Mwanza the Rocky City on Lake Victoria Shores

Of all the town and cities making Lake Victoria shores, Mwanza seems to be the most popular despite being the third largest.

The Kisumu City of Kenya used to be the largest urban center on the shores of Lake Victoria that is until Kampala linked with Entebbe.

So, as of now, Kampala City is regarded as the largest City along Lake Victoria having been connected with Entebbe which is on the shore.

Essentially Kampala is not located properly on the lake, but piggy-backs on Entebbe’s shoreline.

With Kisumu the second largest, the Mwanza City on the Tanzanian side of the lake should now be the third largest city along Victoria shores. Previously it used to be the second largest along the water body.

Now Mwanza is a port city on the shore of Lake Victoria, in the North-Western parts of Tanzania.

The warm and humid City is ringed by green hills that are dotted with greyish rocks.

Mwanza, whose nickname is ‘The Rock City,’ is known for the area’s rather unusual rock formations like the legendary Bismarck Rock, which can be found protruding near the Kamanga Ferry Terminal.

In the center of town there are a number of colonial era buildings like the crumbling hilltop Dr Robert Koch’s House.

There is also the 1935 Indian Public Library, old mosques and Hindu temples that reflect the previous Indian influence in the urban precinct.

There is also the rather busy Makoroboi area which is full of shops and vending stalls.

Mwanza City is the capital city of the Mwanza region. Tanzania’s famous musician, the late Remmy Ongala once penned a hit song about the City.

Mwanza is the second largest urban settlement in Tanzania after the city of Dar es Salaam.

It is also home to Tanzania’s largest ethnic group, the Sukuma tribe, numbering more than 4 million people and counting.

Mwanza whose name originates from the word ‘Nyanza,’ which is the original title for Lake Victoria, is a bustling central business precinct for other regions located around the water body including Bukoba in Kagera Region.

The city is also a trading hub serving other towns and islands located in the neighboring countries of Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda.

The city is surrounded by rocky hills dotted with massive granite boulders.

Mwanza hosts the Saa Nane Island, which is a National Park perched on a rocky archipelago in Lake Victoria.

MV Mwanza, which is the largest ship on Lake Victoria was manufactured and will be regularly sailing from Mwanza’s Southern Port to Uganda, Kenya and the various Islands on Lake Victoria.