Meru Bandas · 8 rooms
Standard Mbega Room
Built to feel like you're in Africa, but in the mountains.
2 guests ensuite, breakfast included
Karibu nyumbani
Relax and unite with mother nature as one
Twenty rooms on the slopes of Mount Meru, at the gate of Arusha National Park, where giraffe and colobus cross the garden and both peaks stand on the horizon.
Live availability, straight from the lodge's own booking system.
44,000 m²of gardens and grounds
20rooms, for 2 to 5 guests
4,566 mMount Meru
5,895 mKilimanjaro
6 kmfrom Usa River to the park gate
1964the year the family arrived
The lodge
Twenty rooms in forty-four thousand square metres of garden
The lodge sits on the lush slopes of Mount Meru, looking out at Kilimanjaro, Mount Meru and Arusha National Park. Because we are right on the park's edge, guests watch giraffe, zebra, colobus monkeys, warthog and elephant from the veranda or the view tower.
One open-plan building under thatch holds the African-style restaurant, the bar and the lounge. Around it are twenty rooms for two to five guests, a swimming pool, an outdoor fitness area, a small Maasai souvenir shop and a campsite with clean facilities, all wrapped in gardens that dozens of bird species call home.
It is the right place to sleep off a long flight, and the right place to start: Kilimanjaro and Meru climbs leave from here, the northern safari circuit is on the doorstep, and the staff will teach you your first Kiswahili over breakfast.
Seen from the veranda
- Giraffe
- Zebra
- Colobus monkey — mbega
- Warthog
- Elephant
- Dozens of bird species
The rooms
Twenty rooms, two houses
Meru Bandas stand among the gardens at the lodge. Simba Bandas are quieter, a few minutes away at our farm. Every room is ensuite, and breakfast is always included.
What we can arrange
The park starts at our gate
A day in the park, a guided walk to the village market, or six days on Kilimanjaro. Reception books all of it.
Safari
You know you're truly alive when on a safari.
Arusha National Park starts at our gate: elephant, giraffe, buffalo and zebra grazing by lakes where flamingos bathe, and a picnic somewhere in the middle of it.
More on safari
Climbing and trekking
Beautiful landscapes whilst enjoying the time of your life.
Kilimanjaro stands 5,895 m above sea level, and we run every main route up it: Marangu, Machame, Umbwe, Rongai and Lemosho, over five or six days.
More on climbing and trekking
Walking tours
Nothing can explain Africa more than breathing in its fresh air whilst walking through it.
Walk to the neighbouring villages through forest that opens onto a local market, with a guide who grew up on this mountain.
More on walking toursGood to know
What a stay includes
Current prices are in the lodge's own price list, kept up to date by the family. Ask us and we will send it with a quote for your dates.
Breakfast, every morning
Breakfast is part of every room rate. Half board adds dinner, and full board adds lunch as well. Tell us which you would like when you book.
Camping
Pitch on the campground and use everything the lodge has: the pool, the restaurant, the view tower, the club room, hot showers and the cooking banda.
Airport transfer
We collect guests from Kilimanjaro Airport or Arusha in either direction. Send us your flight number and we will be waiting.
From the air
Birds perspective
A drone flight over the view tower, the lodge and Simba Farm, and the clearest way to see how the place sits against the mountain.
Playing the film loads it from YouTube, which tells Google your IP address.
Finding us
Between Kilimanjaro Airport and Arusha
We are on Momella Road, the road that runs from Usa River up to the Arusha National Park gate. Arusha lies 22 km west of Usa River and Kilimanjaro Airport 23 km east, with Moshi beyond it.
- 6 kmUsa River to the lodge, about 10 minutes
- 22 kmArusha to Usa River, about 30 minutes
- 23 kmUsa River to Kilimanjaro Airport, about 30 minutes
- 34 kmKilimanjaro Airport on to Moshi, about 40 minutes
Book direct
Reserve straight with the family
Live availability from our own booking system, answered by the family rather than an agency. Breakfast is included in every room.