Mbeya

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The mountains surrounding Mbeya

Mbeya is a city located in southwest Tanzania, Africa. Mbeya's urban population was 280,000 in 2005. Mbeya is the capital of the surrounding rural Mbeya region (population, with Mbeya, totals approx. 2 million).

Mbeya is the first large urban settlement encountered when travelling overland from the neighbouring nation of Zambia. Mbeya is situated at an altitude of 1,700m/5500ft, and sprawls through a narrow highland valley surrounded by a bowl of high mountains. The main language is colloquial Swahili, and the English language is extensively taught in schools.

1 History
2 Economy and infrastructure
3 Geography and climate
- 3.1 Mountain reserves and wildlife
- 3.2 Rivers
4 Tourism
5 External links

[edit] History

Following the 1905 gold rush, Mbeya was founded as a gold mining town in the 1920s. The TAZARA railway later attracting farming migrants and small entrepreneurs to the area. Mbeya and its district was administered by the British until 1961. Mbeya Region was created in 1961.

[edit] Economy and infrastructure

Local government is admistered via the Mbeya Urban District authority and a Regional Commissioner.

Services and corrugated iron roofing are seemingly the main business activities, after smallholder agriculture. Local crops include maize, rice, bananas and potatoes. Tanzania has a free market in agricultural produce, and Mbeya transports vast amounts of its maize to other areas of Tanzania. There is also extensive animal husbandry, with dairy cattle predominating. Smallholder agriculture is not standardised; methods vary greatly and are often innovative. High-value export crops are also grown, such as tea and coffee. There is some smallholder cultivation of tobacco. Firewood is collected by women and girls, from the wooded valleys and mountainsides. Bamboo is naturally abundant in the forests, and there are plans to teach local people about this versatile plant and its many uses. Some gold is still mined in the rural Chunya District, by artisan miners.

There is a large 450-bed hospital in Mbeya. It serves the whole of the Southern Highlands region, although there is a severe shortage of trained medical staff. Eight miles from Mbeya is a large agricultural training college, MATI Uyole, which has a large specialist library.

There are also number of schools, churches, a regional police headquarters, and a petrol station in Mbeya. As well as the usual shops, there is a fixed vegetable and fresh produce marketplace. Mbeya provides a variety of services, including the 'Baba Kubwa' Indian restaurant and internet cafes.

Mbeya has extensive outskirts, with the worst poverty concentrated at the fringes.

[edit] Geography and climate

The general range of temperature is between -6°C in the highlands and 29°C on the lowlands. Mbeya's cooler climate can be deceptive in terms of sun exposure - sun screen lotion is recommended when hiking, even in what seems to be overcast weather. The best weather is from June until October, when it is dry and warm.

The area enjoys abundant and reliable rainfall which stimulates abundant agriculture on the rich volcanic soils. Average rainfall per year is around 900mm. The rainy season is from November to May. It is cool and misty in Mbeya much of the time. Sometimes visitors will need warm clothing, such as a sweater or hat, to keep warm.

[edit] Mountain reserves and wildlife

The area around Mbeya has been called the "Scotland of Africa", and with good reason. The hills are clad in heather and bracken, but botanically they are more closely related to the Fynbos (fine bush) of South Africa’s Western Cape Province than the Highlands of Scotland. The nearest mountain to Mbeya is Loleza Mountain, which rises over the town.

Mount Rungwe is the highest mountain in the wider Mbeya region and it dominates the skyline for several kilometers around. It is composed of ten or more dormant volcanic craters and domes. Rising above the small town of Tukuyu, at 2,960m, Rungwe is southern Tanzania's highest peak, and is third in Tanzania after Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru in the north. Mount Rungwe is surrounded by the catchments forest reserve that was gazetted in 1949. This forest reserve incorporates montane forest, upper montane forest and montane grassland, with lesser amounts of bushland and heath at the upper elevations, found in low bushes along streams and at the edges of montane forest. The forest is home to a variety of significant forest flora and fauna, including the threatened Abbot's Duiker. The forest is regarded as important bird area, with two species listed as vulnerable. The most notable creatures are Rungwe Bush Viper and Colobus monkeys.

Also ecologically important are the Poroto Mountains, south-east of Mbeya. In 2005, a completely new species of large monkey was discovered living in the southern highlands to the south-west of Mbeya. The Mbeya region has not yet been closely studied by scientists, and doubtless there are also many new species of plants to be discovered there, and perhaps even new animals.

Forests in the area, even in the reserves, continue to be enroached upon and degraded. However, there has also been extensive tree and forest planting, which ensures the local firewood supply. There is a small illicit trade in orchid bulbs, which is thought to be endangering the survival of some species.

[edit] Rivers

Catchments from the reserve feeds numerous villages and towns from Kiwira to Katumba to Tukuyu and Kandete, and all settlements in between. All streams from the north, west and southwest flow into the Kiwira River. These streams include the Marogala, Sinini, Kipoke, Kilasi and Mulagala. In the southeast is the source of the Mbaka River, with the Suma River feeding into it. In the east the Mrambo and the Mwatisi flow out of the reserve. All of the above rivers flow into Lake Nyasa. The region's rivers are generally clear and fresh, and the area is outside the mosquito zone. Freshwater fish abound in the rivers. Other rivers flow from various sources in a catchment divide at the area called Igoma in Mbeya rural district. Also, Igoma is a dividing watershed for the two river systems, those flowing southward to lake Nyasa and those flowing northward towards the Usangu plains. The rivers flowing norhtwards are Ipatagwa, Mlowo Mwambalizi and other minor ones and are among tributaries of the great Ruaha River which flows into Indian Ocean.

[edit] Tourism

The best weather is from June until October, when it is dry and warm. Mbeya can be reached by bus services along tarmac roads, or via the TAZARA railway line from the capital (approx. 300-miles, two overnight passenger trains per week). An airport is marked on maps, but this now seems to be defunct.

There are game watching safaris, and also trout fishing in the mountains to the south. There are efforts to widen tourism beyond animal and wild game viewing, which can best be done in Madibila and Rujewa.

Mbeya is the best place in Tanzania for hiking and forest walking; which is aided by the cooler climate, friendly villages and pure clear water in the river catchments. Well-defined hiking trails have been established to enable hikers to reach the elevated areas and bio-diverse highlands, although the trails need to be properly mapped. For self-sufficient hikers, some of the best, and least known trekking in Africa is in the Poroto Mountains around the small town of Tukuyu.

Botanical excursions are also promoted, due to the presence of the natural flower garden at Kitulo.

Recommended lodgings include: the Karabuni Center in Mbeya, the Mbeya Hotel, the Holiday Lodge, the Highlands and the Moravian Youth Hostel for budget travellers. South of Mbeya, signposted off the main road into Zambia, the Utengele Country Resort is a charming country hotel with excellent food and a vibrant pub.