Morogoro

Morogoro sits where the plains meet the Uluguru Mountains, and that position has always mattered. The nineteenth-century caravan routes from the coast to the interior passed nearby, and the mountains, with their reliable water and fertile slopes, supported dense farming communities long before any colonial station was built.

The Luguru people of the mountains are known for a matrilineal social system, in which land and clan identity pass through the female line — a distinctive feature among the peoples of Tanzania.

Under German and then British rule, Morogoro became a station on the Central Railway and a centre for the plantation economy, especially sisal, which spread across the plains around the town. After independence it grew as an agricultural and educational centre, and today it is home to Sokoine University of Agriculture, one of the country's leading universities for farming and veterinary science.

The Luguru culture of the mountains remains strong, with its matrilineal clans and a close relationship to the land. On the slopes, small villages and terraced farms sit among the forest, and walking between them is the best way to understand the region.

The Uluguru Mountains are part of the Eastern Arc, the ancient chain that includes the Usambara and Udzungwa ranges. Their isolated forests hold plants and animals found nowhere else, including the Uluguru bush-shrike, one of Africa's rarest birds. Guided walks from town lead to waterfalls, viewpoints and villages.

For most visitors, Morogoro is a stop on the way to Mikumi National Park, about two hours west, or the Udzungwa Mountains further south. But it rewards a night: the air is fresher than the coast, the mountains are close, and the walking is excellent.