Kigoma

Kigoma is a town and lake port in northwestern Tanzania, on the northeastern shores of Lake Tanganyika. It is close to the border with Burundi and The Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city serves as the capital for the surrounding Kigoma Region and is hub for everyone who wants to trek Chimpanzees in Gombe Stream and Mahale Mountains national park.

Livingstone Memorial in Kigoma

Kigoma is easy to reach by plane from Dar Es Salaam and Arusha/Moshi. In Kigoma you find the Livingstone Memorial Museum. The famous site where Stanley uttered the immortal words, ‘Dr Livingstone, I presume?’ on meeting Livingstone in 1871. The two mango trees here are said to have been grafted from the original tree that shaded the two men during their encounter. The Livingstone Memorial Museum holds some artefacts and printed placards about the East African slave trade. And you find paintings by local artists and papier-mâché replicas of Stanley and Livingstone. Livingstone and Stanley’s story is worth knowing! And the humble museum’s effort to recount the horrors of the slave trade makes it an interesting stop.