Mtwara and Mikindani

Mikindani, A Historic Swahili And German Era Town With A Restored Boma Fort (Now A Hotel), The Livingstone House Where Livingstone Prepared His Last Journey In 1866, A Crumbling Slave Market And A Sleepy Bay. Mtwara Is The Regional Centre, A Port For Natural Gas And Cashews And The Starting Point To The Msimbati And Mnazi Bay Marine Park. · Mikindani, Mtwara

Mikindani is a small Swahili trading town on a quiet bay, 10 km north of Mtwara, the port and regional capital in the far south-east of Tanzania. Arab, Portuguese and German traders all used it, and the traces remain: the Old Boma, a German fort of 1895 now a hotel, the crumbling slave market, the old Customs House and Livingstone House, where he stayed in 1866 before setting out inland. Baobab trees over 500 years old stand by the shore and dhows sit in the harbour. The honest picture: this is a very quiet corner, well off the beaten track, and it is a regional draw, not a reason to cross the country on its own. Mtwara itself is a plain working town of cashew nuts, a port and the gas fields of Mnazi Bay. Come if you are already in the south, for the old town, the beaches and the marine park near the Ruvuma river. Two days is enough, and the Boma hotel is the most pleasant place to stay. Allow time for the slow pace, and bring a book for the long afternoons, since evenings are very quiet and little is open late.

Restored old Swahili town on a bay 10 km north of Mtwara in the far south-east, with the German Boma, the slave market and the Livingstone House on the sea road, Mikindani, Mtwara, Tanzania

The old town can be walked at any time, and the streets and shoreline are FREE. The Old Boma hotel is open every day. Livingstone House and the old buildings have no fixed visiting hours and some are CLOSED inside; ask at the hotel or town office. Markets are busiest in the morning.

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