Machame Nkweshoo:
Africa Natural Tours
AFRICA
NATURAL TOURS (The best tour company in Tanzania)
Specialized
in: Mountain climbing, Wildlife safaris, Cultural tourism and Beach holidays
Contact
+255 653 679 958 OR +255 692 436 113
Established
in June 2008 with the Vision of Making Kilimanjaro a green village through
tourism. People of Machame-Nkweshoo welcome you to explore the cultural and
natural heritage of Wachagga ethnic group that lives on the green slopes of Mt.
Kilimanjaro.
During
your visit, you will enjoy a beautiful landscape with great valleys, deep
gorges, rivers, natural forest and local agricultural activities on small
farms. You will interact with local people and get an opportunity to listen to
their stories about their culture, history and way of life.
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The tour in Machame-Nkweshoo includes:
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A warm welcome in a local Chagga household
*
Get an opportunity to learn how to prepare local dishes
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A guided visit to Nkosalulu water falls and Coffee farms
*
A visit to one of the Oldest Church buildings
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A visit to the caves used as hiding places during tribal wars
*
A view of the old coins
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An opportunity to learn Chagga relics, stories and old tools that have been
used since the ancient times
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A visit to the local market
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Kilimanjaro trekking
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A walking tour through coffee and banana farmlands to the dense Kilimanjaro
natural forests for acclimatization along fast flowing streams before climbing
the mountain
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A home-stay experience before and after your wildlife safari or mountain
climbing expedition
*
A visit to view points for Mt. Kilimanjaro
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A visit to environmental conservation project-tree nursery
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A visit to several development projects in the area such as coffee production,
bee-keeping, schools, health care and community library
A visit to old Chagga Caves (4 hours
tour)
These
are massive underground tunnels (some caves reaching several kilometers) are
dwellings where the Chagga tribes hide from Maasai warriors during intertribal
wars. Appreciate the architectural designs of the caves and listen to stories
on how they were effective as hiding tunnels. You will get the full story of
this war and the caves from our experienced guide when you arrive at the cave.
An insight in local c
offee
production (2-4 hours tour)
Walk
through coffee and banana farms to learn how coffee is grown, harvested and
prepared into a cup of coffee in local people’s style. This is a wonderful
opportunity to learn local skillfull practices of producing the best quality
Arabica coffee using traditional ways. While drinking a locally prepared cup of
coffee, you will also be getting stories of how local farms are managed and
different ways of preparing and processing coffee.
A visit to the Local Market (3-5
hours tour)
‘Get a taste of Kalali market’
A
walk through a local community market on Mondays and Thursdays will give you a
good perspective on how Machame people live, eat and interact to each others.
This tour will give you an insight into local economy and daily life activities
of Chagga people.
A visit to oldest churches
An
opportunity to visit places where the first German Missionary to Machame area
visited many years ago. Explore some of the remaining memorial stones some put
in place by Mr. Johannes Rebmann, who came to Machame in the 1840s and built
the first church in the area. Get an insight on how these missionaries worked
to expand the missionary tasks in other parts of Kilimanjaro and the rest of
Tanzania. Take a walk to explore the route of the missionaries in the area and
enjoy the scenery, people and various old buildings.
A visit to the waterfalls (3 hours
tour)
Take
a walk to Nkosalulu waterfalls in Makoa River that flows from Mt Kilimanjaro
forest. The river with its waterfalls is surrounded by banana and coffee farms,
where visitors will see the indigenous people farming by traditional means.
A visit to local schools (3 hours
tour)
An
opportunity to visit local primary schools (age 7-15) and secondary schools
(age 15-20). You will be able to interact with both pupils/students and
teachers in classrooms and outside.
Other activities;
Environmental
conservation initiative. Get a glimpse of how the locals conserve their
beautiful environment. The guide will explain how the conservation activities
such as rainwater harvesting undertaken in the area are ideal for a rural
setting. All visitors who visit us will get involved in tree planting
activities for at least one or two trees and hence become part of our
conservation project. This starts with a short walk to the tree nursery owned
by Machame- Rural Action Women Group that is responsible for making Kilimanjaro
and the world at large a nice place to live.
A traditional dance
While
enjoying your stay in Machame, Chagga traditional dances are exciting and
provide a good lesson on various cultural aspects. Amazingly, you will notice
that various dances have specific meanings. You are welcome to dance with us.
A visit to a local brew plant
A
journey of 3 hours takes us to a brewing site where a local drink ‘mmbege’ is
brewed. Get to know all procedures for brewing as some will be practised on
your presence. The raw materials and utensils used being very local and yet ‘a
sweet wine’ is prepared. You are welcome for tasting and drinking. A great
secret is in this wine; listen to nice stories about this local brew. You will
appreciate its value in this community.
Batik making and weaving
While
enjoying God’s ministries in Chaggaland, you will be allowed to participate in
the art of cloth processing using local procedures and weaving of various
decorative stuff using different raw materials such as banana fibres. Pick some
batik for friends and relatives.
Tour guides
The
majority of tour guides of Machame-Nkweshoo Cultural Tourism Programme are
women of the Wachaga tribe who know well the area, their culture and history
and speak English. Bookings for various excursions and tours can be made at
Tanzania Tourist Board's Tourist Information Office in Arusha or through your
tour operators/travel agents/lodge and hotel operators.
Where to stay
Machame-Nkweshoo
Cultural Tourism offers decent accommodation services in a campsite and a
number of homestay facilities. There is a campground with modern toilet
facilities, a beautiful garden full of flowers and clean water supply. Camping
gear for hire at reasonable prices is available in Moshi town.
Getting there
Machame-Nkweshoo
Cultural Tourism Enterprise is located in Machame, 10 minutes drive from the
junction next to Kilimanjaro Machine Tools along the Arusha-Moshi Highway. The
junction is a 20 minutes from Moshi and 30 minutes drive from Kilimanjaro
International Airport and a one-hour drive from Arusha. (Income from tourist
visit is used to subsidise various women and youth development activities
within the area, renovate school facilities and fund environmental conservation
initiatives).
For more information visit www.africanaturaltours.com
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