Lion Rock, Gaddafi Mosque and Central Dodoma

Central Dodoma is compact, flat and framed on every horizon by sculpted granite kopjes (inselbergs) that rise abruptly out of the plateau. You can comfortably cover the civic core, the main markets and East Africa's largest pink mosque in a morning, saving the granite boulder climb up Lion Rock for the cooler golden hour before dusk.

Gaddafi Mosque and Nyerere Square

Anchoring the northern approach to the centre, the Gaddafi Mosque (inaugurated in 2010) is Dodoma's most striking architectural landmark. Painted a soft desert rose-pink with white geometric trim, its twin soaring minarets and cluster of domes rise above a spacious walled courtyard capable of holding thousands of worshippers. Non-Muslim visitors dressed modestly are welcome outside Friday prayers; ask at the administrative office by the gate for a custodian to show you the vast carpeted prayer hall and carved wood doors.

From the mosque, walk or take a short bajaji ride south into Nyerere Square, the shaded civic garden centred on a bronze monument to Tanzania's founding president, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, holding a symbolic walking stick. The surrounding avenues hold the historic metric-gauge colonial railway station (where the city was founded in 1907 during German East African rail construction), the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, and lively Sabasaba Market, where vendors sell woven Wagogo baskets, Singida sunflower oil and sweet red-tinted baobab seeds.

Bunge, the Geosciences Museum and climbing Lion Rock (Simba Hill)

East of the centre along the Dar es Salaam road stands the Bunge (Parliament of Tanzania), recognisable by its circular chamber roof inspired by a traditional African chief's hut. While you may not photograph the parliamentary perimeter from the pavement, nearby along Kikuyu Avenue you can visit the Geological Survey of Tanzania Museum to see maps of the East African Rift, kimberlite diamond pipes and shiny green tanzanite and gold specimens.

In late afternoon, take a bajaji or taxi ten minutes north to the base of Lion Rock (Mlimwa Hill or Simba Hill), named for its profile resembling a crouching lion on the skyline. There is no formal ticket booth: follow the worn dirt path through thorny scrub and baobabs before scrambling with hands and feet over rough, grippy granite boulders to the summit ridge. Allow 30 to 40 minutes for the ascent, carry drinking water, and descend before darkness falls before heading for dinner or a bottle from Dodoma's vineyards. Fit these stops into our three-day Dodoma itinerary.