Mount Meru

Preparation
The ascent of the fourth highest summit in Africa, Mount Meru (4566 m), is a superb and intimate trek. Mount Meru is a good alternative to Kili if you are not use to the high mountains or if you do not have enough time to devote to a long trek. Departure is from Arusha with an English speaking guide The nights during the ascent are in a refuge. Dormitories with four people. Sixty places in all. Two porters per person, a cook (who works wonders) and a guide per group, indispensable and compulsory, will accompany you throughout the trip.

Safety
The first two stages are on gentle slopes and easy paths. The third stage, the final ascent, is not recommended for people who are afraid of heights and who are not sure of their footing, as well as for children under the age of 12. Indeed, the paths are narrow and in some places slippery because they are sandy and stony. Moreover, there are two particularly difficult passages which are equipped with safety chains.

Caution: The climb takes fewer days than Kilimanjaro and climbs less high, but the effort required to reach the summit makes it rather more physically challenging than Kilimanjaro.

1^st day: Kilimanjaro Airport – Arusha
2^nd: Momella Gate (1500 m) – Miriakamba Hut (2541 m)
3^rd: Miriakamba Hut (2541 m) – Little Meru (3820 m) – Saddle Hut (3570 m)
4^th: Saddle Hut (3570 m) – Mt Meru (4566 m) – Saddle Hut / Miriakamba Hut (2541 m)
5^th: Saddle Hut / Miriakamba Hut (2541 m) – Momella Gate (1500 m) Return to the hotel
6^th: Arusha – Kilimanjaro Airport

Two possible variants:
1. Make the final ascent from 1am, in order to see the sunrise from the summit and descend to Momella Gate in one go. This option shortens the trip by one night.
2. Make the final ascent at 1:00 a.m. to see the sunrise from the summit and descend to Saddle Hut or Miriakamba. In this case, the final ascent can also be done early in the morning. The descent to Momella Gate is then done the next day.

1^th day: Kilimanjaro Airport – Arusha
Arrival at Kilimanjaro airport, customs and baggage claim. Welcome by your driver / English-speaking tourguide. First night in Usa River. River Trees Hotel

2^nd day: Arusha – Momella Gate (1500m) –Miriakamba Hut (2541m)
1’000m vertical drop. 10km. 4 hour walk.
Your guide will pick you up in the morning at your hotel. First approach of the African landscapes and animals in the Arusha National Park, such as zebras, wildebeests, giraffes and even with a little luck some elephants! You arrive at the Momella gate to settle the last formalities and then leave for the adventure! This first stage is a gentle one: you cross a tropical forest and climb quietly on a wide and passable path to the fig tree arch where you will stop for a picnic. Colobus, baboons, blue monkeys and many colorful birds will brighten your climb. After about two more hours of walking, you will arrive at the Miriakamba hut. You will spend the night in a refuge.

3^rd day: Miriakamba hut (2541m) – Saddle Hut (3570m)
1000m vertical drop. 10km. 5 hour walk.
You leave in the morning. After about four hours of climbing, again on a gentle slope but punctuated by many wide stairs, you will reach Saddle Hut around noon in a now different vegetation. You will see for the first time Kilimanjaro in all its splendor. The rainforest has given way to heather and moorland. The trees full of lichens along their branches are reminiscent of witches’ forests scaring children! After a good lunch and a well deserved break, you leave around 3:00 pm to Little Meru (3820m) (approx. 2 hours walk round trip). This will allow you to acclimatize to the climb of the next day. You will then enjoy a magnificent view of Mount Kilimanjaro (approx. 80km away) and the Arusha National Park. Back at Saddle Hut you will have a hot and delicious meal, which your cook will have lovingly prepared for you! as the day before, and go to bed early as you will wake up just after midnight.

An armed ranger will accompany you during the first two stages. Indeed, an encounter with buffaloes is possible and would be quite embarrassing!

4^th day: Saddle Hut (3570m) – summit (4566m) – way back to Miriakamba
1000m vertical drop. 10km. 5 – 6 hour walk.
Get up shortly after midnight. After a small snack and tea, you leave the camp. You will follow the trail for a good hour until Rhino Point (3821m). From there, the path becomes more difficult and the vegetation disappears to give way to a lunar vision. You will walk on volcanic ashes, sometimes sandy, sometimes stony, following the edge of the crater. After a good 5 hours of walking, you will reach the summit and its magnificent view of the rising sun above Kilimanjaro. With a bit of luck, a few chamois will come to animate this fabulous show.

The descent follows the same path to Saddle Hut, where you can take a break. Here you have three options. You go down to Momella Gate (9h30); you go down to Miriakamba (6h) where you spend the night or you stay at Saddle Hut (3h30) and go down to Momella Gate (6h) the next day. 

5^th day: Miriakamba Hut (2541m) – Momella Gate (2100m) Return to Arusha
From Miriakamba to Momella Gate, 2 – 3 hours walk.
The descent follows the same route as the ascent and there is still a chance to see elephants, buffaloes or monkeys. Overnight in Arusha.

6^th day: Arusha – Kilimanjaro Airport.
Last day free. Possibility to go on a safari or to Zanzibar, or, depending on your flight schedule, to spend one last day in Arusha before leaving the country.