Mount Meru

Why Meru Is the Connoisseur’s Climb

Mount Meru is Tanzania’s second-highest mountain at 4,566 m and, by many accounts, its most beautiful climb: a collapsed volcanic cone whose knife-edge crater rim walk at dawn — with Kilimanjaro floating on the horizon — rivals anything on its bigger neighbour.

The trek starts inside Arusha National Park, so the first day is effectively a walking safari: giraffe, buffalo, warthog, and colobus monkeys along the trail, with an armed park ranger accompanying every group. Accommodation is in mountain huts at Miriakamba (2,514 m) and Saddle Hut (3,570 m).

Most climbers take 4 days (3 is possible for the very fit). Beyond being a worthy goal itself, Meru is the best acclimatisation investment you can make before Kilimanjaro — climbers who do both report dramatically easier summit nights on Kili.

Trek Highlights

• Socialist Peak (4,566 m) at sunrise, with Kilimanjaro silhouetted across the saddle
• The crater rim traverse — an exhilarating ridge walk above a 1,500 m drop
• Wildlife on day one: giraffe, buffalo, and colobus monkeys inside Arusha National Park
• The ash cone and sheer eastern wall of the blown-out crater
• Little Meru (3,820 m) — a 45-minute acclimatisation summit from Saddle Hut

The Route (Momella)

Day 1: Momella Gate (1,500 m) through open grassland and montane forest to Miriakamba Hut. Day 2: steep forest and heathland to Saddle Hut, with an afternoon hike up Little Meru. Summit night: a 1am start along the crater rim to Socialist Peak for sunrise, then the long descent. Day 4: an easy walk out with buffalo and giraffe as a send-off.

“The rim walk in the dark with Kili glowing pink at sunrise was better than anything I expected. Meru is criminally underrated.” — Guest review, Google

Things to Do

• Guided mountain trek or day hike
• Acclimatisation walk before the climb
• Forest and wildlife viewing on the lower slopes