Nature & water

Materuni Waterfalls & Coffee Experience

A gentle hike through Chagga coffee farms to an 80-metre waterfall on Kilimanjaro’s slopes, a swim in its pool, and a cup of coffee you roast and grind yourself.

DurationMost of a day · about 7 hours
Pick-up08:00 at the lodge
EffortEasy
GroupUp to 10 people
PriceUS$85 per person

Guests with their guides at the foot of Materuni Waterfall

Hand holding freshly picked coffee cherries

High on the southern slopes of Kilimanjaro, above the town of Moshi, the Chagga village of Materuni sits among banana groves and shade-grown coffee. Above it, a river drops roughly eighty metres out of the forest in a single white ribbon — the Materuni Waterfall, one of the most beautiful on the mountain.

Your day starts with an easy hike from the village with a local guide: about an hour along red-earth paths, past small farms, irrigation channels and children walking to school. At the falls there is time to swim in the cold pool, stand in the spray and simply look up. On a clear day, the plains spread out behind you all the way to Moshi.

After a home-cooked lunch, you join a family for the part guests talk about most: the coffee ceremony. You pick ripe red cherries, peel and roast the beans over a wood fire, then pound them in a tall wooden mortar to a work song before brewing a cup that tastes of the mountain. It is a warm, joyful afternoon and a real window into Chagga life.

Highlights

One of the tallest waterfalls on Kilimanjaro, about 80 metres high
Swim in the cold, clear pool at the bottom (if you dare)
Walk through banana groves and shade-grown coffee with a local Chagga guide
Pick, peel, roast, pound and brew your own cup of Kilimanjaro coffee
Home-cooked lunch in the village

The day, step by step

08:00
Leave Katiti
Drive towards Moshi and up the green lower slopes of Kilimanjaro to the village of Materuni.
09:30
Walk to the falls
About an hour on footpaths through banana groves, coffee bushes and small farms, with views down to the plains.
10:30
Materuni Waterfall
Time to swim, sit on the rocks in the spray and take photographs of the falls dropping out of the forest.
12:30
Lunch with a family
Local food — banana stew, beans, greens and fresh fruit — cooked in the village.
13:30
The coffee ceremony
Pick ripe cherries, peel and roast the beans over a fire, then pound them in a wooden mortar to a song before brewing.
15:00
Return to the lodge
Back by mid-afternoon, with a bag of freshly roasted coffee if you like it.

Included

Return transport from Katiti Lodge
Local Chagga guide
Village and waterfall entrance fees
Coffee experience
Lunch and bottled water

Not included

Coffee to take home (sold by the farmers)
Tips
Drinks other than water

What to bring

Swimwear and a small towel
Shoes with grip — the path can be slippery
Light rain jacket
Some cash for coffee and crafts

Questions

Is the walk difficult?

No. It is about an hour each way on village footpaths with a few steep, sometimes muddy sections near the falls. Children and older guests usually manage well at an easy pace.

Can we do it the day after climbing Kilimanjaro?

It is the favourite recovery day of our climbers: gentle walking, a cold swim for tired legs and good coffee.