# Kilimanjaro > The region under the mountain: Chagga coffee farms on the southern slopes, the Pare ranges running south towards Mkomazi, a crater lake on the Kenyan border, and the highest point in Africa above all of it. Canonical: https://seeyoutanzania.com/guides/kilimanjaro Last updated: 2026-10-13 Edited by: Kabeer Dalvi (https://seeyoutanzania.com/about) ## At a glance - **Region:** Kilimanjaro Region, Northern zone - **Population:** 1,861,934 (2022 census) - **Area:** 13,250 km² - **Capital:** Moshi - **Highest point:** Uhuru Peak, 5,895 m ## Map of Kilimanjaro Region **Districts and councils:** Hai · Moshi Municipal · Moshi Rural · Mwanga · Rombo · Same · Siha Councils as counted in the 2022 census (National Bureau of Statistics). ## Chiefdoms, a first ascent, and coffee The southern slopes have been densely settled for centuries. The **Chagga** lived in a patchwork of small chiefdoms, each under its own *mangi*, farming irrigated banana and coffee gardens on the volcanic soil and trading with the caravans that passed below. German colonial rule broke the chiefdoms' independence in the 1890s; the mountain itself was claimed for the empire, and the boundary with British East Africa was drawn to put it on the German side. The summit was first reached on **6 October 1889** by **Hans Meyer** and **Ludwig Purtscheller**, with a local party that, by long-standing Tanzanian account, included **Yohani Kinyala Lauwo** of Marangu, who went on to guide on the mountain and lived until 1996. The route they took runs close to what is now the **Marangu** trail. Coffee shaped everything that followed. Chagga growers organised early — the **Kilimanjaro Native Planters' Association** was formed in **1925**, and the **Kilimanjaro Native Co-operative Union**, the oldest co-operative in Tanzania, followed around **1930**. Coffee money paid for the schools that made this one of the best-educated regions in the country. ## The mountain, the beans and the water **Kilimanjaro National Park** is one of the region's biggest earners: tens of thousands of climbers a year, each paying park fees and employing a crew of guides, cooks and porters. That money reaches a very large number of households, and it is why Moshi is full of outfitters. Agriculture is the older economy and still the wider one. **Arabica coffee** and bananas on the slopes, maize and beans below them, irrigated **sugar** on the plain, and horticulture wherever there is water. See [coffee in Tanzania](https://seeyoutanzania.com/sectors/agriculture/coffee), [sugar in Tanzania](https://seeyoutanzania.com/sectors/agriculture/sugar) and [agriculture in Tanzania](https://seeyoutanzania.com/sectors/agriculture). Water is the constraint on all of it. Rivers off Kilimanjaro and Meru feed the **Pangani** system and the reservoir at **Nyumba ya Mungu** in Mwanga District — a dam opened in **1969** that generates power, irrigates farmland and supports a substantial fishery. Competition between irrigation, power and downstream users is a permanent argument in this basin. **What the region lives on** - **Tourism:** Kilimanjaro climbs and the northern circuit - **Coffee:** Chagga arabica, mostly smallholder - **Bananas & maize:** The staples of the slopes - **Sugar:** Irrigated estates on the plain - **Water & power:** The Pangani system and Nyumba ya Mungu ## Two mountains, two peoples The **Chagga** of the Kilimanjaro slopes and the **Pare** of the Mwanga and Same highlands are both mountain farming peoples with long traditions of irrigation, terracing and trade, and both are known across Tanzania for schooling and enterprise. **Maasai** graze the drier plains between and below them. Away from the climb, the region rewards slow travel. **Marangu** has waterfalls and the old mission churches; **Materuni** and **Kilasiya** are falls within reach of Moshi; the **Pare Mountains** above Same offer walking with almost no other visitors; and **Lake Chala**, on the Kenyan border, is a startling green-blue crater lake with a footpath around its rim. South-east, the land drops to dry bush and the boundary of **Mkomazi National Park**, shared with Tanga Region — rhino, elephant and open country against the backdrop of the Pare and Usambara ranges. ## Towns, parks and places across Kilimanjaro Region ### Moshi (Town) The regional capital under the mountain: coffee, outfitters and the base for most Kilimanjaro climbs. [Read the guide](https://seeyoutanzania.com/guides/moshi) ### Kilimanjaro National Park (National park) The mountain itself, from rainforest to the glaciers of Kibo, with seven established climbing routes. [Park page](https://seeyoutanzania.com/parks/kilimanjaro) ### Marangu (Village) Chagga village on the south-eastern slopes, with waterfalls, caves and the oldest of the climbing routes. ### Lake Chala (Crater lake) A deep crater lake on the Kenyan border, north-east of Moshi, with a rim walk and clear water. ### The Pare Mountains (Mountains) North and South Pare, above Mwanga and Same — walking country, irrigated farms and cool air. ### Nyumba ya Mungu (Reservoir) The Pangani reservoir in Mwanga District, opened in 1969: hydropower, irrigation and a fishing economy. ### Mkomazi National Park (National park) Dry bush and rhino country in the south-east, shared with Tanga Region. [Park page](https://seeyoutanzania.com/parks/mkomazi) ## What to see ### Climbing Kilimanjaro *Mountain.* Seven established routes, five to nine days. Acclimatisation matters more than fitness; longer routes succeed more often. ### Materuni falls *Waterfall.* A tall fall in the forest above Moshi, usually combined with a coffee-farm visit. ### Lake Chala *Crater lake.* Green-blue water in a steep crater on the border. Walk the rim; swimming is not advisable. ### Chagga coffee farms *Working farms.* Smallholdings on the slopes where you can follow the crop from tree to cup. ### The Pare Mountains *Mountains.* Usangi and the ranges above Same — villages, viewpoints and walking with local guides. ### Mkomazi National Park *National park.* Rhino sanctuary and dry-country game, an easy detour off the Moshi–Tanga road. ## Common questions ### Where is the Kilimanjaro Region? In north-eastern Tanzania, on the border with Kenya. Its capital is Moshi, and it takes its name from Mount Kilimanjaro, which stands inside it. ### Which country is Mount Kilimanjaro in? Tanzania. The whole mountain, including Uhuru Peak at 5,895 metres, the highest point in Africa, is in Kilimanjaro Region in the north-east of the country. Climbing it is covered on our Kilimanjaro National Park page. ## Before you go - **Getting there:** Kilimanjaro International Airport, between Moshi and Arusha, takes international flights. The road from Arusha to Moshi takes about an hour and a half. - **Getting around:** Moshi is walkable; everything else needs a vehicle. Climbs are organised through licensed operators, not independently. - **When to come:** January to mid-March and June to October are the usual climbing windows. April, May and November are wet. - **On the mountain:** Park fees are paid to TANAPA and are a large share of the price. Guides and porters are mandatory; ask how crews are paid and equipped. - **Altitude:** Altitude sickness is the main reason climbs fail. Choose a longer route, walk slowly, and be willing to turn back. - **Money:** Shillings. ATMs in Moshi; carry cash for the villages and the falls. ## Checked against - [2022 Population and Housing Census — administrative units](https://www.nbs.go.tz/statistics/topic/census-2022), National Bureau of Statistics, Tanzania - [Kilimanjaro Region — area, districts, peoples](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilimanjaro_Region), Wikipedia - [Kilimanjaro National Park](https://www.tanzaniaparks.go.tz/nationalparks/kilimanjaro), Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) - [Kilimanjaro Native Co-operative Union — history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilimanjaro_Native_Co-operative_Union), Wikipedia - [Nyumba ya Mungu Dam — Mwanga District, opened 1969](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyumba_ya_Mungu_Dam), Wikipedia - [Mount Kilimanjaro — first ascent, routes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kilimanjaro), Wikipedia