Moshi, the town at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro, is a hotspot for avid backpackers and climbers.
Many tourists that travel here plan on making the long trek up to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. When I arrived there, I had no plans on hiking and wanted to explore more around the beautiful little town in Northern Tanzania. After doing more research, I learned that this place is full of fun things to do. Here are my top rated excursions, Moshi Edition:
Materuni Waterfall
Materuni is a gorgeous, 150 meter waterfall on Mount Kilimanjaro that is surrounded by rainforest and farms. It is home to the Chagga people who are some of the friendliest people around. It is about a 45-minute hike from Materuni village to the bottom of the waterfall and has an elevation of 1800 meters. It is easily doable for people of all ages and doesn’t have any steep slopes. The water comes from a glacier on Mount Kilimanjaro which makes the water cold, but if you're brave enough, it is quite the experience and wakes you up more than any coffee.
Materuni Waterfall ft. Otto
Making coffee with the locals
After the hike to Materuni Waterfall, you take a short hike to a small farm where you make coffee from scratch. They show you how to do it and even offer to sell you local coffee beans that you could bring home. They are the nicest people in the world and make sure you’re accommodated every step of the way!
After you make the coffee they bring you local food, and let me tell you, it is out of this world. In the Materuni Village, they specialize in growing bananas and making all different kinds of food and drinks with them. They have Banana Beer, Banana Wine, and Banana Stew. Their stew is the best thing I’ve had in Tanzania and if you want to make it at home, here is a link to the ingredients:
The final brewing process
Kikuletwa Hot Springs
Kikuletwa is an amazing swimming hole with clear, blue water about an hour outside of Moshi. You have people from around the world there and it is a great social gathering for backpackers. Even though it is a hot spring, the water is not very warm. It is around the temperature of your average swimming pool but feels very refreshing and is a great place to hang out in the morning or afternoon.
From experience, I would suggest that you don’t go on the weekend. It can get very crowded and almost uncomfortable as people are crammed into the small hot spring. If you can get a reservation to go on a weekday morning, you could have only a few other groups of people there. This will make sure you can use the rope swing whenever you want!
Kikuletwa Hot Springs
There is also so much I didn't get to explore. You can rent mountain bikes to ride down Mount Kilimanjaro, do a day Safari, and do day hikes on Mount Meru, the second highest mountain in Tanzania. You can even have a simple city tour to show you the in and outs of the city. While Moshi is known for Mount Kilimanjaro, there is still so much to see. This will hopefully persuade you to stay a few more days in this beautiful Tanzanian town!
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