Mt Meru Trekking

After your arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport you are welcomed by our driver and taken to your hotel. The rest of the day is at your leisure. Relax at your hotel or take a trip to the nearby safari capital Arusha (taxi required). During the day you meet our operations manager at the hotel for a detailed briefing and equipment check.

After breakfast your guide meets you at your hotel, and after a short drive you reach the entrance to Arusha National Park. Your guide will take care of the entry formalities, leaving you plenty of time to study the information boards and learn a little about the park. It is another short drive to the starting point of your hike, the Momella Gate. On the way you have good chances of your first wildlife sightings. After leaving buffalo and giraffes behind, you follow the southern route into an acacia forest. The first stage begins. After a two-hour climb you reach the Maio Falls. The lovely meadow is an ideal spot for your picnic break. Thus fortified, you continue and soon reach the well-known “Arched Fig Tree”. Your ranger can tell you how this unique tree, which forms an archway over the forest track, came to be. You continue until, after about one and a half to two hours, you reach Miriakamba Hut. Dinner and overnight stay at Miriakamba Hut.

After breakfast you continue your hike up numerous wooden steps. As you gain height the temperature drops, so hiking is more pleasant today than the day before. At an altitude of about 3,200 m you take a first short break at the so-called Elephant Ridge (“Mgongo wa Tembo”) to gather strength for the steep ascent ahead. Around midday you reach today’s destination, Saddle Hut (3,550 m). Along the way the landscape has changed and become less densely wooded bush forest. After a relaxed lunch you can take an additional hike of about one hour to Little Mount Meru (3,820 m), for which you are rewarded with a unique view of neighbouring Kilimanjaro and into Arusha National Park. When you get back to the hut, dinner is already waiting for you. Afterwards you go to bed early, to be well prepared for the summit night.

After a short night’s rest and a small snack of biscuits and tea, you set off on your summit adventure. You continue uphill to Rhino Point (3,820 m), before the difficulty of the mountain route increases and you sometimes have to use your hands and climb short sections. Following the northern ridge of the mountain, after four to five hours you reach the summit in the light of the rising sun. Enjoy the unique view and the look into the mountain’s crater. Then you head back to Saddle Hut, where you rest again at length and have a hot lunch. By the afternoon you continue down to Miriakamba Hut (2,500 m), where you can recover from today’s exertions.

Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Note | During the last section, a few unsecured places have to be negotiated. You should therefore be sure-footed and have a head for heights for this tour. In very bad weather (heavy rain, icy rocks or dense fog), the park authority’s ranger may cancel the mountain tour. Ascents during the rainy season (April, May) are absolutely not recommended.

After breakfast, the last section along the northern route is quickly done and after two to three hours you reach Momella Gate. With a little luck, you again have the chance today to see elephants, buffalo and giraffes. After saying goodbye to your porters and the cook, you are taken back to your hotel. After a hot shower you can recover and relax here after your mountain tour.

After breakfast and check-out from the hotel, your Mount Meru tour ends. We would be happy to organise a follow-on programme for you: a Kilimanjaro ascent, an exciting lodge or camping safari, or a beach holiday on Zanzibar.