Mounta Meru Trekking

Mount Meru Trekking

Magnetized by Mt Kilimanjaro, the hikers often overlook Mt Meru, the second highest peak in Tanzania. Towering over Arusha National Park, Mount Meru offers an excellent warm-up exercise for Kilimanjaro, in addition to being a stunning trekking experience in the wild in its own right. Mount Meru trekking is a real adventure. The slopes of this dormant (yet active – the last eruption was in 1910) volcano offer fascinating panoramic vistas and bustling wildlife around. This volcano was “born” around 500,000 years ago, and its very first eruption virtually exploded its eastern side, creating its, peculiar appearance. In addition to that, Mt Meru has one of the deepest craters – over 1,500 meters!

Why Climb Mount Meru

There are several reasons to include Mount Meru in your Tanzania adventures list. Regrettably, this volcano is often out shadowed by Kilimanjaro – located in the immediate vicinity, it attracts more international hikers, thus making it a secondary hiking destination or a warm-up exercise. The majority of hikers, however, ignore it altogether. We believe that Mount Meru Trekking is a great adventure by itself because of these reasons:

Mount Meru Expedition - Essential points

The key features of Mt Meru expedition:

You do not need special alpine skills or experience to take part. Together with Kilimanjaro, Mount Meru is a “hiking”, not climbing “mountain”. Neither ropes, nor ice axes or helmets are necessary – the trekkers reach the Socialist Peak (4,562 m/14,967 f) on foot, and for the majority of them, Mt Meru is the first mountaineering experience.

The ordinary fitness level is ok. Meru hiking does not require anything special – as long as you can comfortably walk up to 10 km/6 miles per day, you can do it. The trekking level there is moderate.

Acclimatization to altitude is important! Do not take it lightly – the altitude of Mt Meru is serious enough to be the cause of altitude sickness. Follow these fundamental rules for acclimatization:

  • Hike slowly (recommended pace is two times slower than your ordinary one)
  • Drink much water (3-4 liters per day)
  • Listen to your guide
  • Do not drink alcohol or too much coffee

The combination of these simple principles will make your Meru climb enjoyable, safe and successful.

The crew will take care of everything. Under the TANAPA (Tanzania National Parks Authority), a qualified guide should accompany the hikers. The team of porters and cooks is responsible for carrying your luggage, camp organization, food preparation, etc.

Under the local customs, in order to promote employment, half of the porter’s crew should be hired from the Meru tribe, which lives in the foothills of Mount Meru.

Overnight stays on Mount Meru are in huts only. In contrast to Kilimanjaro, where tented camping options are available on all routes but Marangu, on Mount Meru, one should be ready to stay in huts only.

An armed ranger will be accompanying your party up to the summit camp. In order to make your stay in the wild safe and protect the animals from poachers, an armed ranger will be hiking with you up to Saddle Hut Camp (see itinerary below).

Mount Meru Trekking - day-by-day itinerary

There is only one route leading to Socialist Peak – “Momella”. Three and four-day Trekking are available

3-DAY VS. 4-DAY HIKE – HOW TO CHOOSE? If the schedule allows and you have not gained acclimatization on other mountains before (meaning that you have successfully climbed anything above 4,000m/13,123f and did not get affected by altitude sickness), we always recommend choosing a longer option. The more time you spend on Mount Meru – the more effectively your body adapts to the altitude, making the whole experience less stressful for it.

The Momella route approaches Mount Meru from the eastern face, moving up through the northern ridge to the peak. The total trek distance is 45 km/27 miles.

Based on 14 reviews
Robin V
Robin V
2023-03-24
Awesome experience I was visiting the Hotsprings and the Materuni Waterfalls with Climb Safe Kilimanjaro. The guide was very nice and the Hotsprings were awesome! The waterfall was cold 🥶 but very refreshing. I had so much fun and would do it again anytime. Thank you for this really nice experience!
Maja Platzer
Maja Platzer
2023-03-23
amazing daytrip to materuni waterfall i did a daytrip to the materuni waterwalls with phili during my time volunteering in moshi. he is such a cool and at the same time professional guide. and so funny hahah, i remember him carrying his waterbottle on his head for the whole hike.i would definitely recommend going with him.
Maria Angels
Maria Angels
2022-12-31
Fantastico y recomendable sin ninguna duda Excelente experiencia, tanto por las fantásticas excursiones y safari como por la profesionalidad, amabilidad y alegría de nuestro guía Pamphil y de todo el equipo.
Eva R
Eva R
2022-12-16
Safari con los mejores Una experiencia increible sin ninguna duda . Acompañada del mejor guía y chofer del mundo . me lo he pasado super bien gracias a ellos con sus canciones y sus bailes he disfrutado muchísimo ademas saben muy bien donde están los animales para ver .lo recomiendo a todo el mundo me llevo la experiencia de por vida
Marlene J
Marlene J
2022-11-27
Great experience in the nature of Tanzania I’ve had a great experience with this company. The guide was really nice and he showed me some special places in Tanzania. I can also recommend doing the coffee tour in addition to the Materuni waterfalls. It was a great experience to see how coffee is made traditionally and the people of the tribe were very friendly.
Regina B
Regina B
2022-11-06
Wonderful Time in Tanzania with the best Guide Pamphil The two weeks I was in Moshi (Tanzania), Pamphil was our personal Guide. We could contact him by any chance & he would give us great advise or secret recommendations what trip we could do next. He was very friendly and even organised us a three day Safari! I will never forget this time!
synne
synne
2022-11-06
Great trip and amazing people! We had a great time! Very positive and generous company. We learned about the culture and saw amazing views and animals.
Julia G
Julia G
2022-11-03
Mount Meru hike My favorite part was obviously reaching the top of Mount Meru. Pamphil kindly carried a hot ginger tea all the way to the summit. In general, we have been really well taken care of by the crew. Very genuinely friendly guys. Pamphil was very attentive to our health status and equipment before the start in order to make sure we’re ready for the hike. Big plus: two hostel nights were included in the price.
Bernt H
Bernt H
2022-10-30
Couldn't be better Everything was amazing and a lovely experience for lifetime just do it with Pamphil team they was wonderfully amazing Pamphilkimey@gmail.com+255768206197
nati3501
nati3501
2022-10-28
best experience we did two trips with him and both trips where really nice and good organized. And of course super friendly, I can only recommand it!!
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