Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TIPPING
Park rangers receive a fixed monthly salary for their work, and get no additional payment
from the park for guiding; the fee of US$15 per day is paid to the national park rather
than to the guides themselves, which means that tips are much appreciated. Generally the
rangers and porters on Mt Meru are hard-working and reliable, but as the popularity of
Meru has increased, so has their expectation of the big tips demanded by their counterparts
on Kilimanjaro. Although rare, it's not unheard of for some poorly motivated rangers to ask
you what their tip will be and if they're not satisfied they won't continue up the mountain.
If this happens, work out an arrangement to keep going, and then report them to headquar-
ters when you get down the mountain.
As a guideline, for a good guide who has completed the full trek with you, plan on a tip
of about US$50 per group. Cook and porter tips should be around US$30 and US$20 re-
spectively. Tip more with top-end companies.
Guides & Porters
A ranger-guide is mandatory and can be arranged at Momella gate. Unlike on Kilimanjaro,
guides on Meru are regular park rangers whose purpose is to assist (and protect) you in
case you meet some of the park's buffaloes or elephants, rather than to show you the way
(which is why the park refers to 'ranger services' rather than guiding), although they do
know the route. There has been a shortage of rangers, resulting in the need to trek in large
groups (10 trekkers is normal and it could be as high as 20) sometimes. More hiring has
been promised.
Optional porters are also available at Momella gate. The charge is US$10 per porter per
day and this is paid directly to them at the end of the trek. They come from one of the
nearby villages and are not park employees so you'll also need to pay their park entrance
(Tsh1500 per day) and hut (Tsh800 per night) fees at Momella gate before starting to trek.
Porters will carry rucksacks weighing up to 20kg (excluding their own food and clothing).
Maps
The only map is on the reverse of Maco's
Arusha National Park
map.
MOMELLA ROUTE
The Momella Route is the only route up Mt Meru. It starts at Momella gate (
Click here
for
details on getting there) on the eastern side of the mountain and goes to the summit along
the northern arm of the horseshoe crater. The route can be done comfortably in four days
(three nights). Some trekkers do it in three days by combining Stages 3 and 4 of the trek;
but the park authorities now actively discourage this and even if you're in good shape it's
so rushed it's hard to enjoy your last day on the mountain. Trekkers aren't allowed to begin
