This is an authorized translation in English of a post in French by @terresco: De Cape Town à Mombasa, 3 mois, 8 pays, 12 500 km – La Tanzanie 2

^{As my primary language is not English, there are probably some mistakes in my translation.}

Remember that the person who speaks here is NOT me, Vincent Celier (@vcelier), but @terresco, a French guy.

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The Usumbara mountains

Much less well-known than the Kilimanjaro massif, whose snow-covered dome is visible in the distance, the Usambara mountains are a jewel of African nature. At more than 2000m altitude the massif is very green, probably because of its proximity to the sea which facilitates precipitation. The mountains are populated by the Shambala people, nice people, discreet but welcoming. They live in large villages, quite extensive despite a terrain sometimes very rough. It must be particularly enjoyable to hike in these countries where people are so easy to access.

The region lives from agriculture; tourism exists, mainly in the regional capital, [Lushoto](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lushoto_District), without being very developed. This allows us to find isolated, beautiful camping places with space for us. The farther we go, the terrain becomes more complicated, the road becomes a track, the track becomes a path. It's the beauty of the region.

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High quality fruits and vegetables

Precipitation and soil quality in these mountains contrast with the rest of the arid, dry and dusty region. In this paradise of greenery, agriculture takes back its rights. Beautiful, artisanal, tiny and neat farms intertwine with the semi-tropical forest. The water trickles into every corner generating fogs sometimes making the landscape mysterious but conducive to crops.

It is 100% organic agriculture, vegetable gardens. There is a plethora of fruit and vegetable markets, majestically colorful, hectic, joyful at will, over-frequented. Hard negotiations, of which I often come out ashamed. Ashamed of having managed to bring down the ridiculous price of superb tomatoes, delicious sweet potatoes or other riches of the earth. Negotiation is a game but above all an opportunity for meetings and exchanges. I limit myself but I am often a victim of my character; hide the natural ...

Beautiful camps

Once again it is a gentleman, hitchhiking in the climb to Lushoto, the small town of the region, who will introduce us to his world, and help us discover a lot of things about mountain life and even find us a beautiful camp, surrounded by greenery, without risk of attack of animals, a luxury offered with kindness.

All near there is a farm which offers some services and visits. They have among other things a restaurant, a canteen in reality. The most spectacular is the room itself. It is 2000m high and the evening is cool, no, it is cold. The room houses a huge fireplace in which beautiful logs burn. This constitutes a particularly warm atmosphere, a mountain refuge cozy, favorable to relaxation.

A habitat surrounded by greenery, a lot of banana trees around the houses

Everyone is eating at the same place, at the same time, the same menu. It's very friendly. Chance will meet us at the table with a German couple on a mission in Tanzania for over a year and who enjoy their last vacation in this country. He is a diplomat, she works in the humanitarian field. Bright young people, super trained, incredibly humble. The kind of gifted people who can make you think that you are smart. The conversation is exciting and when we leave with regret the moon is already high in the sky.

A second camp deserves a quick description. We are at the end of the world, at least at the end of the mountain. The view is incredible, the neighboring village opens its doors with friendship. We are so used to being well received that we would end up thinking that it is a due. We settle on a small lot of a solidarity hotel. A retired Dutch couple who settled there and develop a village project. The hotel gives them just a small extra budget and allows them to create some jobs. They do not gain any glory, I think they have passed this stage; we had to squeeze them a little to get them to talk about their work.

The adventure is at the end of the road

The mountain is easily accessible through Lushoto, a winding road as can be mountain roads. It is a whole other thing when it comes to cross completely to go down the other side. At first everything is fine then, as we advance, the tracks are narrowing, you have to go with a big 4*4 in places more suitable for pedestrians, at best cyclists. It's part of the charm.

The hitchhiker of the day was going to college, I thought I had misunderstood but no, there is a university, a beautiful one even, in the middle of the mountain. The mysteries of Africa. The crossing takes us to the northern part of the mountain, at the edge of the cliff overlooking, beyond the great plains, on Kilimanjaro then the Maasai territory that we will explore in the coming days.

The descent will be spectacular to the point of making us pass the taste of making photos. We regretted it later, but when your moving house is at the edge of the precipice, on a slippery floor, with you inside you do not think about taking away any more memories, just to bring back yourself. It's quiet in the car, everyone keeps their fear for themselves, no need to panic the team. The good side is that the satisfaction of arriving at the bottom is proportional to the anxiety felt.

The benches of the village football field

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We leave with regret this endearing region. Our initial idea was to dedicate a week to the climb of Kilimanjaro but the necessary budget and affluence made us change our mind. A little disappointed at the moment we choose to visit the region otherwise, by touring the massif at an average altitude of 1500m. It will be a very beautiful human experience, good times in places remained very wild despite the growing success of the rise of Kili.

-- @terresco

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Africa, the long crossing
From Cape Town to Mombasa: South Africa
From Cape Town to Mombasa: Namibia
From Cape Town to Mombasa: Botswana
From Cape Town to Mombasa: Zimbabwe
From Cape Town to Mombasa: Zimbabwe, part 2, by @terresco
From Cape Town to Mombasa: Zimbabwe, part 3, by @terresco
From Cape Town to Mombasa: Zambia, by @terresco
From Cape Town to Mombasa: Malawi, by @terresco
From Cape Town to Mombasa: Tanzania #1, by @terresco

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All pictures are property of @terresco