# Songwe > The newest region in Tanzania, split from Mbeya in 2016: coffee highlands on the Zambian and Malawian borders, one of the country's busiest border crossings, and a sixteen-tonne meteorite lying in the hills where it fell. Canonical: https://seeyoutanzania.com/guides/songwe Last updated: 2026-09-17 Edited by: Kabeer Dalvi (https://seeyoutanzania.com/about) ## At a glance - **Region:** Songwe Region, southern highlands - **Population:** 1,344,687 (2022 census) - **Area:** 27,656 km² - **Created:** 29 January 2016, from western Mbeya - **Capital:** Vwawa ## Map of Songwe Region **Districts and councils:** Ileje · Mbozi · Momba · Songwe · Tunduma Town Councils as counted in the 2022 census (National Bureau of Statistics). ## A stone from space, and a border The oldest thing in the region arrived from space. The **Mbozi meteorite** lies in the hills of **Mbozi District**: an iron meteorite roughly **three metres long**, weighing an estimated **sixteen tonnes**, and among the largest in the world. Local people had long known it; it came to scientific attention in **1930**. Rather than move it, the ground around it was excavated so that it now sits on a plinth of its own rock. The region is otherwise new. **Songwe Region was created on 29 January 2016** out of the western half of Mbeya Region, with **Vwawa** as its capital and four districts — Ileje, Mbozi, Momba and Songwe — plus the border town of **Tunduma**. That border is the region's other defining fact. **Tunduma** is the main road crossing into **Zambia**, and **Isongole**, in the Ileje highlands, is the main crossing into **Malawi**. Both the **Tanzam highway** and the **TAZARA railway** run through the region on their way south, which makes this corner of Tanzania one of the country's busiest trade corridors. ## Coffee, and everything that crosses the border About **three-quarters of households** here live from farming, and the region is among the country's more productive. **Coffee** leads the cash crops — Mbozi arabica is well known in the trade, and Songwe and Ruvuma together grow most of the country's arabica — with **sesame** and **sunflower** behind it, and maize and beans grown to eat. See [coffee in Tanzania](https://seeyoutanzania.com/sectors/agriculture/coffee) and [agriculture in Tanzania](https://seeyoutanzania.com/sectors/agriculture). The border economy is the other half. Freight for Zambia and the Copperbelt moves through **Tunduma** day and night, by road and by rail, and the town has grown into a sprawling, hard-working trading post with all the traffic and informal commerce that implies. In the west, the land drops to **Lake Rukwa**, and the fishing communities of Momba District work its southern shore. **What the region produces** - **Coffee:** The leading cash crop, mostly smallholder - **Sesame & sunflower:** The next cash crops - **Maize & beans:** The staples of the highlands - **Fishing:** On Lake Rukwa, in the west - **Transit trade:** Tunduma, on the road to Zambia ## Highland peoples, three countries The **Nyiha** are the largest group in the region, with the **Ndali**, **Lambya**, **Nyamwanga**, **Mambwe** and **Bungu** alongside them — a mix that reflects how many directions this corner of the country connects to. Families commonly have relatives across the Zambian or Malawian border, and trade and marriage have crossed those lines for far longer than the lines have existed. The **Ileje** highlands in the south are green, steep and cool, looking down towards Malawi. The **Mbozi** plateau in the middle is coffee and maize country. Only in the far west, towards Lake Rukwa, does the land dry out. There is very little formal tourism here, and the region does not pretend otherwise. What it offers is the meteorite, the highland farms, and the experience of a genuine frontier town, which is a particular kind of interesting. ## Towns, parks and places across Songwe Region ### Mbozi meteorite (Natural wonder) The sixteen-tonne iron meteorite in Mbozi District — one of the largest in the world, and the region's best-known sight. ### Vwawa (Town) The regional capital, a highland town on the Tanzam highway in Mbozi District. ### Tunduma (Border town) The main road crossing into Zambia, and one of the busiest inland trade points in the country. ### Ileje and Isongole (Highland district) Steep, green country on the Malawian border, with the Isongole crossing at its edge. ### Lake Rukwa (Rift lake) The region's western edge, in Momba District — shallow, alkaline and changeable. ## What to see ### The Mbozi meteorite *Natural wonder.* About three metres long and an estimated sixteen tonnes, standing where it fell. A short detour off the road west. ### Mbozi coffee country *Working farms.* Smallholder arabica across the plateau — hills, drying tables and washing stations in season. ### The Ileje highlands *Landscape.* Cool, steep farmland running down to the Malawian border at Isongole. ### Tunduma *Border town.* Trucks, rail freight and constant trade. Not pretty, but it explains a large part of the region. ### Lake Rukwa's southern shore *Rift lake.* Fishing country in the west of the region, well off any tourist route. ### The TAZARA railway *Journey.* The line to Zambia runs through the region; the passenger service is slow, cheap and a genuine journey. ## Before you go - **Getting there:** The nearest airport is Songwe, which serves Mbeya city and lies east of the region, in Mbeya Region. The Tanzam highway and TAZARA trains both run through the region. - **Getting around:** A vehicle and driver. The meteorite is signposted off the road west of Mbeya; the last stretch is rough. - **When to come:** May to October is dry. The rains, roughly November to April, are heavy in the highlands. - **Borders:** Zambia at Tunduma and Malawi at Isongole. Carry your passport, and expect queues and touts at Tunduma. - **Climate:** Cool in the highlands, hot towards Lake Rukwa. Pack a warm layer for the evenings. - **Money:** Shillings. ATMs in Vwawa and Tunduma; carry cash elsewhere. ## Checked against - [2022 Population and Housing Census — administrative units](https://www.nbs.go.tz/statistics/topic/census-2022), National Bureau of Statistics, Tanzania - [Songwe Region — creation, districts, borders, economy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songwe_Region), Wikipedia - [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