during the first and second world wars, and commonwealth war graves are
located just at the town centre.
