Mount Meru is a dormant stratovolcano rising to 4,562 m inside Arusha National Park, about 70 km west of Kilimanjaro. It is Tanzania's second-highest mountain and the eighth-highest in Africa; a summit collapse around 7,800 years ago left its distinctive horseshoe crater, open to the east, with a younger ash cone standing on the crater floor. A minor eruption was recorded in 1910. The standard climb is the Momella Route, a three- or four-day ascent from Momella Gate on the eastern side, with nights at the Miriakamba and Saddle huts. Because the lower slopes carry buffalo and giraffe, an armed ranger accompanies every group. The final stage follows the crater rim by night to Socialist Peak, with sunrise views across to Kilimanjaro. The forest holds colobus monkeys and nearly 400 bird species, and the walk passes the Tululusia waterfall and the fig-tree arch. Meru is often used as acclimatisation before Kilimanjaro or as a shorter, quieter alternative to it.
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