Standing at 4566 m, Mount Meru is located in Arusha city about 23 km on Arusha-Moshi main road within the Arusha National park. It’s also the second highest Mountain in Tanzania after the Mt. Kilimanjaro which has 5896 m.
Unlike Mt. Kilimanjaro, Meru has only one route which is Momela gate where by all the registration and payments are done, also porters and guides are obtained on this entrance. It takes three days to hike the Meru but one day for acclimatization is recommended by the company.
Clients needs full armed rangers to accompany them while crossing to the Arusha National Park top to the Mount Meru. Arusha National Park is famous for walking safaris and when hiking to Meru clients can see zebras, black and white colobus monkeys, African buffaloes, baboons, lions, leopards, klipslingers, antelopes, Masaai giraffe, waterbucks, hyenas and warthogs.
The park is also enrich with scenic flora (highland rain forest and acacia woodland) and fauna, numerous birdlife more than 400 species are recorded most of them dwell in Momela Lake and Ngurudoto crater they include the greater and lesser flamingos, white pelicans, African spoonbill, Marabou stork, European pintail, kingfishers, sun birds, crows and turracos.
Also Meru has different types of reptiles, the African black and green mamba, Egyptian cobras, chameleons and lizards they are rarely been seen while hiking but you are assured to see all this in the snake park within the Arusha National Park.