Arusha, Tanzania

🇹🇿 Arusha is a city in north eastern Tanzania and the capital of the Arusha Region. Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern branch of the Great Rift Valley, Arusha has a temperate climate. The city is close to the Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Lake Manyara National Park, Olduvai Gorge, Tarangire National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro, and Mount Meru in the Arusha National Park and is thus considered the safari capital of the world.

Arusha is a major international diplomatic hub. It hosts the East African Community. It is a multicultural city with a majority Tanzanian population of mixed backgrounds: indigenous African, Arab-Tanzanian and Indian-Tanzanian population, plus a small European and North American minority population. Religions of the Arushan population include Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and Hinduism. In 2018, it was declared Arusha would be the capital city of the proposed East African Federation due to it being seen as a neutral city that does not serve as the political centre of any of the constituent countries. The city also has significance to the whole of East Africa due to its long history of hosting important East African events and institutions.

The current site of Arusha was first settled in the 1830s by the agro-pastoral Arusha Maasai from the Arusha Chini community, south of Mount Kilimanjaro.  They traded grains, honey, beer, and tobacco with the pastoral Kisongo Maasai in exchange for livestock, milk, meat, and skins.  Demand for Arusha's foodstuffs increased substantially during the 1860s when the Pangani Valley trade route was extended through Old Moshi, Arusha, and ultimately to western Kenya.  Although it was not yet a town, it was a regional centre and had a number of urban features.:

Economy The primary industry of the city is the service sector. The city hosts numerous small and large businesses from retail to commercial enterprises.

Financial services The city hosts numerous small and large banking businesses.

Manufacturing The city of Arusha is home to the largest manufacturing sector in the region with breweries and agro-forest processing, and a large pharmaceuticals maker.

Tourist Industry Tourism is also a major part of the economy of the city of Arusha, and the largest dollar-earning economic sector in Tanzania. The city is located on the northern safari circuit near some of the greatest national parks and game reserves in Africa, including Serengeti National Park, Kilimanjaro National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Arusha National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, and Tarangire National Park.

Non-government organisations A number of non-governmental organisations operate in Arusha, including a number which focus on areas such as HIV and AIDS Awareness, children's education, and micro-finance. The city's Arusha International Conference Center hosts many conference meetings.

Intergovernmental organisations Arusha is home to a number of notable intergovernmental organisations. The city of Arusha is the headquarters of the East African Community, hosts a branch of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, and the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights.

Districts Among Arusha's notable districts are the Central Business Area, located by the clock tower; Sekei in the north-west, which is largely residential with a vibrant nightlife; Njiro, a middle-class rapidly growing suburb in the south; and Tengeru, a lively market-town in the east. North of Arusha are the districts of Karatu, Ngorongoro, Monduli, Arumeru and Longido, about 90 minutes north of Arusha by daladala along the Arusha-Nairobi Road.

Airport Arusha is served by two airports: the Kilimanjaro International Airport for international air travellers, some 60 km (37 mi) east, approximately halfway to Moshi. The airport provides international and domestic flights. Arusha Airport is a regional air hub in the west of the city, and serves more than 87,000 passengers yearly.

Road links Travel by road can be done through privately run coaches (buses) to Nairobi, Dodoma, Babati, Morogoro, Tanga, Mbeya, Singida, Tabora, Mpanda, Kigoma, Mwanza, Bukoba, Iringa, and Dar es Salaam.

Arusha is on the Cape to Cairo Road. There was a marker in the 1930s in Arusha indicating the mid-point of the route. It is also on the Cairo-Cape Town Highway.