Materuni Waterfalls, Coffee Village and Hot Springs from Moshi

Materuni Waterfalls, Kilimanjaro's southern slopes

Materuni Waterfalls is the best-known waterfall near Moshi and the easiest Kilimanjaro day trip from the town. The falls drop roughly ninety metres down a green cliff of the Mware river gorge, inside Materuni village at about one thousand five hundred metres above sea level on the lower slopes of the mountain. The hike to the falls starts in the village and takes around forty to fifty minutes each way on a muddy, sometimes steep path through banana, avocado and coffee farms.

At the bottom you reach a natural plunge pool where you can swim in cold, clean mountain water; the best photos are taken from the boulders on the right bank. Expect about an hour at the falls. The Materuni waterfall hike from Moshi is doable for most reasonably fit people, including children who are used to walking, and our guide sets the pace and lends a hand on the slippery sections. Wear shoes with grip and carry a change of clothes.

Materuni village and the Chagga coffee experience

Materuni is a Chagga village, and the Chagga people have farmed the fertile southern slopes of Kilimanjaro for centuries, growing arabica coffee under the shade of banana trees. The Materuni coffee tour is the cultural heart of the day: with local farmers you pick ripe red cherries, pulp them, roast the beans in a clay pot over an open fire, pound them in a wooden mortar while the villagers sing the traditional coffee song, and finally grind and brew a cup that tastes of the mountain it grew on.

The whole experience lasts about an hour and ends with a hot lunch cooked in the village, usually a Chagga-style plate of banana stew, rice, vegetables and meat or beans. It is a relaxed, friendly stop where guests ask about daily life on the mountain and children are welcome to take part in the pounding. Buying a bag of freshly roasted beans directly from the farmers is the best souvenir of a Moshi coffee tour.

Kikuletwa (Chemka) Hot Springs

Kikuletwa Hot Springs, also called Chemka Hot Springs or Maji Moto, lie in dry savannah near Rundugai village, about forty kilometres south-west of Moshi, roughly an hour's drive from the mountain villages. After the dusty approach road the sight is startling: a pool of glass-clear turquoise water fed by underground springs, shaded by huge fig trees whose roots trail into the water. The water is pleasantly warm rather than hot, which is why a swim at Kikuletwa in the heat of the afternoon is so refreshing.

You usually spend two hours here swimming, floating in the gentle current, jumping from the rope swing and letting the tiny fish nibble at your feet. There are simple changing rooms and a shaded area for resting. The best time to visit Chemka Hot Springs is on a weekday afternoon, when it is quieter than at weekends. Entrance is included in the default option, and the drive back to Moshi arrives in the early evening.

The ride from Moshi: tuk-tuk or car

How to get to Materuni from Moshi is simple with us: the road climbs out of town through Kibosho-style farmland for about fifteen kilometres, and the last stretch to the village is a rough track. The default option uses a tuk-tuk, the three-wheeled taxi of Tanzanian towns, which gives an open, breezy and genuinely local ride with the villages, markets and farms passing at eye level. On a clear morning the snowy summit of Kilimanjaro shows itself above the clouds behind you.

If you prefer more comfort, the same day by air-conditioned car is on the booking panel, as is a full-day version starting in Arusha. The tuk-tuk is fun for couples and small groups travelling light; families with young children or guests who want cooler transport for the hot-springs leg often choose the car. Either way our driver and guide stay with you from pickup to drop-off.