Hot Springs of Moto wa Maji

Hot Springs of Moto wa Maji, meaning hot water in Swahili, are natural thermal springs in the Mbeya Region of Tanzania's Southern Highlands, a mountainous zone of volcanic origin at the northern end of the East African Rift Valley where the geological forces that are slowly splitting the African continent apart express themselves in volcanic peaks, crater lakes, and geothermal activity that gives this highland region a uniquely dramatic character among Tanzania's diverse natural landscapes. The Mbeya Region's volcanic heritage includes the Rungwe volcano, the Ngozi Crater Lake, and numerous thermal features that emerge from the same deep geological fault system responsible for the dramatic Eastern Rift scenery of the Mbeya and Njombe highlands. The sodium-bicarbonate spring waters here offer therapeutic bathing in a setting of extraordinary natural biodiversity, where the mist-draped forested ridges of the Southern Highlands shelter endemic plant and animal species in one of Tanzania's most ecologically significant and visually stunning highland landscapes.