Culture and Coffee Farm Day Trip

Day Tour – Overview

Marangu:-best known as one of the most sought route to Kilimanjaro is a market town with a cool climate at its starting point. Marangu village is visited by all those who want to trek through this route to the summit of Kilimanjaro. The village is an ideal starting point with a number of opportunities for the travelers that include the hiking, bird watching and most importantly taking the sights of the Rural Africa where you can feel the real thrill of traditional Africa. If you are on a cultural tour, you would be excited watching to the traditional blacksmiths, visiting nearby caves, waterfalls, coffee plantation areas etc, and the experience of the life style of the local Chagga tribe would mesmerize you.

The word Marangu means a place with too many water streams. There three main waters falls at Marangu. The waterfalls are situated in the slopes of MountKilimanjaro 40 minutes’ drive from Moshi town.

Ndoro water fall: At the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro Ndoro water fall is one of the most popular and largest water fall in the area.Ndoro Waterfall is located in the beautiful country side surrounding Marangu. A one hour hike thru the lush landscapes of Chaga land will take you to the entrance hut of Ndoro, where you will be given a hiking stick to assist you to the base of the fall.

Simple steps, occasionally steep, with banisters consisting of thick tree branches have been edge into the hill and zigzag toward the bottom. The entrance area is well maintained and makes a great rest stop after having climbed back up.Hiking boots are recommended.

Kinukamori water fall: Kinukamori is located in Chagga land in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. The crystal clear water that flows from the natural springs of the volcanic rocks makes it one of the best sights in the region to visit before trying for Kilimanjaro. It is a great place for swimming and relaxing. The refreshing breeze from the waterfall would fill your heart with greater peace which would last with you as an everlasting memory till you breathe last. It takes 20 minutes hike to Kinukamori from Marangu starting point. Along the way you will pass thru beautiful forest and we will be serving a picnic lunch before making our way back to Moshi or continue with other activities depending the program.

Chagga legend tells that a long time ago a young woman found herself pregnant outside of wedlock. She decided to kill herself by jumping from the top of the waterfall. After contemplating on the top she changed her mind. However, just as she was turning around to leave, a leopard approached her from behind. He jumped and pushed her down the fall into her death.

Kilasia Waterfall: A 30 or 40 minutes’ drive will take us to Marangu town, near the Marangu gate, from where we will start our hike. We will be walking on a small path road thru beautiful forest, which will take us to Kilasia water fall. On the way you will see the inter cropping of bananas, coffee, beans and corn.

Tour Itinerary

We’ll leave Moshi first thing in the morning, skirting Kilimanjaro’s foothills with the rising sun on our right. Our first stop is the Marangu Gate at 1900m, which is the starting point for the Marangu climbing route. It’s an amazing start to your day; a weird mixture of the quiet calm of the green mountain forest and the tense excitement of the climbers about to ascend Kilimanjaro. The mood is catching and we may have to bustle you back into the van before you take off up the mountain!

Your nose will tell you about our second stop before we get there. Marangu is a coffee country, and the beans are locally grown, blended and roasted. We’ll stop at a bijou coffee farm, where you’ll learn how the locals grow, harvest and process their coffee beans that grow in this perfect climate. You’ll even get the chance to try your hand at roasting and preparing your own cup of lovely, fresh coffee.

All this culture is probably giving you an appetite, so our next stop is for a tasty and traditionally Chagga lunch at our favorite little restaurant, where you’ll be served a hot meal (veggies catered for!).

Next, we’ll depart for the Ndoro Waterfalls for some post-prandial fresh air. The thirty-minute hike to the base of the waterfall will lead us through lush green forest and a steep climb down to the rocks. Enjoy the sparkling waters tumbling down the falls from the rock side or take a refreshing dip in the pool itself.

A dark contrast is a visit to the extensive Chagga Underground Caves, built by the Chagga to keep them safe from the Masai who, in earlier times, migrated up the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro to enslave or kill them. We’ll spend a fascinating hour or so at the Chagga Live Museum, an outdoor space which will give you further insight into traditional Chagga life. The wandering goats lend some added authenticity! We’ll round off this action-packed day with a cheeky banana beer or naughty glass of banana wine – this is banana country, after all, so make the most of it!

You’ll get a nice sit down as we casually motor back to Moshi; we won’t complain if you have a crafty snooze on the way although there’s always something to see as we wind through the villages, foothills and roadways home. You’ll have experienced so much in such a short time, you deserve a rest.

Our tour guides are friendly, professional, organized and certified. They all have adopted and realize tour guide code of conduct and morals. They possess a broad knowledge of the area, and therefore you will hear and learn a lot about the Chagga culture from them.