Mount Meru (trip)

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Mount Meru

  • Dar Es Salaam International Airport, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
  • Active & Adventure
Tanzania, Africa

To check availability or book,
contact Zara Tanzania Adventures:

Period offered: Year-round. The provider (view their profile) can provide you with specific departure dates, final prices, and other information.


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from $955* per person5 DaysYear-round
Comfort accommodations Exertion level: 3
Operator: Zara Tanzania Adventures 12 people max
Mount Meru is the second highest mountain in Tanzania and the fifth highest in Africa. Meru is the only great isolated stratovolcano in East Africa that is still active. A massive eruption 7,800 years ago shattered Meru's upper slopes and formed an oblong 8 km/5 mi wide caldera that is open to the east. The main summit is on the caldera's western edge, perched above a dramatic and still active Ash Cone inside the caldera. Meru is just below the permanent snowline, so there are no glaciers or snowfields on its slopes. It is best to allow 4 days for climbing Meru, since it involves a large elevation gain, but you can do the trek in 3 or 5 days. There are huts available to climbers on the mountain and firewood is supplied. Your ascent involves hiking through grassland and forest on the mountain's lower slopes where you can see animals grazing. Higher, you hike and scramble along the breathtaking crater rim to the summit. Aside from being a rewarding and picturesque trek in its own right, Meru is also great acclimatization for a Kilimanjaro climb. You need advance permission from the park warden at Momella Gate before you start your ascent.

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Locations visited/nearby

Tanzania, Africa

0 testimonials about this trip.

3 testimonials about the provider, Zara Tanzania Adventures:

  • Reviewer: Pamela Brouillard
    Dear Zara Tours,

    I just wanted to compliment you on the outstanding service we had on our recent Kili climb on the Lemosho route (June 4th-10th). Our guides were outstanding. Yahoo! was an incredible leader who managed the day to day operation of the camp and climbing in a calm and thoughtful manner. I also want to compliment Jacob, Hamesi, and Soloman as well as all the others for their thoughtful and patient assistance on the climb. I couldn't have done it without their help and expert guidance. Thanks for making the TDS climb such a successful experience.
  • Reviewer: Ben
     Hi,

    I'm just back from a wonderful trip up Kilimanjaro, and would like to tell you what a wonderful job Gilbert and Jimmy did. Gilbert was my guide, and Jimmy was my assistant guide, as well as pitching my tent and serving me my food every night.

    I believe there were originally going to be two people in my group, but the other person must have canceled, so that meant that I had an incredible amount of one-on-one attention lavished on me. Gilbert was a very enjoyable hiking partner, and he did many extra things for me that he didn't have to do, such as taking me on a side trip one evening when I expressed an interest in exploring. His English is excellent, and he is a fountain of information, not just about the natural history of the mountain but also about politics, history, and culture. He was conservative at first about keeping me safe, but once he got to know me and was able to appraise my physical abilities and level of experience, he allowed me more latitude, which made the trip a lot more fun.

    Jimmy, however, was the one who really rose to the occasion on this trip. On summit day, Gilbert asked him to accompany us for safety, so that we would be a group of three rather than just two. Jimmy went in front and I went in the middle. We passed the other groups, and by the time we were nearing Stella Point we were about an hour and a half ahead of the next group back. At this point it was becoming more and more clear that Gilbert was seriously sick. He hadn't been on the mountain since before the rainy season, so he probably wasn't quite as acclimatized as he could have been -- and of course altitude sickness is notoriously fickle. Although I kept trying to convince him to head back down, he insisted on coming up as far as Stella Point, where he waited in the wind while Jimmy guided me to Uhuru. Jimmy was very confident, and obviously knew the mountain extremely well. In my opinion, Jimmy's performance in this difficult situation is the best possible indicator of his readiness to step up to being a guide.

    I was a little hesitant about whether to tell you the details of this summit day, since I didn't want to create any negative impression about Gilbert. But after all, we're all only human beings, and we work within our physical limitations. I think the way Gilbert persevered up to Stella Point showed an iron will. Furthermore, his decision to have Jimmy come up with us turned out to have been exactly the right decision for both everyone's safety and my own success in reaching the summit. His level of experience, maturity, and good judgment set up the situation so that everything turned out OK, even when something went wrong.

    Regards,

     
  • Reviewer: Lasse Frederiksen
     Dear Zara tours,

    I Just returned from a great trip to Kilimanjaro and two days safari. I just want to let you know that I am very happy about the way things went. I found that everything was very well organized. The guides were great. On kilimanjaro I went with Isack Samson who did a great job and made the trip a great succes. On the safari I went with Peter Minja who had great knowledge about all that we saw. He was very nice and polite and willing to make an ekstra effort to ensure a trip of of the ordinary. I will definitely recommend zara tours and the two guides, that I went with.

    All my best Zara and thanks again Thanks for an outstanding trip.

    Best Regards


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Special information

  • This is a custom departure, meaning this trip is offered on dates that you arrange privately with the provider. Additionally, you need to form your own private group for this trip. The itinerary and price here is just a sample. Contact the provider for detailed pricing, minimum group size, and scheduling information. For most providers, the larger the group you are traveling with, the lower the per-person cost will be.

Itinerary

Day 1

Arrive at the Kilimanjaro or Dar es Salaam International Airport. You will be met at the airport and transferred to the Springlands Hotel or similar hotel in Moshi for your overnight.

Transfer from Moshi to Arusha National Park, check in with park personnel, and in the late morning, walk under the Momella Gate to begin your trek. You soon pass some open grassland where you can view buffalo, warthogs, and elephants. Then, you continue a steady climb through montane forest. You can pause for your lunch at the famous Fig Tree. After lunch you, continue through less dense forest, where you can see birds and monkeys, including the black and white Colobus. By mid afternoon, you have closer views of Meru’s towering cliffs and Ash Cone. The Miriakamba Huts are situated in an idyllic grassy glade, and you will reach it in time to enjoy the afternoon sun and beautiful views over the surrounding plains between Meru and Kilimanjaro. If you are lucky, a giraffe may walk through camp.

Day 2
It is often clear in the morning, so if you want a view of Kilimanjaro, get up early. From the Miriakamba Huts, you climb steeply to the crater rim, which is called Elephant Ridge at this point. Then, you follow a steep path through attractive open lush Montane Forest to reach the giant heather in the Moorland near the saddle between Little Meru and Meru. A hot lunch will be ready for you when you arrive at the Saddle Huts. Your afternoon is free to rest and enjoy the views, but energetic trekkers can make the short climb to the nearby summit of Little Meru (3,820 m/12,533 ft) for superb views just before sunset.

Day 3
Start early at 2 AM, and climb steeply for an hour to Rhino Point (3,800 m/12,467 ft). In icy conditions or in strong winds, it may be unreasonable to progress beyond Rhino Point, but sunrise from here is equally as spectacular as from Cobra Point. If the weather is fine, descend slightly and continue along or near a rough undulating ridge of ash and rock to reach Cobra Point (4,350 m/14,271 ft) near sunrise. The stunning views include the cliffs of the crater rim, the Ash Cone rising from the crater floor, Kilimanjaro floating on the morning clouds, and the Rift Valley. Hike for another hour on a superb but often steep path into the unfolding day to reach the summit of Meru. The view from the top of this steep-sided peak can make you feel quite unique and suspended. Your hike back to Rhino Point in the still sharp morning light between the crater’s sloping outer wall and sheer cliffs of the inner wall is one of the most dramatic and exhilarating walks in Africa. You can make this a 5-day trek by only descending to the Saddle Huts on Day 3

Day 4
Descend to the Miriakamba Huts on Day 4.

Day 5
Descend to the Momella Gate on day 5. This itinerary makes the long descent much easier and gives you more time to enjoy the mountain.

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