Day Trip · 1 days · Private or group
Materuni Waterfalls, Coffee and Chemka Hot Springs Day Trip
One day on the Kilimanjaro foothills: a walk to Materuni Falls, Chagga coffee roasted and pounded by the family who grew it, then the spring-fed pools at Chemka.
- Duration
- 1 days, 0 nights
- Group
- Private or group
- Activity
- Waterfall walk, coffee farm, hot springs
- Starts
- Arusha
- Ends
- Arusha
- Best months
- All year. June to October is driest; the falls run hardest from March to May.
This is the day most people take when they want to see the other side of Northern Tanzania, the green side, without a park gate or a game drive. You leave Arusha after breakfast, walk in to a waterfall on the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro, learn how coffee actually gets from a tree to a cup, and end the afternoon floating in water the colour of glass.
It suits a first day in Tanzania, a rest day between safaris, or the day before you fly home. There is no altitude to speak of and no early start. If you want to put it either side of a park visit, see our Tanzania safaris or the rest of our day trips.
The walk in to the falls takes about forty minutes each way on a footpath through banana and coffee shambas. It is not technical, but it is uneven and it is often wet.
Trip highlights
- A guided walk through Chagga banana and coffee smallholdings to the foot of Materuni Falls
- Time to swim in the plunge pool below the falls, or to sit on the rocks and watch
- Coffee picked, husked, roasted over a fire, pounded and brewed by the family who grew it
- Lunch cooked in the village, not carried from town
- An afternoon in the Chemka springs, where the water rises warm and clear enough to see the fig roots on the bottom
- One vehicle, one driver-guide, and no other group joined to yours unless you ask for it
Day by day
Day 1 Morning: Arusha to Materuni village
We collect you between 07:00 and 08:00 and drive east towards Moshi, with Kilimanjaro ahead of you on a clear morning. The last stretch climbs to Materuni village, about 1,400 metres up, where the road ends and the footpath starts. Your guide walks with you through the shambas to the falls, naming what is growing on the way.
Meals: Lunch
Day 2 Midday: the falls and the coffee
Time at the waterfall to swim or sit, then back up to the village for the coffee. You do the work: picking, peeling, roasting over the fire, pounding it in a wooden mortar while the family sing the pounding song, then drinking what you made. Lunch follows, cooked in the village.
Meals: Lunch
Day 3 Afternoon: Chemka hot springs and back
A drive down onto the plain to the springs at Chemka, also called Kikuletwa. The water comes up warm and astonishingly clear under fig trees. Swim, use the rope swing if you want to, dry off, and we have you back in Arusha in the early 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
- Lunch
- Chemka hot springs entrance fee
- Drinking water through the day
Not included
- International and domestic flights
- Visa and travel insurance
- Drinks other than the water provided
- Tips for your guide and the village hosts
- Anything personal
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, not sandals: the path to the falls is steep in places and usually wet. Swimwear and a towel, and a dry change of clothes for the drive home. A light rain jacket. Sunscreen and a hat for the springs. A small amount of cash if you want to buy coffee to take home, which the family sell by the bag.
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
How hard is the walk to the waterfall?
About forty minutes each way on a footpath, with some steep and slippery sections. Most people of ordinary fitness manage it comfortably. Tell us if anyone in your group would rather wait in the village and we plan for it.
Can we do this in one day with the hot springs?
Yes, that is exactly what this trip is. It makes a long day, roughly nine to ten hours door to door. If you would rather not rush, take the waterfall and coffee on their own instead.
Is the water at Chemka actually hot?
Warm rather than hot, and it stays the same temperature all year. It is spring fed and very clear.
Do we need to be able to swim?
No. There is shallow water at both places and plenty of people just sit in it. Tell your guide beforehand so he keeps an eye out.
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Book this trip
Three short steps. We reply with a costed day-by-day itinerary for your dates. Nothing is confirmed and no payment is taken until you are happy with it.