Machame Cultural Tour

Machame Nkweshoo

Established in June 2008 with the Vision of Making Kilimanjaro a green village through tourism. People of Machame-Nkweshoo welcome you to explore Cultural and Natural Heritage of Wachagga ethnic group that lives on the green slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. During your visit, you will enjoy beautiful landscape with great valleys, deep gorges, rivers, natural forest and local agricultural activities on small farms. On the other hand you will interact with local people and get an opportunity to listen to their stories about the culture, history and their total way of life The tour in Machame-Nkweshoo includes: • A warm welcome in a local Chagga household • Get an opportunity to learn how to prepare local dishes • A guided visit to Nkosalulu water falls and Coffee farms, • A visit to one of the Oldest Church building, • A visit to the caves used as hides during tribal wars, • A view of the old coins, • An opportunity to learn Chagga relics, stories and old tools that have been used since the ancient times • A visit to the local market • Kilimanjaro trekking • A walking tour through coffee & banana farmlands to the dense Kilimanjaro natural forests for acclimatization along fast flowing streams before climbing the mountain • A home-stay experience before and after your wildlife safari or mountain climbing expedition • A visit to view points for Mt. Kilimanjaro • A visit to environmental conservation project-tree nursery • A visit to several development projects in the area such as coffee production, bee-keeping, schools, health care and community library

The following tours are on offer: A visit to old Chagga Caves (4 hours tour) These are massive underground tunnels (some caves reaching several kilometers) 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 coffee 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 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 around 1840s where they 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 round walk to explore the whole 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 water falls in Makoa River that flows from Mt Kilimanjaro forest. The river with it 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 will excite yourself 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 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. Welcome for tasting if not 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 & weaving While enjoying GOD’S miseries on chaggaland, you will be allowed to participate in local 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:- Majority of the tour guides of Machame-Nkweshoo Cultural Tourism Programme are ladies/ women of the Wachaga tribe who knows well the area, their culture & history and speaks English. Bookings for various excursions and tours can be made at Tanzania Tourist Board- Tourist Information Office in Arusha or through your tour operators/travel agents/lodge & Hotel Operators.