Tabora, Tanzania Travel Guide
In the central part of Tanzania, a little to the west, lies the region of Tabora. Here act the city of the same name regional capital. The city of Tabora is not one of Tanzania’s great gems, but its central location gives tourists the opportunity to easily visit surrounding regions. Tabora borders, among other places, Kigoma, where the beautiful Gombe National Park is located. Based on a census in 2012, it is estimated that the city has about 227,000 inhabitants.
The inhabitants of the city live primarily from agriculture and the cultivation of tobacco and food. The city is particularly known as the “fruit capital” of western Tanzania . This is because it is packed with the cultivation of exotic fruits such as bananas, pineapple and watermelon. Furthermore, the streets of Tabora are filled with ancient mango trees.
Tabora’s location
The Tabora region is relatively centrally located, albeit to the west, in Tanzania. Here the city of Tabora acts as the capital. Tabora itself does not have nearly as much to offer as other areas of Tanzania. However, should you still stay here, the region’s central location allows you to easily travel to the surrounding regions such as Mbeya and Kigoma.
Experiences in Tabora
Taste Tabora
Despite a low number of tourists in the city, there are quite a few small local restaurants in the city. The great agricultural culture of delicious raw material, makes cooking a natural occupation in Tabora. Precisely due to the limited number of visitors of foreign guests is limited, no effort has been made to make the food especially international. Therefore, in Tabora you will be able to experience authentic Tanzanian dishes galore, just as the locals themselves would eat them.
Taste the dish Ugali, a thick cornbread served with meat or vegetables. Some eat Ugali like we would eat Mexican pancakes, while others dip it in soup. A typical breakfast dish that you will encounter in Tabora is chipsi-mayai. This dish is really not much other than french fries and eggs. Here, however, it is served with Tanzanian chili sauce, making the dish a local eat.
A common dish in Tanzania, which is also eaten in great style in Tabora, is pumpkin in peanut sauce. Here’s a dish that anyone with a taste for African cuisine should venture out into.
Igombe Dam Forest Reserve
The Igombe forest reserve has its paving in Tabora, only a short half hour drive from the center. The forest area has a humid climate, but is nevertheless classified as a tropical savannah, due to the dry winter season.
You do not farm here, as you export from the agricultural area at Tabora instead. Igombe is actually inhabited, albeit sparsely populated with only 17 people per capita. km2. Most residents move to Tabora, where welfare opportunities are somewhat better.
Dr. Livingstone Museum in Kwihara
The small village of Kwihara only 15 km. from Tabora, was visited in 1871 by the famous Scottish explorer Dr. David Livingstone. At this point, Dr. Livingstone had not had contact with his home country for six years, and had just been found in Ujiji by journalist Stanley. He was deployed to New York Harald, with the goal of finding Livingstone.
Together they proceeded to Kwihara. Their visit here was marked in 1857 with the construction of the small museum. The small fine building contains several memorials such as Dr. Livingstone’s hair and copies from New York Harald, where the stories about Livingstone are written.
Taboras history
According to shoppingpicks, Tabora was originally founded by Arab traders in the 1850s. Here, the city emerged as the center of the slave trade in western Tanzania. In the year 1871, a quarter of the city burned down. It was Mirambo, the leader of the Wanyamwezi tribe who set the fire, why is not known. As early as 1885, the German East African Protectorate tried to gain power over Tabora. However, the region was outlawed six years before the German colonial administration succeeded in gaining control of the area. In 1916, however, power passed to the Belgian colonial government “Belgian Congo” , under the leadership of General Charles Tombeur.
