Tanzania
Pare Mountains
Irrigation channels cut centuries ago still water the terraces below.
The Pare cut their irrigation into these slopes centuries ago, mfongo channels carrying highland water down through the terraces, and the channels still run. The mountains keep their engineering quietly, off the tourist road entirely.
The Pares rise between Kilimanjaro's plains and the Usambaras, Eastern Arc mountains where the Pare people's centuries-old mfongo furrow irrigation still feeds the terraced farms below. Chome's forest reserve programme walks the high paths with traditional music and the local brew among its hospitality, the drier stretches either side of the rains carrying the trails. Almost no tourism reaches here, which leaves the mountains exactly as their farmers keep them.
Solo
Solo walkers can hire a Chome guide and use named managed trails rather than seek undefined remoteness.
Couple
Couples can share forest, farms and South Pare views on a route matched to their walking pace.
- Centuries-old mfongo channels still carry water to the terraces.
- The Eastern Arc's endemism runs through the forest reserves.
- Chome's programme walks the high paths with village hospitality.
- The tourist road passes the Pares entirely by.
Chome's reserve programme serves the local brew with its village hospitality.
Farm kitchens cook the terraces' own produce; the mountains import little.
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