3-Day Mount Meru Trek in Tanzania with Sunrise Summit Views

• Meet your local tour guide at 8 am and drive from Arusha to Momella Gate.
• Arrive and start hiking through open grassland with cape buffaloes and warthogs. You may also see giraffes and elephants.
• Continue a steady climb through the montane forest and stop for lunch at the famous "Fig Tree".
• After lunch, the trek continues through a less dense forest, where many birds and monkeys, including the black and white colobus, can be seen. By mid-afternoon, get close views of the towering cliffs and the Ash Cone.
• Reach Miriakamba Hut by late afternoon and enjoy beautiful sunset views over the surrounding Kilimanjaro plains.

Meals: Lunch and dinner

Budget lodging: Miriakampa Hut

• Have an early breakfast and walk from Miriakampa Hut to the saddle below.
• Follow steep trails through beautiful and lush montane forests. The path continues beyond Elephant Back Ridge's halfway point and climbs uphill through giant heather and other moorland vegetation.
• Keep walking until you finally reach Saddle Hut for lunch. In the afternoon, go for a short climb to the nearby Little Meru Summit (3,820 m / 12,533 ft) for superb views. It takes about 1 hour to walk up and 30 minutes to walk down.

The ascent is 1,056 m / 3,465 ft.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Budget lodging: Saddle Hut

• Wake up early and start the trek at around 12:00 am. There is a 1-hour steep climb to Rhino Point (3,800 m / 12,467 ft), and then the path continues along a ridge of ash and rock to reach Cobra Point (4,350 m / 14,272 ft).
• Keep walking for another hour to reach the summit of Socialist Peak (4,566 m). Enjoy sunrise at the summit and take in stunning views of the cliffs of the Crater rim, the Ash Cone rising from the crater floor, Mount Kilimanjaro floating amidst the morning clouds, and the Rift Valley.
• Take the route back to Rhino Point, along a narrow ridge between the sloping outer wall of the crater and the cliffs of the inner wall.
• Stop for brunch at Saddle Hut before continuing the descent to Miriakamba Hut.
• Reach Momella Gate by mid-day or afternoon.

(Note: For an easier climb, start the trek at 05:00 A.M., hike for about 1 hour, and enjoy sunrise at Rhino Point before going back to Saddle Hut for breakfast and then hiking down. In icy conditions or in strong winds, it may be impossible for anyone to progress beyond Rhino Point. There are two ways down from here. You can descend the route you came up or walk down the jeep road, which descends to the lower crater floor. You pass through the well-known Fig Tree Arch and visit an impressive waterfall hidden in a ravine not far from the road.)

Meals: Breakfast, lunch