3 Days Mount Meru Guided Trekking Tour

After our safari with Suricata, which had already completely blown us away, we planned to climb Mount Meru with the same company. At first, we treated it almost like a bonus. Something along the lines of: we're in Tanzania anyway, so why not climb a mountain too? We knew Mount Meru would probably be a great experience, but after the safari we'd just had, we honestly thought we'd already seen the highlight of our trip. Mount Meru proved us wrong. Our little mountain family consisted of Daoudi (lead guide), Zakia (assistent guide), Gasto (the cook) and Julius (the fixer). We were joined by one other traveller who had also booked through Suricata, a few hikers from other companies, and an armed ranger. Apparently, altitude sickness wasn't the only thing we needed protecting from. The first two days are almost suspiciously pleasant. They are simply beautiful. Kilimanjaro sits on the horizon for much of the route, the scenery keeps changing around you, and the walking is comfortable enough that you start to become slightly overconfident. Mount Meru waits patiently for day three to correct you. Summit night starts at 11pm. This time it is just you and your two guides, walking into complete darkness with only the small circle of your headlamp in front of you.The trail itself is actually fine. It is well made, not particularly slippery and there is not very technical. What makes the climb difficult, though, is that you are high up, climbing fast, in the middle of the night, and your body is becoming increasingly confused about why you are doing this voluntarily. I run marathons and my boyfriend is an experienced mountain climber, so we both arrived with a decent amount of confidence in our fitness. However, we both struggled, nausea included. During the climb your world becomes very small. You stop thinking about the summit, Tanzania or anything remotely inspirational. You just look at the feet in front of you. One step. Another step. And repeat. Then, about six hours later, everything suddenly makes sense. You reach the summit just as the sun begins to rise over Tanzania. Kilimanjaro sits in the distance and the landscape seems to stretch endlessly below you. It is one of those moments where your brain becomes very selective with its memories. The nausea? Forgotten. The exhaustion? Apparently irrelevant. All the moments where you questioned why you thought climbing a mountain in the middle of the night sounded like a good holiday activity? Gone. Standing there, watching the sun come up, you would do it all again. Of course, reaching the summit does not mean the day is finished. We chose the three-day itinerary, which means that after reaching the top, you descend all the way back to the gate on the same day. There was a short stop at hut 2 for food and what I would very generously describe as a power nap, before continuing the descent. On paper, this sounds slightly insane. In reality, the euphoria from reaching the summit somehow carries you down. There is also a four-day option, where you spend the final night at hut 1 and walk down to the gate the next morning. The huts were another pleasant surprise. They were clean, well maintained and honestly just as good as many of the mountain huts I've stayed in across Europe. You sleep in bunk beds, usually four people to a room, and after a full day of hiking they have everything you actually need. By that point, luxury is very simple. A mattress and something horizontal for sleeping. But as impressive as the mountain itself is, the thing we remember most is the people. Because Daoudi, Zakia, Gasto and Julius did much more than simply guide us up Mount Meru. Gasto somehow managed to serve genuinely great food every single day. Which is amazing, considering we were halfway up a mountain. Every meal was better than we expected and exactly what you needed after hours on the trail. Then there was Julius, the person who seemed to make everything happen without ever making a big deal out of it. Water bottles were filled before we were even properly awake, packed lunches were ready to go, and all the little things you normally only notice when they are missing were already taken care of. Zakia was 23 and the only female guide we saw on the mountain. She set the pace of the group with almost ridiculous consistency and kept a close eye on everyone throughout the climb. She would quietly check in with people one by one, making sure nobody was struggling more than they were letting on. Calm, steady and always paying attention. And then there was Daoudi. It is hard to know where to begin with him, because he somehow seemed to be on top of everything at once. From the very start, he made sure our rental gear was sorted, explained exactly what to expect and kept us updated throughout the entire climb. The moment someone started struggling, he noticed. And somehow, he always had a solution ready before you even had time to ask. What stood out most was how calm he stayed, no matter what was happening around him. Even during six hours of climbing through the night with tired, nauseous people questioning their life choices, he remained kind, professional and completely in control. By the end of the climb, it no longer felt like we had simply booked a tour. It felt like we had shared a proper adventure together. And that is probably the biggest compliment we can give Suricata. We booked Mount Meru thinking it would be a nice addition to our safari. Instead, it became one of the highlights of our entire trip. Tanzania managed to impress us twice. Once from the window of a safari jeep. And once, very slowly, step by step. Asante sana.

Nobody warns you about day three. Well, David did, repeatedly, but nothing quite prepares you for being woken at 11pm after two gentle days on the mountain, lacing up your boots and walking out into the night. We came to Mount Meru straight off a three-day safari with Suricata. That trip had been so good that we half expected the trekking to be an afterthought. It wasn't. If anything, the mountain is where this company shows what it's really made of. Our team was David, the lead guide, Zakia, his assistant, Gasto, our cook, and Julius, who kept everything around us running. With us walked one other traveller who had booked through Suricata, a handful of trekkers from other companies, and an armed ranger who took point the entire route. The first two days are, in all honesty, not hard. They are simply beautiful, with Kilimanjaro sitting on the horizon for much of the way, and you start to wonder what all the fuss is about. Then day three. You set off at 11pm with only your two guides, and the world shrinks to the circle of your headlamp. The path itself is fine: well made, not slippery, nothing technical. The problem is that it climbs fast, and at that altitude your body objects. I'm an experienced hiker and my girlfriend runs marathons, and we both struggled properly, nausea included. Then comes the reason for the brutal start time. Six hours later you are standing on the summit as the sun comes up over Tanzania, with a panorama stretching out over the whole country beneath you. Every hard step in the dark is forgotten in that moment, and you'd do all of it again. The day isn't over at the top, though. We did the three-day itinerary, which means you walk all the way back down the same day: a short stop at hut 2 for some food and a power nap, then on to the gate. The euphoria of the summit carries you down, and it is absolutely doable. There is also a four-day version where you sleep at hut 1 and finish the next morning, which is a great option if you'd rather take it slower. Both are good choices. The huts are a pleasant surprise: clean, well kept and every bit as good as the European mountain huts I'm used to. Bunk beds, four to a room, and all you need after a long day. Now the people, because they are the reason to book this. Gasto made wonderful food every single day, far better than you'd expect on a mountain. Julius was the man who quietly made everything happen: water bottles filled before we were up, packed lunches ready for the trail, and every small thing arranged before we knew we needed it. Zakia is 23, was the only female guide out there, and held the pace of the group like a metronome. She never stopped checking on people, quietly, one by one, making sure everyone was still okay. And David. Where do you even start with a man like this. Hugely experienced, calm, and completely on top of everything from the first hour to the last. He sorted our rental gear before we set off. He noticed the moment someone started to struggle and always had a solution ready. He briefed us constantly, so we always knew what was coming. And through six hours of night climbing with a group of tired, nauseous people he stayed kind, professional and, somehow, always exactly on time. Suricata turned a hard climb into one of the best things we've ever done. Book them.

Great expirience! The nature and landscapes of Mount Meru are amezing. The two huts are very well equiped and confortable and the food very good and abundant. The trek is phisically demanding but not tecnhical. Thank you to Modesto and his team for this expirience!

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I had an absolutely amazing experience with Suricata Safaris during my Mount Meru trek, and I cannot recommend them enough! From start to finish, everything was perfectly organized, and the entire team was incredibly professional, kind, and welcoming. They truly made this adventure an unforgettable experience. A very special thank you to Teacher David, who was simply fantastic! He was extremely patient, attentive, kind, and encouraging throughout the entire trek. He always took the time to listen to us, make sure we were comfortable, and motivate us when things got challenging. Having a guide like him made such a huge difference, and I genuinely could not have asked for a better guide for this experience. I also want to give a huge thank you to the entire team, especially our amazing cook and porters. Their hard work, kindness, and dedication were incredible. The meals were delicious, and everyone went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed. They really helped make the experience feel special and unique. Climbing Mount Meru was already a dream and a challenge, but having such an amazing team alongside us made it even more memorable. ❤️ Thank you so much to Teacher David, the cook, the porters, and the entire Suricata team for an incredible adventure! I will definitely remember this experience for a very long time. If you are thinking about climbing Mount Meru, I highly recommend booking with Suricata Safaris — you will be in very good hands! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐