Day trip to Materuni waterfalls

Waterfalls are everywhere. Sure. But there is something about them. For example, I would never say no to visiting waterfalls. Therefore it was hard for me to say no to another day trip to Materuni waterfalls. It was very different than the day trip to Kikuletwa hot springs, which was just about relaxation. The Materuni waterfalls lay under the mount Kilimanjaro not so far from the village Materuni. You get to hike to it through local plantages of various fruit and plants. And even though it is not a rain forest or anything like that, you would still get the “Jane from the jungle” kind of feeling.

Day trip to Materuni waterfalls

How do you even get to know about this place? Well, most of the time it is enough if you ask in your hotel. Otherwise, there is a lot of tour operators who would offer you to go there with them. At least that was my case. And I would really recommend these tours, as they are quite unique – most of the people are coming to Tanzania for safari, this is something different but also nice.

How to get to Materuni waterfalls

If you want to go by your self, you will probably need to take dalla dalla (local bus) to Materuni village. This might be kind of uncomfortable option as there is a lot of people in busses like this. On the other hand, it is very cheap. So if you are considering this option, ask at your hotel, where is the closest dalla dalla stand.

All the other option include car. And preferably a good car with a driver who knows the roads. The roads up there might be a bumpy and very muddy. But from Moshi, it takes about 40 minutes to get there by car.

The hike

At some point, you will get very close to local plantages. And that point it is time to get out of the car and start hiking. Now a little bit about the hike. You need good shoes, flip flops are not the option here. The soil is quite muddy since it is a plantages and locals need a lot of water to get corps from them.

It is also good to know that the hike can get quite difficult. Mainly because of the mud there is a lot of slippery places. On the other hand, it is not like you would fall off the cliff if you fall. Basically you only fall to plantages and will be probably dirty, but that is the worse that can happen. Somehow getting back is a little bit easier, so don’t worry about it. Generally, this hike is for everyone, just pay attention to where you are going.

The hike is about 2 km long and there are a lot of locals. Most of them just want to say hi and maybe ask you for some money. If you give them money, you can get some fruit. I got three really big avocados this way. But it is not necessary to do something like that if you don’t feel that way.

After two kilometers we finally get to Materuni waterfalls.

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The waterfall

Materuni waterfall is about 100 meters tall. The water it has is coming from Kilimanjaro glacier and because of it, it is very cold. But either way, it is entirely possible to come and swim here. Because there is a little cave behind the waterfall, you can directly jump into the waterfall. To do that, you would actually need to come here during the dry season, when the stream of water isn’t too strong.

Generally, it is probably better to come during the dry season. First of all the water stream isn’t too strong, but it is also a lot warmer, so swimming is generally more pleasant. I didn’t have the guts to actually swim since it was so cold, but I did saw a couple of people doing it and they were not the happiest about the temperature.

Day trip to Materuni waterfalls – practical info

Now when you know about the hike and waterfall itself, let me tell you more practical information.

First of all, there are no facilities. Meaning that if you need to go to the toilet, you will probably need to find a proper bush to hide. That also means that you will need to get a food and water bottle with you. Most of the time, if you are going with a tour, they would take food and water for you.

Tours are usually quite nice – I got a guide who had a lot of knowledge about local tribe and all of their habits. So that is a plus for the tours. But it is also good to know that tours can be pricey especially if you are going solo. I’m a solo traveler and I gave a 50 dollars for the tour. And sure, there was a waterfall and hike and everything around it, but it would be a lot cheaper if I would go solo completely. The only question is, whether it would be manageable to do it alone without getting lost, as there are a lot of tricky places to go around.

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