MATERUNI WATERFALL HIKE & COFFEE TOUR NEAR MOSHI

Materuni Waterfall is a booming waterfall just 15-kilometers from Moshi Town. When combined with a coffee tour in the village, it makes for a perfect day trip before or after your Mount Kilimanjaro climb. With about eight kilometers of walking throughout the day and 300 meters of incline, this adventure is a great warm-up for the legs while also getting to immerse yourself in the local culture.

The tour begins by observing the entire process of making a cup of coffee, from seed to mug. After a locally produced lunch, you head off to explore the massive Materuni Waterfall.

In this blog post, I will share with you everything you need to know about Materuni Waterfall including the location, cost of the tour, and what to expect.

BOOK YOUR MATERUNI WATERFALL HIKE: I did my Materuni Waterfall Hike & Coffee Tour with Altezza Travel and can’t recommend it enough. If you want to book with Altezza, they offer a 5% discount to my readers when you use the code JACKSON5 to book your waterfall hike.

MATERUNI WATERFALL HIKE DETAILS

Hike Distance: The total distance of the hike is 8km out and back (return trip) including the walk up to the coffee farm.

Hike Duration: The hike to and from the waterfall should take about 1.5 -2 hours but including the coffee farm tour, you can expect the entire activity to last for 3-4 hours.

Hike Difficulty: This trail is quite manageable. Even in the rain, it was okay when we walked slowly. It’s a muddy road, which converts into a single-track trail towards the end of the hike. As long as you are comfortable with uneven surfaces and some slight incline, this will be a walk in the park.

Hike Incline: 321 meters (return trip) including the coffee farm.

My Strava Map Upload: Materuni Waterfalls Hike

WHERE IS MATERUNI WATERFALL

Materuni Waterfall is actually known as Nambe Waterfall locally, which means ‘first-born’. It has this name as it is the first waterfall that comes from the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. However, for location purposes, this waterfall is known as Materuni, which is the name of the village it is in.

Materuni Village is named after the Materu tribe that is the majority in the village. Anyway, that’s just a backstory on why the official name is not Materuni but it is what you will see on Google Maps pin location below. Just 15 kilometers from Moshi, this waterfall is a great day trip for those staying nearby Mount Kilimanjaro.

BOOKING THE MATERUNI WATERFALL HIKE AND COFFEE TOUR

I really like how this tour has been packaged by the local village. They have turned one waterfall into a cultural experience that was very enjoyable but also benefits different members of the community from the coffee farmers, to artisans and of course the local guides. I booked the tour through Altezza and the tour included pick-up and drop-off from the hotel as well as a packed lunch.

HOW TO BOOK: You can check the tour details out by heading to the booking page on their website here: Materuni Waterfall & Coffee Tour. If you book with the code JACKSON5 on their site, you will receive a 5% discount on your tour.

MY EXPERIENCE ON THE MATERUNI WATERFALL HIKE & COFFEE TOUR

This adventure to Materuni began from the Aishi Machame Hotel near Moshi and we made the 1.5-hour drive to Materuni Village passing through Moshi Town. Upon arrival, we signed in and began the steep walk up the muddy road to reach the small abode where the coffee tour would take place. It’s a beautiful setting and on a clear day, you will have tremendous views of Mount Kilimanjaro.

The local coffee growers take you through the entire process (you get to help too) of turning a coffee bean into a mug of coffee… The Tanzanian way. It was actually a very insightful process with lots of singing and talented work from the growers.

Each step was an intricate part of the process from bean to mug and it finished with a freshly brewed Materuni coffee. Here’s a visual look at some of the different steps involved in the process.

After enjoying a freshly brewed mug of coffee, we were treated to a locally produced lunch spread. On the menu were banana and yam soup, vegetables, rice, and chicken. A delicious and hearty meal was what we needed before setting off on our trek.

Caffeinated and energized we set off on our waterfall trek to Nambe Waterfall, the gem of Materuni. During our trek to the falls, we had to endure some heavy rain, which made for a funny and slippery time on the muddy path. Slow and steady did it, or ‘pole, pole’, as they say here in Swahili.

The journey along the way passes through the forest neighborhood so you can observe the local dwellings and chat with some locals. There’s an abundance of fruit throughout the route with bananas, guava, and avocados in plentiful supply. You’ll also pass a few ‘forest pubs’ where they’re serving the banana wine, which I was assured is much stronger than regular beer or wine.

Nambe Waterfall is just absolutely massive. We visited after a week of heavy rain and the spray at the base of the falls was intense! It’s no wonder this ravine is so vibrantly green and lush. At the falls on a calmer day, I imagine it is possible to take a dip but in the midst of the rainy season, I was keeping my distance from the powerful force smashing down into the basin of the waterfall.

After enjoying the waterfalls we made the trek back through the forest to complete the adventure. A total of eight kilometers walked with 320 meters of elevation meant we had worked off our local lunch at the same time as enjoying one of the top waterfalls in Tanzania. I hope you enjoyed this guide to Nambe Waterfall in Materuni Village.