Biking Tanzania
Biking in Tanzania has been active for at least 10 years. As biking has developed so we have seen the emergence of more companies offering the activity and there are now a great range of trips from a couple of hours to multiple day full on challenges.
Given that Tanzania also has many fantastic national parks and reserves, it is also possible and highly recommended to combine more traditional game drives interspersed with more rural biking experiences to really secure a better sense of life in Tanzania.
Where are great places to cycle?
Not surprisingly the main tourist hubs having access to more infrastructure tend to be both logical places to do shorter day trips and serve as starting points for more extended rides. So:
Arusha: great day trips either riding up in the foothills of Mt Meru above Arusha Town or more extended rides that head out on to the plains or some combination thereof. A full day can include a tour tour – Arusha does have some interesting sites from the German fort or boma, to the Rwandan war crimes tribunal and then further afield a crater lake or some rural areas that offer fantastic mountain biking. You can either do short 1 day trips or extend from Arusha to the Maasai Steppe / Manyara areas, or for challenge events even head towards Kilimanjaro to the Indian Ocean.
Moshi / Kilimanjaro: not unlike Arusha Moshi does have a rich history and on a bike you can certainly visit various sites with great biking on route. Day trips up the slopes are great for those that really want the exercise and there are some easier rides around town and even down to TPC (a huge sugar plantation that has easy riding). For the active you can also cycle as far as Maji Moto to some hot springs and Lake Chala but those are best done over 2 or even 3 days. Moshi is also the perfect starting point for circumnavigation of Kilimanjaro trips and there are variations that can include game viewing in West Kilimanjaro (for instance at Ndarakwai ranch) and Maasai as well as Chagga (+ coffee) visits.
Manyara region: shorter day trips are available from Lake Manyara Serena which normally include a visit to the village of Mto wa Mbu. Further afield, however, there are some real gems! This area actually many more options than are commonly appreciated, from riding outside of Tarangire National Park to areas further south to Kolo and Kondoa (where there are ancient rock paintings). A combination of all these areas normally takes around a week but shorter combinations of the Tarangire + Manyara regions are possible from 3 to 5 nights for a great blend of cultures, history and landscapes. This area is alive with change and overlapping cultures and wilderness, on bike you can see it first hand.
Usambaras: it is possible to cycle from the Moshi or even Arusha regions all the way down to the coast. My advice, keep east of both the Pare and Usambara mountains if you can (there is one section between the Pare and Usambara where you can cross down west on to the Pangani river valley as you cannot pass though on Mkomazi as yet on a bike). A great combination, if you have vehicle support, is to ride down the Pangani river valley and then walk up into the Usambaras and ride on from there to Amani Forest reserve and onto Pangani / Tanga. Around 10 days from Moshi to the coast or take 3 to 5 days just cycling in the Usambaras.
Safety first!
Safety is important on a bike. A great mentality to take with you when biking in Africa is that cyclists have very few apparent rights. The best advice is to:
- Wear a helmet
- Be very vigilant
- Stay off the main roads where possible
- Take a local guide so you don’t get lost!
- Not to ride as you would at home – crossing a main road and signaling does not always get the best results
More info – Ake & Emanuel have biked around 3000 km in Tanzania. Ask them a question!
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