Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern branch of the Great Rift Valley, surrounding Lake Duluti, Tengeru has a temperate climate.

[4] Beginning in 1942 and continuing after World War II, a camp for displaced persons from central and eastern Europe was established at Tengeru [pl], just south of Lake Duluti.

It primarily housed Poles, who were then resettled mainly to Britain, but partly also to the United States, Australia, and other countries.

[5] At its height it housed over 4,000 people, but now all that remains of the camp is its large cemetery.

[1][6][7][8][self-published source] The dairy and beef cattle farm that was run by the internees was taken over in 1952 by the Ministry of Agriculture and became the Tengeru Horticultural Research and Training Institute (HORTI).