The special

Why this accommodation is so unique and the Slow Leopard in Tanzania deserves its own hotel rating here in the travel blog My Travelworld, has 3 main reasons:

1) The location in the untouched south of Tanzania, because Kilwa is completely off the grid (but all the more idyllic) of the usual Tanzanian itineraries, which are mostly limited to the northern national parks around Arusha, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar
2) The complex itself is beautifully laid out and is located directly on a picturesque bay at the gates of the Kilwa archipelago, which contains some cultural treasures from the 13th to 15th century which are also awarded the UNESCO World Heritage. Excursions can be made directly from this special hostel in Tanzania.
3) The Slow Leopard, which can be described as both a hostel and an eco-lodge in Tanzania, offers a delicious seafood dinner every day, which is served family style. In combination with a vegetarian lunch, full board can be booked for around 13 USD (30000 TSH), which is a really good deal for price-conscious travelers - whether as a backpacker in Tanzania or with a rental car on their own - especially considering the very good quality.

Getting to Kilwa Masoko

As already indicated, Kilwa is located away from the usual itineraries in Tanzania. It is all the more worthwhile if you want to collect particularly authentic impressions. In addition, the journey to Kilwa, even if it is far, is not necessarily burdensome, so you only have to bring some time.

From Dar Es Salaam, buses run twice a day to Kilwa, once in the morning around 06:00am, once around 12:00pm, each from the Mbagala Rangi tatu terminal. If these times do not suit you, you can also take a bus in the direction of Lindi and get off at the Nangurukuru intersection - a taxi will bring you the remaining 28 kilometers. But feel free to write to the Slow Leopard Hostel, they know very well about the bus connections and are also otherwise incredibly helpful when it comes to the organization of your Tanzania trip - for example, even if you want to continue with the Tazara train (like us) afterwards.

If you are just looking for a normal room, you will also find 3 well-kept double rooms with fan and mosquito nets, each of which can accommodate up to 4 people. In general, everything in the Slow Leopard Hostel is relatively new (and above all very clean and well maintained), as this accommodation in Tanzania was only opened in 2019.

The bathrooms are located numerous at the end of the building and take up the natural proximity of the Slow Leopard with their design. These have always been maintained and are sufficient even with full occupancy.

For us, the double rooms were the best deal, as they are even cheaper than the glamping tents. The latter offer a great nature experience, but had too little storage space for us personally. The dorms, in turn, are ideal for backpackers in Tanzania, especially because of the already mentioned value for money. Only one should not be sensitive to heat, but this is in principle especially similar along the coast in many other accommodations in Tanzania without air conditioning.

Important: during my trip to the Slow Leopard Hostel Kilwa there was no WiFi (seclusion, etc.), but this has now been installed. So you can also stay connected online in Kilwa Masoko.

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The food

The food at the Slow Leopard Kilwa was also one of the reasons why we even became aware of this special hostel in Tanzania, because every evening - fresh from the sea - a seafood dinner is prepared, which is then enjoyed together with all guests. This can be booked directly on site.

Especially this type of family dinner is always ideal to get to know other travelers, because for example in the Banana Eco-Farm in Arusha or in the Foresight Lodge in Karatu - both also really great accommodations in Tanzania - we appreciated this form of food. If you also sit with your feet in the sand and under the open sky like here in the Slow Leopard, you can enjoy the time (and the food) even more.

For dinner there is usually a type of fish or seafood (during our stay once calamares, fish and crabs) with numerous side dishes. Funnily enough, the seafood content didn't necessarily blow us off, while all the side dishes without exception were extremely tasty and were among the best things we ate during our entire Tanzania holiday. Bread is also baked at the Slow Leopard Kilwa and served fresh from the stone-fired oven which makes it a real treat in a country where toast bread usually rules in 99% of the cases. Local ingredients are used for the dinner without exception.

The high quality continued with the included breakfast. While the egg option was solid and good, the homemade granola was outstanding. Home-made, self-roasted, subtly in sugar, refined with local coconut - it could be the best granola I've ever eaten.

The lunch, which can be booked as part of a full board, was not consumed in the Slow Leopard, but it is also available and freshly prepared. So if you also like to eat, you will find the Slow Leopard Kilwa one of the best hostels in Tanzania.

Activities in Kilwa (Kilwa Masoko and Kilwa Archipelago).

A major reason for the trip to Kilwa - after all, about 6 hours by bus from Darsasalam - are the activities you can do here. 

The main attraction in Kilwa and thus also the main activity of the Slow Leopard Hostel are the ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songa Mnara. These belong to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, especially from the 13th to the 15th century. In the 19th century, some of the most important trade routes ran from the Arabian Peninsula to Africa through Kilwa - especially in maritime trade.

We visited the ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani as part of a full-day excursion, the Songo Mnara Boat Trip. The ruins were indeed very interesting, because for the fact that since the heyday of Kilwa has already passed about half a millennium, the ruins were really very well preserved. One reason for this is certainly that compared to other highly frequented archaeological sites such as Chichen Itzá or Machu Picchu, only a dozen visitors per day get lost here.

Among other things, we were able to visit the old palace or the great mosque, which, in addition to the important historical significance, also provided beautiful photo motifs. The fortress, originally built by the Portuguese, was also impressive and well intact. The important information came from our guide, who accompanied us all day long.

The snorkel stops in Kilwa Kisiwani were also really cool. As part of our Slow Leopard excursion, we stopped at two different places, where we snorkeled along an exciting steep wall and found not only numerous species of fish, but also a fairly intact reef. The latter in particular is often no longer common today, especially in touristy areas. For example, my little snorkeling trip the week before in Jambiani on Zanzibar didn't really have much to offer except sea urchins and starfish.

The full-day strip is therefore absolutely recommended - especially the mix of culture and nature is unique and guarantees an exciting day.

Our second tour with the Slow Leopard Hostel was a Sunset Cruise in an original dhow, the classic shape of wooden boats in Tanzania. This tour was not really spectacular, so I would only recommend this tour if you have a cool group together. Then it can certainly be very entertaining with a few beers.

If you also want to discover sights in Kilwa, you can, for example, go to the eastern tip of Kilwa Masoko and take a hike to the sandbanks at low tide. For adventurers, there is also a cave tour that guarantees action and adrenaline. For details, please ask the hostel (and - if the employees don't know - give you the number of owner Henry, who is really a thoroughbred traveler and explorer).

The beach of Kilwa Masoko is also not unattractive - including right here, where the Slow Leopard Hostel is located.

We also explored a small mini-highlight ourselves: the lunch at the market. Virtually opposite the point of sale of the bus tickets to Dar-Esalam there is a good local restaurant, where we can for 4000 TSH (approx. 1.50 Euro) ate the best and cheapest fish of our Tanzania trip - delicately prepared and served with a delicious banana sauce. This is how you imagine a real fishing place.

Conclusion

As you can see from our experience at the Slow Leopard Hostel in Kilwa, we had a great and exciting time in Kilwa Masoko. The Slow Leopard is rather one of the most unique hostels in Tanzania, because it is not only suitable for backpackers, but - especially due to the exciting excursions and the cultural-historical importance - also for many other types of travelers that we also met here, so that you really have an exciting and mixed audience here (although it is generally a small accommodation with a maximum occupancy of around 20 people).

If you want to explore Tanzania on your own and in somewhat more remote regions, without having to do without a good tourist micro infrastructure (comfortable overnight stay, opportunities for excursions, places to relax), the Slow Leopard in Kilwa is highly recommended. In my opinion, 3 nights are best suited for this, so that you have 2 full days for exploring - or just to relax for a day. 2 nights I would not recommend due to the long journey of Daresalam, longer is of course always possible.