# Songea > A fast-growing highland town in the far south-west, where Tanzania keeps its memorial to the Maji Maji war — and the place to fly into, draw cash and find a driver before heading for the coffee hills or Lake Nyasa. Canonical: https://seeyoutanzania.com/guides/songea Last updated: 2026-09-23 Edited by: Kabeer Dalvi (https://seeyoutanzania.com/about) ## At a glance - **Status:** Regional capital, Songea Municipal Council (since 2006) - **Population:** 286,285, Songea Municipal (2022 census) - **Climate:** Days average about 27 °C, nights about 16 °C - **Named after:** Songea Lwafu Mbano, an Ngoni leader hanged here in 1906 - **Region:** Ruvuma Region, far south-west ## A market town that is growing fast Songea is the town of the far south-west: about **286,000 people** within the municipal boundary at the 2022 census, and one of the faster-growing towns in Africa — one projection put its growth between 2020 and 2025 at close to **6% a year**. It became a municipality in **2006**, and most of what a visitor needs in this corner of the country — the airport, the banks, the bus stand, the fuel and the mechanics — is here. It carries the name of **Songea Lwafu Mbano**, an Ngoni leader the German colonial government hanged here in 1906. That story, and the war behind it, belong to the whole region and are told on the [Ruvuma guide](https://seeyoutanzania.com/guides/ruvuma) and our page on [the Maji Maji war](https://seeyoutanzania.com/history/german-east-africa/maji-maji-war); in town, they are what the memorial is for. Day to day it is a busy, unpretentious place: a commercial centre of small shops and hardware stores, maize and beans coming in from the farms around it, and a strong church presence — Songea is the seat of a **Catholic archdiocese**. There are secondary schools, teacher-training colleges at **Matogoro** and a nursing school at Peramiho, so a good share of the town is young. The weather is kinder than the latitude suggests. Days average about **27 °C** and nights about **16 °C**, and most of the year's roughly **1,050 mm** of rain falls between November and April. ## The museum, the graves, and 27 February The reason most visitors come is the **Maji Maji War Memorial Museum**, run by the **National Museum of Tanzania**. It is small and serious: photographs of the men hanged on **27 February 1906**, objects from the resistance, and the national account of the war. Behind the museum are the **graves**. Songea Mbano lies here beside a mass grave of the men executed with him — the memorial counts about **67**, a government newspaper account 66. For many local families this is a place of mourning rather than a sight, and it is worth visiting in that spirit. Every year on **27 February** the town marks the anniversary of the hangings. In **November 2023** the President of Germany, **Frank-Walter Steinmeier**, came to the museum, met descendants of Songea Mbano and asked for forgiveness. "I am ashamed about what German colonial soldiers did to your forefather and his fellow warriors," he said, and he told his hosts Germany was ready to work with Tanzania on returning cultural property and human remains taken in the colonial period. Near town, the **Chandamali stone** — a rock about 12 metres high with a cave beneath it — is remembered as a lookout and hiding place of Songea Mbano during the war, and is still used for offerings to the ancestors. Go with someone local who can explain it, and ask before photographing anything. ## What you can reach from here **Peramiho**, west of town, is the easy half-day. The Benedictine abbey there is still working, with one of the south's major hospitals and a nursing school; its history is told on the [Ruvuma guide](https://seeyoutanzania.com/guides/ruvuma). Ask at the gate before wandering, and keep it quiet — it is a monastery and a hospital before it is anything else. **Matogoro Forest**, in the hills north-west of town — the *Daily News* puts it about 35 km out — is the town's nearest wild country: forest with **colobus monkeys** and baboons, cool air, views back over Songea and the Matengo highlands, and a flat-topped rock locally called the Fire Tower. The hills are a water catchment, and the **Ruvuma River** rises on this plateau close to Songea before running roughly 1,000 km to the Indian Ocean, most of it as the border with Mozambique. Everything beyond that is a long day or more with a vehicle: the pit-farmed coffee hills around **Mbinga**, the descent to **Mbamba Bay** on Lake Nyasa, or the road east to Tunduru. Those belong to the region rather than the town, and the [Ruvuma guide](https://seeyoutanzania.com/guides/ruvuma) covers them. **From Songea** - **The museum and graves:** In town — a morning - **Peramiho Abbey:** West of town — a half-day - **Matogoro Forest:** About 35 km north-west — a half-day - **Mbinga highlands:** West — a long day, or stay over - **Mbamba Bay, Lake Nyasa:** Beyond Mbinga — two days at least ## One flight, and a long sealed road **By air**, Air Tanzania flies between Dar es Salaam and Songea, about three times a week at the time of writing, in roughly an hour and a half. It is the only scheduled service, so book early and confirm directly: timetables on thin routes change. **By road**, the paved **T6** leaves the Tanzam highway at **Makambako** and runs about **295 km** through **Njombe** to Songea. After more than 40 years of use it is worn, and in July 2026 the government and the World Bank began rebuilding it in phases, starting with the Songea–Litukila section and a 16 km **Songea bypass** — expect roadworks for a while. East, the road runs on to **Tunduru** and the coast at Mtwara; west, it climbs to Mbinga. **Money and supplies.** Songea has the region's main banks and ATMs. Mbinga has some; beyond that, carry cash. The same goes for fuel. ## What to see ### Maji Maji War Memorial Museum *National museum.* Tanzania's museum of the Maji Maji war, with photographs of the leaders hanged in 1906. Run by the National Museum of Tanzania. ### The heroes' graves *Memorial.* Behind the museum: Songea Mbano's grave and the mass grave of those executed with him. A place to visit quietly. ### Chandamali stone *Sacred site.* A 12-metre rock with a cave beneath it, remembered as Songea Mbano's lookout. Still used for offerings — go with a local guide. ### Peramiho *Abbey & hospital.* The working Benedictine abbey west of town, and its large mission hospital. ### Matogoro Forest *Montane forest.* About 35 km north-west: colobus monkeys, cool air and wide views. A half-day on foot. ## Before you go - **Arriving:** Air Tanzania from Dar es Salaam about three times a week — confirm directly. By road, the T6 from Makambako via Njombe, about 295 km, now being rebuilt in sections. - **Getting around:** The centre is walkable. Peramiho and Matogoro need a taxi or a hired car and driver for the morning. - **When to come:** May to October is dry. Most of the rain falls between November and April. - **The memorial:** The graves are a place of mourning for many families. Dress modestly and ask before photographing people. - **Money:** Shillings. Songea has the region's main ATMs — draw what you need before heading west or east. ## Checked against - [2022 Population and Housing Census — administrative units](https://www.nbs.go.tz/statistics/topic/census-2022), National Bureau of Statistics, Tanzania - [Songea — municipality, climate, archdiocese, schools, growth projection](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songea), Wikipedia - [Majimaji War Memorial Museum](https://www.nmt.go.tz/pages/majimaji-war-memorial-museum), National Museum of Tanzania - [German president asks for forgiveness in Tanzania over colonial-era atrocities](https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/01/africa/germany-apologize-tanzania-colonial-atrocities-intl), CNN - [Ruvuma region: upcoming tourist icon in Tanzanian Southern Highlands (Matogoro, Chandamali, the museum)](https://dailynews.co.tz/ruvuma-region-upcoming-tourist-icon-in-tanzanian-southern-highlands/), Daily News, Tanzania - [Tanzania begins construction of a new section of the Makambako–Songea road (2 July 2026)](https://dailynews.co.tz/tanzania-begins-construction-of-a-new-section-of-the-makambako-songea-road/), Daily News, Tanzania - [T6 road (Tanzania)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T6_road_(Tanzania)), Wikipedia - [Ruvuma River — source and length](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruvuma_River), Wikipedia - [Flights from Songea (SGX)](https://www.flightconnections.com/flights-from-songea-sgx), FlightConnections - [Peramiho Abbey — history](http://www.peramiho.org/en/abbey/history), Missionary Benedictines, Peramiho ## Related - [Ruvuma Region guide](https://seeyoutanzania.com/guides/ruvuma)