Mount Meru is the mountain you actually see from Moshono Hillside: a dormant volcano whose eastern wall blew out long ago, leaving a soaring horseshoe crater with a perfect ash cone at its centre. It rises inside Arusha National Park, which shapes the whole experience.
The climb
Most people take the Momella route over three days and two nights (four days is more relaxed). You sleep in mountain huts rather than tents - Miriakamba at 2,514 m and Saddle Hut at 3,570 m - before a pre-dawn push along a narrow, cliff-edged ridge to Socialist Peak for sunrise. On a clear morning Kilimanjaro floats above the clouds to the east.
Wildlife on the trail
Because the mountain sits in a national park, an armed ranger walks with every group - and the first day often passes giraffe, buffalo and colobus monkeys in the forest. Few treks in the world start with a game walk.
Why climb Meru
It is quieter and cheaper than Kilimanjaro, the scenery is arguably better, and the altitude profile makes it a superb acclimatisation climb - a great many people summit Meru a week before attempting Kili. It is a genuine high-altitude trek, though, so reasonable fitness helps, and the dry seasons (June to February) are best.
Rest well before and after at the hotel - we can hold your extra luggage, arrange an early breakfast, and connect you with a licensed operator for permits, huts and guides.
