Times in Tanzania: Marangu: Marangu Hotel and Ndoro Waterfall

Ndoro Falls.

We have been talking about making more of an effort to explore all the spots located on the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro. To actually enter the park requires payment of national park fees, which in the end would end up to be about $100 USD per day to go on a hike. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the areas on the mountain have been cultivated right up to the border of the park, making it more of a hike through farmland than through the montane rainforest that exists in the park. We previously visited a place on the northeast side of Kilimanjaro as well as a place on the west side, so we decided to check out Marangu, which is only about 45 minutes from us on the south east side of the mountain.

There is a nice hotel located in the area with very nice camping facilities and reasonably priced food. The hotel specializes in group climbs and we found the facilities to be quite nice, similar to many of the accommodation options on Kili in that it was obviously an old plantation converted into a hotel. The hotel is located outside of the main town with spacious grounds and some nice views of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

We reluctantly took a guide in hopes that he would know some nice birding spots and trails, but he was a bit drunk and although he wasn't bad, he certainly wasn't a positive addition to the hike. It would have been challenging to independently navigate the village trails, and he did show us where the waterfall was which was a pretty substantial walk from the hotel.

As residents of the area we always find it difficult to go with guides as they are somewhat pre-programmed to give a certain "experience". Most have been trained in a very specific way and since we already know much about the local culture and flora/fauna, most of the facts they give can be redundant. Even speaking Swahili and them knowing we have lived here for some years, they still deliver the same program. I'm sure that the vast majority of people enjoy these tours and there may be a tactful way to tell them we just want to walk but usually we feel bad and feign polite interest in their facts.

The Ndoro Waterfall was pretty cool and somewhat well organized with an office and small building where people signed the visitors book and paid the fee. It was a bit odd as a young guy was stationed on the road about a hundred meters before the entrance and he quickly latched onto us and explained we had to go to the office to pay the fee. However, since we were already with our guide we were allowed to go down the falls with him.

The walk down was steep but short. There was a group of young Tanzanians swimming and we joined them in the VERY cold water. We enjoyed the environment as the river was surrounded with lush vegetation and the sound of the falls was calming. A large group of tourists came just as we were ready to leave, which is good because the area wasn't really too large and could easily feel crowded.

We enjoyed our time in Marangu but I'm not sure if we'll be rushing back anytime soon. We did like that it was very close, we could camp, food was good and fairly priced, and it did have the "mountain" feel (cold night, nice views). However, the main activity, which would be hiking, was somewhat limited, but perhaps if we just needed a place to chill out, it would be perfect.