Cool forest air, the smell of roasting coffee, and a waterfall at the end of the trail. A half-day on the slopes of Kilimanjaro that feels nothing like the plains below.
Materuni village sits on the lower southern slopes of Kilimanjaro, around 45 minutes from Moshi, in a landscape that could not feel more different from the safari plains: cool, green, terraced, and dense with banana groves and coffee bushes. The visit begins at a small family-run coffee farm, where you are walked through the entire process by hand, from picking ripe red cherries, to pulping, drying, roasting over an open fire, and grinding with a traditional wooden mortar.
The coffee you grind is the coffee you drink, brewed on the spot and served strong, often alongside a simple Chagga lunch of banana stew or other local dishes prepared by your hosts. Afterward, a guided walk through forest trails leads to the Materuni waterfall, a roughly 70 to 100 metre drop into a cool plunge pool at the base, fed by glacial meltwater from higher on the mountain.
The whole experience is run by the local community, on their schedule, and gives a completely different perspective on Kilimanjaro: not as a mountain to climb, but as a place where people live, farm, and have done so for generations.
Pick, pulp, roast, and grind coffee the traditional way, then drink it.
A guided trail through cool forest to a plunge pool at the base of the falls.
A simple, home-cooked meal prepared by your host family.
Your visit directly supports a local farming family and village.
A welcome change of climate from the heat of the safari plains below.
Fits comfortably before a flight, after a climb, or on a rest day in Moshi.
Materuni can be visited any day of the year and works well as a rest-day activity, a pre-Kilimanjaro climb warm-up, or a post-safari add-on before your flight home. The forest trail can be muddy after rain, so sturdy footwear is recommended in the wetter months (March to May, November). For full preparation guidance, see our Kilimanjaro preparation guide.
Whether you are arriving, departing, or resting between climb and safari, this is one of the easiest and most rewarding additions to make.