Maasai men performing the adumu jumping dance at a boma on the northern Tanzania plains

Day Trip · 1 days · Private or group

Maasai Village and Materuni Waterfalls Day Trip

Two cultures in one day: a Chagga coffee village on the mountain, and a Maasai community on the plain below it.

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Duration
1 days, 0 nights
Group
Private or group
Activity
Cultural visit, waterfall walk and coffee farm
Starts
Arusha
Ends
Arusha
Best months
All year.

Tanzania is not one culture, and this day makes that concrete. The Chagga farm the volcanic soil on the slopes of Kilimanjaro and have done for centuries; the Maasai keep cattle on the dry plains below. You visit both in a day, an hour apart by road and a long way apart in every other sense.

The visit is arranged with the community rather than around it. You are there for a few hours, the fee goes to the village, and what you see is a working day rather than a performance staged for a bus.

It combines well with a park day either side. Have a look at Northern Tanzania or tell us your dates.

Trip highlights

  • A guided walk to Materuni Falls through Chagga coffee and banana shambas
  • Coffee picked, roasted, pounded and brewed by the family that grew it
  • Several hours in a Maasai community, with the fee paid to the village
  • Cattle, boma life, beadwork and a straight conversation with people who live there
  • Lunch cooked locally

Day by day

Day 1 Morning: Materuni and the coffee

Pickup around 07:00 and up to Materuni village. The walk in to the falls takes about forty minutes, with time at the water. Back to the village for the coffee, done by hand from the tree to the cup.

Meals: Lunch

Day 2 Midday: lunch and the drive down

Lunch in the village, then down off the mountain and out onto the plain towards the Maasai community.

Meals: Lunch

Day 3 Afternoon: the Maasai community

Around three hours in the village. You see the boma, the cattle, and the beadwork, and your guide translates so it is a conversation and not a display. Back in Arusha in the evening.

Meals: Lunch

What is included

Included

  • Hotel pickup and drop-off in Arusha
  • Private 4x4 with fuel and a licensed English-speaking driver-guide
  • Materuni village and waterfall entrance fees
  • The coffee experience with a Chagga family
  • The Maasai community visit fee
  • Lunch and drinking water

Not included

  • Flights, visa and travel insurance
  • Beadwork and crafts you choose to buy
  • Drinks other than the water provided
  • Tips

Before you travel

Pickup and meeting point

We collect you from your hotel, guesthouse or Airbnb anywhere in Arusha town, and from Usa River and the Kilimanjaro Airport road on request. Give us the property name when you book and we confirm the pickup time the evening before. Drop-off is at the same address unless you tell us otherwise.

What to bring

Shoes with grip for the waterfall path. Modest clothing that covers the shoulders and knees for the village visit. Swimwear and a towel if you intend to get in the water. Sunscreen and a hat. Cash if you want to buy coffee or beadwork directly.

Safety

Swimming is at your own risk and there is no lifeguard at either the waterfall pool or the springs. The water is cold and the rocks are slippery, so we go in slowly and we do not dive. Tell your guide before you set off if you are not a confident swimmer, and he will keep you to the shallow end. Children stay with an adult in the water at all times. You travel in a maintained 4x4 with a licensed Tanzanian driver-guide. Seat belts are fitted in every seat. We carry a first aid kit and drinking water, and the guide stays contactable through the day. Travel insurance is not included and we recommend you arrange it before you come.

Questions about this trip

Is photography allowed in the village?

Ask first, every time, and your guide will help you ask. Some people are happy and some are not, exactly as anywhere else.

Where does the village fee go?

To the community, as an agreed fee for the visit. It is in your price so nobody has to negotiate it on the day.

Is this a staged cultural show?

No. It is a visit to a working community during its working day, which means some days are busier and more interesting than others.

Before you book

The practical reading, from the questions we are asked most.

Booking request

Reserve Your Trip

Complete your travel details and send your booking request. We will confirm availability before any booking is final.

1 Travel Details

When you want to travel and who is coming. We confirm availability after you send this.

We confirm availability for this date after you send the request.

Who is travelling

Estimated total $103 $103 per person × 1 traveller

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3 Special Requests

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