Engaruka

Engaruka is an archeological site from the 15th to 16th C featuring seven large villages with a complex irrigation canal and intricate agricultural system. As on of the most important historical sites in Tanzania, Engaruka was abandoned with little understanding of why this occurred around 1700.

Several archeologists have investigated the ruins including Hans Reck in 1913 and Louis and Mary Leakey in 1935. The lack of burial sites, the identity of the founders of this farming community and how they developed such an ingenious farming system are puzzling to the many researchers.

The Engaruka Cultural Tourism Program provides a half-day tour of the ruins or local farms to learn about current farming and irrigation methods. It is possible to climb to the top of the escarpment to view the ruins and surrounding plains, with the assistance of a Maasai guide. Engaruka is also the name of a modern village not far from the archeological site. North of the village is Kerimasi, a peak that can be climbed in one day or a two-day hike can be arranged to include Ol Doinyo Lengai, an active volcano. Ol Doinyo Lengai is the only active volcano in Tanzania, and it continuously erupts. Sometimes the eruptions are explosive but more often it is just bubbling lava at the subsurface. The name means "mountain of God", the Maasai interpret the white deposits of ash and lava to be the white beard of God.