Most climbers fly into Kilimanjaro, spend a day or two in Moshi, climb the mountain, and fly out. They never see the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro below the park gate, which is a shame because that is where Kilimanjaro's people live.
The southern slopes of Kilimanjaro are the home of the Chagga, one of Tanzania's oldest agricultural communities. The Chagga shaped how the mountain is known to the outside world, were among the first to climb it in modern times, and built the coffee farms that still define the lower mountain today. Nelson is Chagga and grew up in the Machame ward at the foot of the mountain.
This post is about the cultural side of Kilimanjaro that most climbers miss, and how to experience it as part of your trip.
Who the Chagga are
The Chagga are a Bantu ethnic group who have lived on the southern and eastern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro for centuries. Their traditional homeland stretches across the Kilimanjaro Region of northern Tanzania, with the major Chagga wards including Machame, Marangu, and several others that share their names with Kilimanjaro routes.
Chagga society is built around clan structures and agricultural traditions. The Chagga developed sophisticated irrigation systems centuries ago, using channels and aqueducts to bring water down the mountain to their farms. Bananas have been the staple crop for generations. Coffee was introduced in the late 1800s and quickly became central to the regional economy.
The first climbers
The first recorded climb of Kilimanjaro by a Chagga guide was in 1889. German geographer Hans Meyer and Austrian mountaineer Ludwig Purtscheller made the first successful summit attempt, but they did not do it alone. Their lead Chagga guide was Yohani Kinyala Lauwo, a young Chagga man from the Marangu area.
Lauwo went on to guide climbs on Kilimanjaro for the next 70 years. He summited the mountain multiple times across decades. When the first international climbers arrived to summit the famous peak, the Chagga were the ones who led them to the top.
Nelson's lineage of guiding on Kilimanjaro traces back to this same tradition. The senior Kilimanjaro guides today, including Nelson, are part of a continuous tradition of Chagga and Tanzanian guiding on the mountain stretching back over 130 years.
Coffee on the slopes
Coffee arrived in the Kilimanjaro region in the late 1800s and found ideal conditions on the lower slopes. The combination of volcanic soils, regular rainfall, and the right altitude band (1,000 to 2,000 m) produces some of the best Arabica coffee in Africa. Today Tanzanian coffee from the Kilimanjaro region is sold under specialty designations to roasters around the world.
If you have ever drunk Tanzanian Peaberry coffee, you have probably tasted coffee from the slopes of Kilimanjaro.
The coffee farms are typically smallholder operations, family-run for generations. The traditional Chagga coffee-making process is hands-on: pick the beans, shell them, sort by hand, roast over an open fire, grind with wooden mortars. Some Chagga families still process coffee this way for their own use, alongside the commercial trade.
The Materuni waterfall
Materuni is a Chagga village on the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro, about 30 minutes outside Moshi. The village sits at roughly 1,400 m altitude in dense banana and coffee plantations. Behind the village is the 80-metre Materuni waterfall, fed by springs from the higher mountain.
The waterfall is reachable by a 40-minute guided walk through Chagga farmland from the village. The walk passes through working coffee farms, banana groves, and small homesteads. Climbers see the lower mountain at the pace of the people who live there, which is a different experience from blowing through the park gate on the way to the summit.
At the waterfall, you can swim in the pool at the base. The water is cold but refreshing. Photographers love the spot.
The coffee experience
Most Materuni day trips include a traditional Chagga coffee-making experience at the village. The visit is hosted by a local family who runs through the full process: harvesting beans from their trees, removing the outer pulp, drying, hand-sorting, roasting over an open fire, grinding with traditional wooden mortars, brewing, and serving.
The experience is accompanied by traditional Chagga songs that the women sing as they grind the coffee. The songs are work songs, passed down across generations. They are the soundtrack of Chagga coffee culture.
The coffee you drink at the end is some of the freshest you will ever taste. The beans were on the tree an hour ago.
Why this matters
Most Kilimanjaro climbers experience the mountain as a wilderness, a challenge, a summit. The Chagga experience the same mountain as home, as economy, as agriculture, as inheritance. Both are real. The mountain holds both meanings at once.
Spending a day in Materuni gives international climbers a window into the second meaning. You see who lives on the slopes, what they farm, what they eat, what they drink, what songs they sing. You meet some of the people whose families have guided Kilimanjaro climbs for generations.
It also adds context to the cultural acknowledgement that comes during a climb. When your guide talks about the Chagga belief that the mountain has spiritual significance, that conversation hits differently if you have spent a day with a Chagga family the week before.
How to combine it with your climb
The Materuni waterfall and coffee experience is offered as a day trip from Moshi or Arusha at USD 91 per person. The standard arrangement:
- Hotel pickup in the morning from Arusha or Moshi.
- 30-minute drive to Materuni village.
- 40-minute guided walk to the waterfall.
- Time at the waterfall (swim if you want).
- Return to the village for hot Chagga lunch.
- Coffee-making experience with the local family.
- Return to your hotel by late afternoon.
Climbers commonly add this day trip as a rest day after their climb. It gives you a gentle low-altitude experience while your body recovers, and it adds cultural depth to the trip.
The bottom line
The Chagga have lived on the southern slopes of Kilimanjaro for centuries. They guided the first successful international summit in 1889 and have been the cultural and agricultural backbone of the lower mountain ever since. The coffee farms and the Materuni village are the most accessible windows into Chagga culture for international climbers.
If you have time before or after your climb, add the Materuni day trip. It is one of the most rewarding cultural experiences available on the mountain. See our day trips page for details.
Frequently asked questions
Can I visit Materuni without climbing Kilimanjaro?
Absolutely. The Materuni day trip is independent of any climb. Many travellers visit Moshi or Arusha for a few days and add the Materuni cultural experience to their itinerary.
Is the coffee experience authentic?
Yes. The families who host the experience are working Chagga coffee farmers, not actors. The process they demonstrate is the same process they have used for generations for personal coffee, alongside their commercial farming.
Can I buy Chagga coffee to take home?
Yes. Most village hosts sell roasted coffee directly. You can also buy Tanzanian coffee from the Kilimanjaro region at Arusha and Moshi markets and at the Kilimanjaro Airport before you fly home.
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