Mt. Meru Hiking

After breakfast, you will be taken to the Arusha National Park gate. Thereafter, paperwork for clearance will be done ready to start trekking. Once your guide is done with all the formalities you will be taken to the Momella Gate. From this point, the trekking will start accompanied by an armed park ranger. It is normal to spot buffaloes and giraffes as you walk through open grassland. Once you are done with open grass you will enter the acacia forest. The first stop will be at Maio Falls after approximately 2 hours where you will enjoy your picnic and rest before you continue to the well-known fig tree arch which will finally take you to the home of today at the Miriakamba Hut. You will finally enjoy your lunch as well dinner and enjoy your night at Miriakamba Hut

After breakfast, the trekking will continue through the wooden steps along a steep track. Today it will be a bit cooler than the previous day due to the high altitude. The weather is quite good since the clouds often hang low in the rainforest making walking easier through the lush vegetation. You will reach the viewpoint famously known as “Mgongo wa Tembo” (elephant back) at a height of 3,200 m after climbing for almost two hours. Here, you will have a well-deserved rest. Around midday, you will have arrived at addle Hut where you will spend the night. However, since you have all the afternoon you can opt to spend 1-2 hours trekking to Little Meru with an altitude of 3,820 m. moreover, from this point you will enjoy wonderful views of Arusha National Park and Mt Kilimanjaro which is about 80 km away. You will then go back to Saddle Hut where you will enjoy meal before you retire to bed early since you will have to wake up just after midnight for the summit.

Your final trek to the summit will start around 2 am. Your trail will be through bushland to Rhino Point (3,821 m) which might be more challenging due to gained altitude. The walk on frozen volcanic ash and rocks, following the crater rim, will take you to the summit, Socialist Peak after about 4 to 5 hours. You will be able while at the summit experience, the sun rising above Mt Kilimanjaro and enjoy the whimsical view of Mt Meru’s crater with its steep sides and the ash cone in the middle. The time you spend on the summit is determined by the weather and wind conditions. Soon after capturing this farfetched view and accomplishment, you will start descending along the same route back to Saddle Hut where you will take a break and convalesce with a hot breakfast. Later, you will continue the descent Miriakamba Hut. You will spend the rest of your day here enjoying your meal as your body rejuvenates