Materuni Waterfalls & Coffee Day Trip
Hidden in the lush rainforest on the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro, Materuni Waterfall is one of Tanzania's most beautiful and least-visited natural wonders — a 70-metre cascade thundering into a jungle pool just a short hike from the road. The trail to reach it passes through the farmland and homesteads of the Chagga people, who have cultivated the fertile volcanic slopes of Kilimanjaro for centuries.
This day trip combines the waterfall hike with a full coffee experience in a working Chagga village: you'll see coffee growing on the tree, learn how it's harvested and processed by hand using traditional methods, and finally sit down to a cup of freshly ground Kilimanjaro coffee — widely considered among the finest in the world — alongside a traditional Chagga lunch. It's one of the most authentic, grounded (in every sense) day trips available in northern Tanzania, and a perfect complement to a safari or Kilimanjaro climb.
At 70 metres, Materuni is one of the tallest waterfalls in the Kilimanjaro region — and because it sits off the standard tourist trail, you'll almost certainly have it to yourselves. You can swim in the plunge pool at the base.
Follow a coffee bean from the tree to your cup: picking ripe berries, pulping by hand, fermenting, sun-drying, roasting over an open fire, grinding with a wooden mortar and pestle, and brewing in the traditional Chagga style. It's a hands-on, deeply satisfying process.
The Chagga are the indigenous people of Kilimanjaro's slopes and among Tanzania's most entrepreneurial communities. Your village host guides you through their home, farm, and coffee garden, sharing stories of life on the mountain.
The hike to the waterfall passes through banana plantations, maize fields, and dense jungle dripping with moisture — a taste of Kilimanjaro's lower forest zone without the cost or commitment of a multi-day climb.
Is this tour right for me?
Tour Options & Pricing
| Group Size | 1 Person | 2 Persons | 3 Persons | 4 Persons | 5 Persons | 6+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per Person | $170 | $120 | $100 | $95 | $85 | On Request |
* Prices per person in USD. Included: private vehicle, English-speaking guide, village local guide, traditional lunch, fresh Kilimanjaro coffee, hotel pickup & drop-off from Moshi (Arusha pickup available at additional cost).
| Group Size | 1 Person | 2 Persons | 3 Persons | 4 Persons | 5 Persons | 6+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per Person | $220 | $158 | $135 | $125 | $118 | On Request |
* Includes upgraded transport, a specialist cultural guide with deep Chagga heritage knowledge, a curated multi-course Chagga feast, and a bag of freshly roasted Kilimanjaro coffee beans to take home.
Your Day, Hour by Hour
Your guide picks you up from your hotel in Moshi and drives up the southern slopes of Kilimanjaro. As the road climbs, the air cools and the vegetation thickens — Moshi's dusty streets quickly replaced by terraced coffee and banana farms, and the snow-capped peak of Kilimanjaro appearing above the cloud line on clear mornings.
You arrive at Materuni village, where your local Chagga host is waiting to welcome your group and introduce the programme for the day.
The trail descends from the village into the valley, winding through stands of banana, maize, and coffee before entering the dense rainforest of the lower Kilimanjaro slopes. The air is cool and heavy with moisture, and the sound of rushing water builds steadily as you approach.
Materuni Waterfall emerges through the trees all at once — a 70-metre curtain of white water crashing into a natural pool fringed by mossy boulders. You'll have time to swim, explore the rocks around the base, and take photographs before the walk back to the village.
The walk back follows the same trail in reverse, the uphill sections gentle and the views over the Kilimanjaro foothills opening up as you emerge from the trees. Your host meets you at the village with fresh drinking water as you arrive, energised and ready for the coffee experience ahead.
The coffee tour is hands-on from the start. Your host walks you through the coffee garden, explaining the different varieties grown on Kilimanjaro's slopes, and invites you to pick ripe red berries directly from the trees. You then take part in the traditional processing chain: hand-pulping the berries to extract the beans, fermenting and washing them in stone channels, then setting them to dry in the sun.
The final steps — roasting the beans over a wood fire, grinding them in a traditional wooden mortar, and brewing the finished coffee — are done slowly and with ceremony. The result, drunk black and sweet in the Chagga style from a small clay cup, tastes like nothing you've had from a machine.
Lunch is prepared by the host family using ingredients grown on the farm — ndizi (green bananas), nyama (stewed goat or chicken), maharagwe (beans), and ugali (stiff maize porridge), served at the family table with warm hospitality. It's a genuinely home-cooked meal that leaves you full and satisfied for the drive back.
Your guide returns you to your hotel in Moshi or, if arranged in advance, onward to Arusha. You leave with full legs, a warm coffee glow, and a genuine insight into life on the most famous mountain in Africa.
From Moshi up the Kilimanjaro slopes to a Chagga village, a jungle waterfall, and back in time for dinner.
What's Included & Excluded
Included in Your Tour
Private transport from your hotel in Moshi to Materuni village and back. Arusha pickup is available for an additional fee — please enquire when booking.
You are accompanied by both a Africa Endless Cruising guide and a Chagga local guide from Materuni village, ensuring language, context, and genuine village access throughout the day.
The complete hands-on coffee processing experience — picking, pulping, fermenting, drying, roasting, grinding, and brewing — led by your village host. Includes fresh coffee tasting.
A home-cooked Chagga meal prepared by the host family using farm-grown ingredients, served at their homestead. Drinking water is provided throughout the day.
All community fees paid to the Materuni village cooperative are pre-paid and included, supporting local families and the conservation of the Kilimanjaro forest zone.
