# Mbeya > A highland city near the Zambian and Malawian borders, surrounded by tea estates, crater lakes, volcanoes, one of the largest meteorites on earth, and the beaches of Lake Nyasa below the Livingstone Mountains. Canonical: https://seeyoutanzania.com/guides/mbeya Last updated: 2026-09-15 Edited by: Kabeer Dalvi (https://seeyoutanzania.com/about) ## At a glance - **Region:** Mbeya Region, southern highlands - **Population:** 541,603, Mbeya Urban (2022 census) - **Elevation:** About 1,700 m - **Borders:** Close to Zambia and Malawi - **Railway:** TAZARA line to Zambia ## Map of Mbeya Region **Districts and councils:** Busekelo · Chunya · Kyela · Mbarali · Mbeya City · Mbeya Rural · Rungwe Councils as counted in the 2022 census (National Bureau of Statistics). ## Gold, a railway, and a stone from space The oldest thing in these highlands fell from the sky. The **Mbozi meteorite**, in the hills west of the city, is an iron meteorite about **three metres long** and weighing an estimated **sixteen tonnes** — one of the largest meteorites in the world. Since **2016** it has stood in **Songwe Region**, created from the western half of Mbeya. Local people long knew it; it came to scientific attention in **1930**. It left no crater, which suggests it landed at a shallow angle or was buried and later exposed. The modern town began with gold. A rush on the **Lupa goldfields**, in what is now Chunya District, drew prospectors and labourers into the region, and Mbeya was founded in the **1920s** as the mining town that served it. Artisanal miners still work gold around Chunya (see [gold in Tanzania](https://seeyoutanzania.com/sectors/mining/gold)). When the gold ran down, the town survived on agriculture and trade. What secured its future was the **TAZARA** railway, built in the 1970s with Chinese support to link Dar es Salaam to Zambia's copperbelt without passing through white-ruled southern Africa. Mbeya became a key stop on the line, and later on the main road corridor to Zambia and Malawi, which is why it grew into one of the largest cities in the south. ## Tea, coffee, and a border crossroads The southern highlands are volcanic and wet, and the soil around Mbeya is some of the best in the country. **Tea** is grown on large estates around **Tukuyu**, **coffee** is a major cash crop across the highlands, and bananas, avocados and fruit come out of the Rungwe district in quantity. See [coffee in Tanzania](https://seeyoutanzania.com/sectors/agriculture/coffee) and [agriculture in Tanzania](https://seeyoutanzania.com/sectors/agriculture). Below the highlands, the **Usangu plains** are a major rice-growing area, and the region is an important part of Tanzania's food supply. Trade is the other pillar. Mbeya sits on the **TAZARA** railway and the trunk road to Zambia and Malawi, and a great deal of freight moves through it. That makes it a busy, practical city — more crossroads than destination — but it is the base for a remarkable set of landscapes within a couple of hours. **What the region produces** - **Tea:** Large estates around Tukuyu - **Coffee:** Arabica from the highland slopes - **Bananas & avocados:** From the wet Rungwe district - **Rice:** In the lowland Usangu plains - **Trade:** The route to Zambia and Malawi ## Volcanoes, crater lakes, and a freshwater beach The region is home to many peoples — the **Nyakyusa** in the fertile Rungwe district, the **Safwa** around Mbeya, and others — and its culture is agricultural, Christian in large part through long-established missions, and shaped by the border trade. The landscape is what draws visitors. **Mount Rungwe**, a dormant volcano, rises above the tea country, and the district around it is full of **crater lakes**, waterfalls and hot springs. **Kitulo National Park**, the plateau that flowers from late November to April, is within reach to the east. And to the south, the highlands drop steeply to **Lake Nyasa** — Lake Malawi, as it is known across the border. At **Matema**, a long sandy beach lies at the foot of the **Livingstone Mountains**, with clear fresh water and fishing canoes carved from single tree trunks. Few foreign visitors get this far south, and it is one of the most beautiful and least known corners of the country. ## Towns, parks and places across Mbeya Region ### Kyela (Town) The lowland district town near Lake Nyasa and the Malawi border, known for its rice and cocoa. ### Lake Ngozi (Crater lake) A crater lake in the Poroto Mountains of Rungwe District, 74 m deep and ringed by high forested walls. Go with a guide. ### Daraja la Mungu (Natural bridge) 'God's Bridge' — a natural rock arch over the Kiwira River west of Tukuyu, formed by lava from Mount Rungwe. ### Usangu plains (Plains & wetland) Rice country in Mbarali District, where the headwaters of the Great Ruaha gather. ### Kitulo National Park (National park) The flowering plateau east of the city, shared with Njombe Region. [Park page](https://seeyoutanzania.com/parks/kitulo) ### Songwe Region (Neighbouring region) The western half of the old Mbeya Region became Songwe in 2016, taking the Mbozi meteorite and the Tunduma border with it. [Read the guide](https://seeyoutanzania.com/guides/songwe) ## What to see ### Mbozi meteorite *Natural wonder.* An iron meteorite of about sixteen tonnes, among the largest in the world. West of the city on the road to Zambia, in neighbouring Songwe Region. ### Matema beach, Lake Nyasa *Lakeshore.* A long beach under the Livingstone Mountains, with clear fresh water and dugout canoes. ### Kitulo National Park *National park.* The 'Garden of God' — a high plateau of orchids and wildflowers, best December to April. ### Crater lakes of Rungwe *Volcanic landscape.* Lake Kisiba and others, in volcanic country south of the city. ### Mount Rungwe *Mountain.* A dormant volcano and a full-day climb through forest, with a guide. ### Tukuyu tea estates *Working farms.* The green heart of the highlands, and some of the most striking farmland in the country. ## Before you go - **Getting there:** Flights to Songwe Airport from Dar es Salaam. By road the city is on the trunk route south; the TAZARA railway also stops here. - **Getting around:** Most attractions are an hour or more out of town and need a vehicle and a driver who knows the rural roads. - **When to come:** June to October is dry. Kitulo flowers from late November to April, in the rains, when roads are harder. - **Climate:** At about 1,700 m it is cool, and cold at night — pack warm clothes. - **Border region:** Carry your passport. The Zambian and Malawian borders are close. - **Money:** Shillings. ATMs in Mbeya; carry cash for rural areas and Matema. ## Checked against - [Mbozi meteorite — size, weight and discovery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbozi_meteorite), Wikipedia - [Mbozi Meteorite](https://www.ncaa.go.tz/mbozi-meteorite/), Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority - [2022 Population and Housing Census results](https://www.nbs.go.tz/statistics/topic/census-2022), National Bureau of Statistics, Tanzania - [Kitulo National Park](https://www.tanzaniaparks.go.tz/nationalparks/kitulo), Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) - [Songwe Region — created from western Mbeya in 2016](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songwe_Region), Wikipedia - [Lake Ngozi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Ngozi), Wikipedia - [Kyela District](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyela), Wikipedia - [Mbeya — founded as a gold-mining town in the 1920s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbeya), Wikipedia