Mount Meru

Mount Meru rises within Arusha National Park and reaches 4,566 metres making it Tanzania's second-highest mountain and a rewarding high-altitude trek in its own right.

Meru is a large stratovolcano shaped by repeated eruptions and a major prehistoric collapse of its eastern side that left the mountain's distinctive breached crater and generated extensive debris-avalanche deposits across the Momella area. Later volcanic activity produced features including the Ash Cone and lava structures visible within the collapsed area.

Scientific research describes Meru as a historically active stratovolcano, with its last known eruption in 1910.

The upper trail exposes climbers to one of the mountain's strongest selling points: the geology is visible rather than hidden. Steep inner walls, layered volcanic deposits, the Ash Cone, rocky ridges and the breached crater create a very different character from the broad summit slopes of Kilimanjaro. TANAPA's GeoParks programme specifically identifies Socialist Peak, Little Meru and the Ash Cone as distinct geological features.

Meru is normally approached through Arusha National Park from Momella Gate along the standard mountain trail that offers wildlife-rich lower slopes through montane forest and heath to a steep volcanic summit ridge, ending at Socialist Peak at 4,566 metres. Climbers sleep in mountain huts, while clear conditions can reveal the Ash Cone, Meru's crater walls and distant Kilimanjaro.

Mount Meru is normally climbed in three or four days, but VION recommends a four-day schedule. Climbers start from the Momella side of Arusha National Park and use mountain huts rather than the tent-based camps typical of most Kilimanjaro routes.