Iringa

Kalenga

Kalenga is a very historical village, this was the headquarters of Chief Mkwawa,the place from where he commanded the whole of Hehe region. His official residence and military base were inside a stone fort called Lipuli. Chief Mkwawa's fortress was 12 feet high and eight miles long. The fort was built for four years, it is estimated that it was started in 1887at a time when Chief Mkwawa knew about German activities near the coast.Chief Mkwawa got the idea from seeing other stone forts in Unyamwezi or the building of Arabs and Europeans near the coast.

Ruaha national Park

Ruaha was recently expanded by incorporating adjacent wildlife reserves to become the largest National Park in Tanzania. Ruaha lies in the convergence zone where northern and southern hemisphere birds and mammal species overlap. This results in an overwhelming number of birds (530 recorded) plants (1400) and a correspondingly large number of mammal species.

Isimila Stone Age

About 15km from Iringa off the Mbeya road is Isimila. Here, in the late 1950s amid a landscape of small canyons and eroded sandstone pillars, archaeologists unearthed one of the most significant Stone Age finds ever identified. Tools found at the site are estimated to be between 60,000 and 100,000 years old. There’s a museum with small, well-captioned displays highlighting some of the finds. The main pillar area is accessed via a walk down into a steep valley (about one hour round-trip), for which you’ll need a guide (Tsh10,000 per group). Visits are best in the morning or late afternoon, before the sun gets too high. There’s also a covered picnic area (bring your own food), and soft drinks.