Materuni Waterfalls and Chagga Coffee Tour: The Full Guide

If you only have one non-safari day in northern Tanzania, this is the one we recommend. It is green, cool, cultural and physical, and it costs a fraction of a park day because there are no national park fees involved.

Where Materuni is

Materuni is a Chagga village about 15 km above Moshi, on the southern slopes of Kilimanjaro at around 1,500 m. From Arusha it is a drive of roughly 90 minutes on tarmac and then a steep climb on rough road, which is why you need a proper vehicle rather than a taxi.

The walk to the waterfall

From the village it is about 45 minutes each way on a path through banana, coffee and avocado shambas, with the valley opening below you. It can be muddy and slippery after rain, and there are steps and stream crossings, but any reasonably fit person manages it comfortably.

The fall itself drops around 80 metres into a cold plunge pool. You can swim — it is genuinely cold — and the spray means you will get wet whether you plan to or not, so bring a towel and a change of clothes.

The Chagga coffee tour

The Chagga have grown coffee on these slopes for generations, and the tour is hands-on rather than a demonstration. You pick the cherries, peel them, pound the beans in a wooden mortar while the family sings the pounding song, roast them over a fire and grind them, and then drink the result with the people who grew it.

It takes about two hours, it is the part guests talk about afterwards, and you can buy coffee to take home directly from the growers.

Chemka (Kikuletwa) hot springs

In the afternoon we drive down to Kikuletwa, known locally as Chemka: a spring-fed pool of extraordinarily clear turquoise water under fig trees, warm year-round, with a rope swing and shallow edges for children.

It is roughly an hour from Materuni on a mix of tarmac and dirt. Bring swimwear, a towel and cash for a cold drink; you can float here for two hours and never notice the time.

What the day costs

As with all our trips, 10% of the payment goes to the Fruitful Orphanage & Day Care Center in Arusha.

• ·From $130 per person, private, from Arusha
• ·Includes transport, driver-guide, village and waterfall fees, local Chagga guide
• ·Includes the coffee tour with tasting and a traditional hot lunch
• ·Includes the Chemka hot springs entrance fee and drinking water
• ·Excludes tips, extra drinks, coffee to take home and your towel

When to go

Year-round. The waterfall is fullest in the rainy months of March to May and November; the walk is easiest in the dry season. The springs are warm in every month. Mornings are clearer if you want a view of Kilimanjaro on the drive.