Iringa sits on a highland plateau at 1,600 metres, noticeably cooler and greener than the coast or the Northern Circuit — a legacy of German colonial settlement visible in the town’s stone architecture and tree-lined streets.

Its real draw is Ruaha National Park, a two-to-three hour drive away: Tanzania’s largest national park and one of Africa’s largest, with huge elephant herds, healthy lion and wild dog populations, and baobab-studded landscapes along the Great Ruaha River — all with a fraction of the visitors you’ll find in the Serengeti.

Nearby Isimila Stone Age Site, a gorge with eroded sandstone pillars and Stone Age tool discoveries, makes for an easy half-day trip from town.