Uluguru Mountains

Towering over the city of Morogoro (about 3 hrs away from Dar), are the Uluguru Mountains. We took the long weekend to embark on what ended up to be a rather grueling hike, complete with scratches and scrambling up the mountainside. We used a local tour company called Afriroots, which provided a guide, porters and camping equipment. In total, there were ten of us who hiked four hours on Friday, six on Saturday and another four on Sunday. We encountered some villagers on our way up the mountain who were brewing their own local beer, which looked and smelled like dirt. The Saturday hike took us to the top of Bondwa Peak, where it was so high that we could not see anything down below. The whole weekend was lovely though. We set up camp in front of an old abandoned house, where the Afriroots people now use as a kitchen and for storage. It gave such a nice character to a place that already had a magnificent view. Our guide led us through these very narrow paths. It was so humbling to see the local Tanzanian women ambling barefooted down the mountain with a fruit basket on her head, firewoood strapped to her side, a child clinging to her back, while I am sweating and struggling to walk up in my expensive hiking boots and MEC gear. Hahahahaha, what a crazy experience. We came across a party on the last day and joined in for an impromptu dance to the beat of the drums. I think they were celebrating the coming of age of some of the village girls.