Mount Meru Game Lodge and Sanctuary

An intimate complex of just 17 bedrooms located over a 33 acre estate comprising gardens, the Usa river and the animal sanctuary with all kinds of wildlife from zebras to monkeys and an amazing variety of birds. Nothing beats being awaken in the morning but the bumps, screams and jumps of monkeys playing on the roof of your suite. The lounge and public areas are all decorated with that classical african colonial spirit that brings images of Hemingway and explorers of old relaxing in similar surroundings 50 or 100 years ago.

The Mount Meru lodge was the first place I got to in Africa after arriving in the Kilimanjaro International ariport via a 12 hour flight from Amsterdam and being received with such a mixture of african colonial tradicion and modern day comfort in a place so far away from anything one calls home just makes it so much better.

Of course this is not you final destination and what usually follows are two weeks camping through the northern circuit of national parks but nevertheless, Mount Meru serves its purpose of being the first place to welcome travelers in Tanzania and the last place to wish them a pleasant flight home. And it serves it amazingly well.

The Cultural Heritage Center in Arusha presents crafts and artifacts from hundreds of tribes both local and from other parts of Africa. It carries everything from masks to traditional weapons to tanzanite to wood carvings of all shapes and sizes. The selection is amazing and it just could be a museum of all kinds of African crafts. But of course it is a store so it is possible to buy anything that you see and the largest items can be shipped anywhere in the world. Or so they say, I didnt try shipping anything myself.

Tthere are a lot of items of very good quality and the extreme variety makes it a one stop shop for all your needs for souvenirs during a Tanzanian Safari. Some items are not cheap but it is africa so nobody really pays the stated price. You are pretty much required to haggle and in my personal experience, by using different strategies like bundling items, etc I was able to get more than 35% off the initial price of the items I got.

Overall it was a great place to visit on my last day in Arusha. I am recommending Cultural Heritage to anyone looking for souvenirs in Tanzania and doesnt want to deal with questionable quality or low variety elsewhere as well as with the greater inconvenience of having to carry souvenirs along during the safari.