Tabora

Tabora sits in the middle of the country and was, in the nineteenth century, the most important inland town on the caravan routes, where the road from the coast divided for Lake Tanganyika and Lake Victoria. Arab and Swahili traders based themselves here in flat-roofed tembe houses. Livingstone stayed in one at Kwihara, a few kilometres out, and it survives as a small museum. The town is now a railway junction and the centre of a tobacco and honey region.

What you actually see

• The Livingstone tembe - the flat-roofed house at Kwihara, now a small museum.
• The railway junction - the point where the central line divides for the two lakes.
• The caravan history - the town's role as the main inland trading station.
• The market - the produce and goods market of a regional centre.

When to go

June to October is the dry season. Train arrivals are irregular and dictate the town's rhythm. The rains from December to April make roads difficult.

Honest expectations

The tembe museum is very basic and often closed without notice. The town itself has little for visitors. Getting here takes a long time by any route.

Nearby

Kigoma is west, and Dodoma is southeast.