On the southern foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, the village of Materuni is home to the Chagga people, who have grown coffee on these slopes for generations. This full-day trip combines an easy forest hike to one of the region's taller waterfalls with a hands-on coffee tour: picking cherries, roasting and grinding the beans, then tasting the finished brew over an open fire. It's a nice change of pace from a game drive, and a real look at local life at the base of Africa's highest mountain.
Day HighlightsYour guide picks you up from your Moshi hotel and drives up the winding road onto Kilimanjaro's lower slopes, reaching Materuni village in around 30–40 minutes.
Visit a local Chagga farm for a hands-on coffee tour. Pick ripe coffee cherries, learn how they're pulped, fermented and roasted over an open fire, then grind and brew your own cup the traditional way.
Set off on a guided hike through banana groves and forest along volcanic ridgelines to the Materuni waterfall, where you can swim in the plunge pool before heading back.
Have a home-cooked lunch in the village before your guide drives you back down to Moshi, dropping you at your hotel by mid-to-late afternoon.
Materuni can be visited year-round thanks to its shaded, forested trails. The dry stretches from June to October and January to February give the firmest footing for the waterfall hike, while the wetter months green up the landscape and swell the waterfall.
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