08 Nov 2021
If you are planning to spend time in Northern Tanzania you should absolutely add a stop in Materuni to your plans! Materuni is a beautiful village on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, and this experience features an amazing hike and the best coffee I’ve had in my life. Samwel is the best guide around, and I highly recommend booking with him! He has a fantastic AirBnB in Arusha (Sana Africa House) with one of the best views of Mt Meru in town. I stayed with him for 4 weeks while working at a hospital just outside of town. He was a wonderful, caring host who helped me navigate the area and ensured that I had a rich cultural experience while solo traveling and working. Samwel was easy to contact, reliable, and very fun to spend time with. Materuni waterfall is well worth the hike, which winds through the village (with a few stops to enjoy avocados, passion fruit, bananas, and village-brewed banana beer) before connecting to a trail through the rainforest and hillside farms. When the sky is clear, the trail features a great viewpoint for Mt Kilimanjaro. After the hike, you get to join Justin, a local coffee farmer, at his farm to learn about coffee making and enjoy the amazing coffee as well as a great local lunch. As a bonus, Justin has a very friendly and adventurous dog who joined us on our trip out to the waterfall. I ended up going on this tour twice with Samwel and both days were among the highlights of my time in Tanzania!