Kigoma

In the northwest of Tanzania, on the northeastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, lies the town and lake port of Kigoma. The borders with Burundi and The Democratic Republic of the Congo are nearby. Kigoma is the capital of the Kigoma Region that surrounds it, and it is the base for anyone planning to trek chimpanzees in Gombe Stream or Mahale Mountains national park.

Livingstone Memorial in Kigoma

Flights from Dar Es Salaam and from Arusha/Moshi make Kigoma simple to reach. The town is home to the Livingstone Memorial Museum. This is the well-known spot where Stanley greeted Livingstone in 1871 with the immortal line, ‘Dr Livingstone, I presume?’ The two mango trees growing here are said to be grafts from the original tree that shaded the two men during that meeting. Inside, the Livingstone Memorial Museum displays a number of artefacts and printed placards on the East African slave trade, alongside paintings by local artists and papier-mâché figures of Stanley and Livingstone. The story of Livingstone and Stanley is one worth knowing, and the modest museum’s attempt to tell the horrors of the slave trade makes it a worthwhile stop.