Climbing Mount Meru

Though often ignored in favour of its’ big sister Kilimanjaro, Mount Meru is a worthy trekker’s paradise. This massive volcano towers over 3,000 meters above Arusha town, which lies at the foothills on its south side. The mountain endured a violent explosion in the distant past, and in its wake, the explosion left towering cliffs in a gaping U shaped ridge facing east towards Kilimanjaro. The crater stands today in a protected amphitheatre of sorts, thousands of feet below the summit rocks. The craggy top lies at the westernmost point of the summit ridge and juts boldly into the sky at 4566 mt. (14,979 feet). From the top, one can look out at Kilimanjaro from the highest perch possible…. Perhaps there is no better vantage point to gaze at Africa’s tallest mountain, approximately 80 km to the northeast.

What makes Mt. Meru truly special is the chance to see animals on foot, and explore the Meru Crater. This area is home to elephant, cape buffalo, giraffe, elephant, waterbuck, bushbuck, dik-dik, warthog, olive baboon, Abyssinian (black & white) Colobus monkey, sykes monkey, and you may find traces of leopard, civet cat, red duiker and mountain duiker, plus a huge diversity of birds. An armed ranger joins all Mt. Meru treks, for safety. Trekking here can be done in the Meru Crater on a popular day-trip that we offer. A climb to the summit is usually done in a three-night / four-day itinerary, though it can be done more quickly. The minimum age to climb to the summit is 12 years.