Materuni Waterfalls

The drive out of Moshi climbs steadily onto Kilimanjaro's southern slopes, and the change over forty minutes is striking: dry lowland scrub gives way to banana and coffee smallholdings, the air cools, and the road narrows into the village of Materuni at around 1,500 metres. On a clear morning Kibo stands directly above you for most of the drive.

From the village a local guide takes you down the path to the falls. It is around forty-five minutes, mostly downhill, on a track that crosses the stream several times and is genuinely slippery after rain. The vegetation closes in as you descend. Tree ferns, wild banana, moss on everything. You hear the falls a long time before you see them.

The waterfall drops something over eighty metres into a plunge pool in a narrow amphitheatre of rock. The spray reaches most of the viewing area. People swim, but be warned that the water is very cold. This is snowmelt and spring water off the mountain, not a warm tropical pool.

The climb back out is the part nobody mentions in advance. It is the same forty-five minutes in reverse, uphill, and it's the reason closed shoes matter.

Most trips finish with the coffee, back in the village.

Materuni works year-round, but the experience changes a lot with the rain.

In the dry months, June to October and January to February, the path is firm, the descent is straightforward and the falls run lower but are still substantial. Visibility of Kibo from the village on the drive up is best in these months, particularly early.

In the wet months the falls are at their most dramatic and the path is genuinely slippery. Both matter: it's the better photograph and the harder walk. Sturdy footwear stops being a recommendation and becomes a requirement.

Go early whatever the season. The site is popular with day visitors from Moshi, the village car park fills by late morning, and the falls are much better without twenty other people in the amphitheatre. Cloud also tends to build on the southern slopes through the day, so the morning gives you the mountain views on the drive.

Afternoon rain is common on these slopes in most months, which is another reason to start early instead of making a day of it.

Forty minutes from Moshi up Kilimanjaro's southern slopes, then a forty-five minute walk down to a waterfall of over eighty metres, a cold plunge pool, and the same walk back up. Most trips finish with a Chagga coffee demonstration in the village, which is the part people remember.

Bring closed shoes with grip, a towel, a light rain layer and cash in small denominations. The climb out is the hard part and it's why sandals are a bad idea.

Allow five to six hours in total. Go early, both for the mountain views on the drive and because the falls are much better without twenty other people in the amphitheatre.

A few decisions make the difference between a good Materuni day and a crowded one.

Leave Moshi early. The village car park fills by late morning, the falls are far better without twenty other people in the amphitheatre, and the mountain is usually clear on the drive up before cloud builds on the southern slopes.

Do the walk first and the coffee second. Coming back up the path is the hard part of the day and it's better done before an hour of sitting down.

Bring more cash than you expect to need, in small notes: there's the community fee, the village guide, the coffee, and usually something you want to take home.

And accept that you'll get wet. The spray reaches most of the viewing area whether or not you go into the pool.