Isimila Stone Age Site tour from Iringa: 60,000-year-old tools

Walk among eroded sandstone pillars where Stone Age tools still surface

An eight-hour private tour from Iringa to Isimila Stone Age Site, where archaeologists in the late 1950s unearthed one of the most significant Stone Age finds ever identified. You visit the excavation landscape of dramatic eroded sandstone pillars and a museum displaying hammerstones, axeheads, flints and scrapers estimated between 60,000 and 100,000 years old. The site sits 21km southwest of Iringa, signposted off the Mbeya road.

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit Isimila Stone Age Site and Museum

• Travel to Isimila Stone Age Site
• Explore eroded sandstone pillars
• View Stone Age tools and artifacts
• Visit museum displays

The experience

Eight hours and 21 kilometers from Iringa, the Isimila Stone Age Site sits in a landscape of eroded sandstone pillars that archaeologists have been working since the late 1950s. What they found there (hammerstones, axeheads, flints and scrapers) dates back 60,000 to 100,000 years and represents one of the most significant Stone Age discoveries ever made. The museum on-site holds small, well-captioned displays of the finds, and the terrain itself is part of what you come to see: the dramatic geology that preserved these tools and the ground where they were unearthed.

Your guide meets you in Iringa and handles all transport in a private vehicle, so you travel at your own pace without coordinating schedules or waiting for group departures. Bottled water and lunch are included, and parking fees are covered. The tour suits any fitness level, though the site involves walking across the excavation area and through the museum. An English-speaking guide leads the visit, and the minimum age for the tour is 18.

What’s included

• Private transportation from Iringa.
• bottled water.
• lunch.
• parking fees.
• museum entry.
• English-speaking guide.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 07:30

Book up to1d before

AgesAdult (18 and older) · Under 18: can't be booked

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 2 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 7 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortPublic transport nearby

Operated by Wild Gaze Safaris Limited

Is this one for you?Book this private tour if you're traveling alone or with one or two others and want to set your own rhythm at the site without waiting for a group to assemble. The eight-hour window gives you time to walk the excavation landscape and the museum without rushing, and the guide's presence means you get context for what you're seeing without needing to arrange your own transport or logistics.

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Top questions

How old are the tools found at Isimila Stone Age Site?

The hammerstones, axeheads, flints and scrapers unearthed at Isimila are estimated to be between 60,000 and 100,000 years old, making them among the most significant Stone Age artifacts ever discovered.

What is there to see at the Isimila site itself?

Beyond the museum, the site features the dramatic landscape of eroded sandstone pillars where the tools were found, and you walk through the excavation area where archaeologists have been working since the late 1950s.

Does the tour include meals and water?

Yes, bottled water and lunch are included in the eight-hour tour, along with private transportation from Iringa and all parking fees.

How far is Isimila from Iringa?

Isimila Stone Age Site is 21 kilometers southwest of Iringa, signposted off the Mbeya road, and the private transport takes you there and back as part of the tour.