Mto wa Mbu

About Mto wa Mbu

Mto wa Mbu sits at the entrance to Lake Manyara National Park, and is notable for being one of the most ethnically diverse towns in Tanzania -- more than 120 different tribal groups are represented among its residents, drawn here over decades by the fertile irrigated farmland fed by the nearby Rift Valley streams.

What to Expect

Guided walking tours through the town and surrounding farmland pass banana and rice plantations fed by a network of hand-dug irrigation canals, along with a lively market and the chance to try locally brewed banana beer. It offers a grounded, everyday counterpoint to the wildlife-focused stops on either side of it.

Best Time to Visit

Mto wa Mbu can be visited year-round, and works well as a short stop either before or after a Lake Manyara game drive.

Getting to Mto wa Mbu

The town sits directly at the entrance gate to Lake Manyara National Park, making it an easy, natural addition to any Northern Circuit itinerary passing through.

Combine With: Mto wa Mbu is almost always visited as part of a Lake Manyara stop, either immediately before or after the park itself, since the town sits directly at the entrance gate.

A Genuine Cross-Section

The irrigation canals that sustain the town's farms were originally dug by hand generations ago and remain in active use today, a detail local guides point out as evidence of the community's long history of adapting to the Rift Valley's unpredictable rainfall.

The town's market is one of the liveliest and most colorful in northern Tanzania, selling everything from fresh produce to woodcarvings, and offers a genuine, unpolished contrast to more curated craft markets elsewhere on the circuit.

A bicycle tour is also possible here for travelers wanting to cover more ground through the surrounding farmland than a walking tour allows.