Cool stuff in Arusha?
 

Has anyone done anything "different" or "unique" in Arusha?

Any ideas how to pass 3-4 hours in Arusha?

Arusha Coffee Lodge was a lovely spot for a lunch or light meal.

Arusha looked like a very nice place.

Arusha has some excellent shopping. When our battery charger blew out our guide took us to Arusha to an electronic store. It was very modern and the prices were similar to Canadian. We also went to a pharmacy and a couple of clothing stores. It seems a great way to see how the locals live. We also went to a home for street kids and left them a bag of school supplies and some cash for food. Go to www.africanwildlifeandculturesafaris.com and click on culture to see other options for Arusha. Also on that same site go to charities to get the link to go see the street kids - they love company and have very little - it is an eye opening experience.

Simbakubwa,

Depending on your level of fitness, I recommend either a canoeing trip on Lake Duluti ('low' level of fitneses) followed by a delicions lunch at Arusha Mountin Village, or a hike around the edge of Lake Duluti ('average' level of fitness), also followed by a deliciouis lunch. Both activities will take about 2.5 hours (not including lunch) and can be organized at Arusha Mountin Village.

Enjoy...

mkulove

I love to visit Shanga Shangaa near the TANAPA HQ (not far from the Coffee Lodge).

Few people know about it but it is a heart warming project where physically challenged craft people make the powder glass beads needed for the Shanga necklaces. These beads are made from recycled glass bottles from lodges and restaurants and they are baked in clay ovens fired by bio briquettes made from coconut husks so no electricity is used.

Many of the workers are deaf or blind and to watch them do their crafts is a joy. The Riverhouse is a great restaurant to relax after the visit. You need no more than 2 hours to visit and have a relaxing meal.

Mt Meru Crafts is my favorite place to shop for African craft products.

I also like the sports bar at Njiro and the restaurants there. This is where I watched the rugby world cup final last year! There is a great coffee shop and several other interesting places to visit.

See maps here: http://www.go-safari.com/Arushamoshi/arushamoshi.htm

Links and descriptions here:
http://www.go-safari.com/Arushamoshi...oshTourism.htm

There is also a Maasai market (outdoors) a few blocks from the Kibo Palace and I thought Arusha was a great place for people watching and photographing.

Go to the CULTURAL HERITAGE VILLAGE - it has everything. Fabulous curio and jewellery shopping (great Tanzanite!), an extensive art gallery, and examples of different african cultures from north, west and east Africa. Also great restaurant.

I second the Cultural Heritage Center. It is a great shopping and "just looking" experience plus there is a shipper located on site so you can ship stuff home. Just try to carry-on a Masai Spear :>).

We had half a day in Arusha before our flight home, and I was eager to walk outside, rather than standing around in yet more shops. My guide didn't like the idea of my wandering around by myself (and he was busy taking the other people shopping), so he asked someone from the hotel to escort me. The poor guy had no idea what to do with me, but ended up walking me to a local market, which left an indelible memory.

This was not a tourist stop, it was the place that locals shop. Or rather, the place where poor vendors sat hopelessly waiting for someone to come, as their produce shriveled before their eyes. The aisles were cramped and narrow, but there were almost no customers so it didn't really seem to matter. As a white person, I caused an immediate sensation.

This was a different view of Africa than what I had seen on my Safari. Even the Maasai village that we had visited benefitted from tourist dollars. But here I saw a different slice of life.

I'm actually really glad that the hotel employee didn't have any idea where to take me, because the memories of our impromptu stop are still vivid: meat hanging in the butcher window covered with flies. Dried fish piled up, with some sliding off into the dirt. Plastic containers of cooking oil. Limp piles of carrots. Muddy ditches. Hopeless eyes.

I have to disagree about the Cultural Heritage Center.

Nice to look at but very touristy, expensive and not exactly friendly.

If you shop and buy there, you can just as easy shop at an Africa importer at the mall in your home country. You may even save money because you won't have shipping costs and you won't have to pay additional credit card fees.

"Just try to carry-on a Masai Spear"

I carried 2 home. First off they are actually 3 pieces that come apart and they do wrap them up for you. When the bag went through x-ray, they asked my husband if it belonged to him and he rolled his eyes and pointed to me (he was betting that I couldn't get them on). I told security that I had 2 spears and that they were mine. He told me to come with him and he carried them out to the plane for me. At the door he told me to stash them in back and helped me on the plane! Now I will add this was the puddle jumper flight going from Arusha to Zanzibar. On the next flight they were in my checked luggage.

I also brought home a fairly large stone hippo. Again they all laughed at me and I did carry it myself all the way home (and it got rather heavy after 24+ hours). These are the things that always make me simle and remember my trip to Tanzania everytime I see them.

You may want to try the walking safari in Arusha National Park. A safari on foot with an armed guard (if you call a rusty one shot rifle armed) is a very different experience from the Land Rover safari. We saw giraffe, cape buffalo, baboons, monkeys, and according to our guide, leopard poo-poo. Be sure to bring plenty of water as the hike in the heat requires hydration.