Lake Jipe Tour – Kilimanjaro and Beyond

Experience Day Trip to Lake Jipe

TOUR OVERVIEW

Lake Jipe is 12 km long and 2.5 km wide, 12 square kilometers belong to Tanzania and 14 square kilometers to Kenya. Kenya’s Tsavo West National Park borders the southern part of the lake, while Mount Kilimanjaro dominates the horizon some distance to the northwest.

Lake Jipe’s main inflow comes from Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania via the Lumi River, which flows through Kenya. The other main inflow is through the Muvulani River from the Pare Mountains. Several ephemeral streams, mainly from the Pare Mountains, also flow into Lake Jipe. The lake has one outlet, the Ruvu River, located south of the Lumi River in Tanzania, the main inflow.

Jipe is a shallow backwater of the Lumi River which later turns into the Ruvu River and enters the Nyumba ya Mungu Reservoir. After joining the Kikuletwa, the stream flows as the Pangani River into the Indian Ocean at Pangani.

In terms of wildlife, Lake Jipe not only offers hippos and crocodiles, but also a small herd of zebras. At the northern end of the lake there are also a few small villages whose inhabitants make a living from fishing.

TOUR ITINERARY

From the hotel to Lake Jipe

The day will start with your morning breakfast from you lodging place then your driver guide will meet you at the hotel, and pick you starting the 2hrs 15mins drive from Moshi town to Lake Jipe. On your arrival at Jipe, you can have a stroll through the village while the fishermen prepare their boats. The trip differs from the number of reeds available at the lake shore whereby with no reeds and you can cross easily, starting the day by spending some hours on the lake and then hike to a nearby waterfall and with more reeds and it becomes difficult to get through which make long time through the lake and you will have no time visiting the waterfalls as the time will be spent by the fishermen clearing the reeds to create path and the amount of the reeds are unpredictable as they can rapidly change. As you are on the Tanzania side of the Lake expect to see hippos and crocodiles and it is prohibited to crossing to Kenya without your Visa. After the tour you will then drive back to Moshi town.