Mufindi Highlands

Mufindi is a plateau at around two thousand metres in the southern highlands, cool enough for fires at night and given over largely to tea, with the estates rolling across the hills in clipped green. Between them survive patches of Eastern Arc forest holding endemic birds and chameleons, and streams were stocked with trout in the colonial period and still hold them. Ngwazi and Kigogo lakes sit on the plateau, and walking and riding are the usual activities.

What you actually see

• The tea estates - clipped green hills covering much of the plateau.
• The forest patches - surviving Eastern Arc fragments with endemic birds.
• The trout streams - waters stocked in the colonial period and still fished.
• The plateau lakes - Ngwazi and the smaller waters on the high ground.

When to go

June to October is the dry season, cold at night. The rains from November to April are heavy and the tracks become difficult. Mornings are often misty.

Honest expectations

Roads onto the plateau are rough and slow. Accommodation is limited to a small number of lodges and camps. Nights are genuinely cold and many places have no heating beyond a fire.

Nearby

Iringa is north, and Udzungwa is east.