Mtoni River Lodge

Right on the banks of the Nduruma stands Mtoni River Lodge, around 50 minutes by car from Kilimanjaro International Airport, built on the Maasai model with straw, stone and lamps made from calabashes. Of the 24 rooms, the Riverfront Deluxe rooms are closest to the water, the standard rooms are also on the riverbank, and there are rooms for families and groups too. The curving pool sits in the tropical greenery of the gardens, and the cooking has local influences, sometimes straight over an open fire. In the evening you sit by the campfire under the starry sky, and at daybreak a guide takes you on foot along the river. If you’re heading up Kilimanjaro, you get an early breakfast or one to take away, and luggage that doesn’t need to go up the mountain stays here in safekeeping. So the river in the name is to be taken literally.