Uluguru Mountains: Tegetaro

View to the north

The Uluguru Mountains are massive and although we enjoyed our hike to Bondwa Peak, we wanted to explore a different section of the forest. We heard there was good birdwatching and hiking on the eastern side so we headed to the tiny village of Tegetaro to access the forest. 

The road from Morogoro to Kinole was a slow and gentle climb with only a few steep points. But the remainder of the road from Kinole to Tegetaro  pushed our vehicle to the absolute test with deep ravines comprised of slippery clay soil. Even more white-knuckling was that the sides had no shoulder nor embankment meaning there was a very real prospect of literally slipping off the side of the mountain! We crawled up and after two hours we eventually arrived at Tegetaro, trying not to think about the drive down. 

We met with our guide and headed through sloped agriculture fields of cassava, banana, cinnamon, and other types of crops. There were some pretty views of some waterfalls raging off the mountains across the valley. After about an hour we reached the forest edge and began the trek inside the forest. 

The forest was beautiful with many large specimens of trees that led to a typical tropical rainforest understory. It had clearly rained the day (and possibly night?) before and clouds were frequently engulfing us. I have always loved the montane rainforest when it rains because it feels right, something about the essence of such a lush environment. It wasn't along before it started raining but the forest was so thick that we were not receiving a drop of rain; we could hear the rain everywhere and we were simultaneously engulfed in a cloud of fog, but we were not accruing any moisture on ourselves! 

We hung out at the first camp but realized it was probably better to head back. We got a little wet on the way back but by the time we exited the forest the rain had let up a bit. We plan to come back to camp for at least one night...in the dry season. When we arrived back at our car, our concerned guide inquired with everyone in the village regarding the volume of rain. After getting responses indicating there was indeed a lot of rain, he then started calling people asking about the road. He suggested coming with us until we reached a safer point and we were happy to oblige. I was seriously concerned about navigating the road though we had all the tools (tow rope, shovel, machete, shovel, etc) and were ready to take it conservatively. Luckily we went down without issue but it was a nervous ride down and more reason for us to return only in the dry season.

Entering into a cloud.

The forest

Pretty foggy.

Agriculture field hike