Materuni Waterfalls: Nature, Culture & Coffee Experience

Materuni is a small Chagga village high on the southern flank of Mount Kilimanjaro, roughly 15 km north of Moshi. It sits at around 1,600 metres, tucked into a landscape of banana groves, coffee farms, tree ferns and rivers that fall off the mountain in a series of dramatic ravines. This day trip combines its two great attractions - a hike to the 90-metre Materuni Waterfall and a hands-on coffee experience with a Chagga farming family - into one of the most rewarding day trips in northern Tanzania.

The morning is built around the waterfall. From the trailhead you walk 45 minutes down a narrow forest path lined with banana, mango and coffee, crossing wooden bridges over the river and dropping through a corridor of tree ferns to reach the base of the falls. Materuni thunders straight off a basalt cliff into a wide plunge pool. The water is cold and clean; strong swimmers can swim underneath the spray, and there is a rocky beach for those who prefer to watch.

After the return climb you drive a short distance to a local farm for the coffee tour. The family will walk you through every step from cherry to cup - picking the red beans off the tree, hulling them in a wooden mortar, sun-drying, roasting over an open charcoal fire, hand-grinding, and finally brewing a French-press cup that you drink on the veranda with a view over the plantations. It is one of the most educational, and delicious, hours you will spend in Tanzania.

Lunch is a traditional Chagga meal cooked by the family - typically machalari (a smoked banana and beef stew) or kishumba (mashed banana with beans and green vegetables), served with a fresh salad and passion-fruit juice. You are back in your Arusha or Moshi hotel by early evening.