Truly Unique Farm to Table Experience at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro

Our Kilimanjaro adventure included five days at Mbahe Farm before we began our trek. Mbahe farm sits on the foothills of Kilimanjaro in Marangu. Those five days at the farm gave us a chance to acclimate, recover from jet lag, and learn a little about this African village and the Chagga people that live there.

The stay at Mbahe Farm Cottages is part of the Summit Expeditions and Nomadic Experience (SENE) program. SENE is the guide company we chose for our Kilimanjaro climb. SENE is a Tanzania-owned eco-adventure company that offers climbs, safaris, trail running, and bike treks. SENE’s director, Simon Mtuy, holds the record for the fastest unsupported ascent-descent of Mount Kilimanjaro (9h22m) via the Umbwe route. Our climb would take ten days.

Getting There

Our flight from Amsterdam (AMS) arrived at Kilimanjaro Airport (KRO) around 9:00 PM. The first stop, once you are off the plane, is a document and vaccine check outside of the terminal. In addition to our passport, we were asked to show our proof of covid and yellow fever vaccines (we traveled in August 2022 – requirements may have changed).

Airport Heath Check

We visited a travel clinic before the trip – the doctor updated some of our vaccines and gave us an international vaccine card (we brought this and our CDC card for proof of covid vaccine). The doctor also gave us a waiver letter for the yellow fever vaccine so we did not get that shot. We made it through the first checkpoint with no problem.

Immigration and Visas

The second stop at the airport was Immigration. We applied for our Multiple Entry Visa (required for travelers from the United States) online at Tanzania eVisa. Tara, our contact at SENE, was a terrific help in completing the form. It took 11 days to receive the email from the Consulate with our grant notification. With a printed copy of that notification in hand, we headed for the online Visa holder’s line. The line moved slowly but without incident.

Adventure #1: Getting to the farm

The trail to the farm in daylight, imagine it a night with only a headlamp!

Finally done with the paperwork we located our bags and headed out the door. We found our driver amongst dozens of tour guides and headed to the farm. The two-hour drive from the airport was uneventful until we turned off the main road. The dirt roads in the village are rutted making for quite a bumpy ride. At one point I was not sure our van was going to make it up a particularly steep and slippery section. Eventually, the van parked and our porters greeted us for the walk to the farm.

The porters carried our bags and led the way. There are no roads leading to the farm so this last bit must be on foot. It was dark. We had spent the last 24 hours on a plane. The path to the farm is perfectly simple during the day but in my exhausted state, in the dark, it seemed like a lot. I am sure the crew was questioning my ability to make it up the mountain later that week. I may have been questioning my abilities as well.

Once at the farm we were greeted with fresh tree tomato juice, a bowl of hot water, and a washcloth. It was the middle of the night; I was impressed with the level of service.

The Cottages at Mbahe Farm

We spent five nights at the farm before our Kilimanjaro climb. The accommodations are lovely in their simplicity. Almost everything is made locally: the furniture, the curtains, the bedding, and even the beautiful ironwork on the windows. We had a large one-room unit with a bathroom. Clean water is provided for drinking and brushing your teeth.

There is no heat or air conditioning and it did get noticeably cold at night for our September stay. We lost power one evening. Dinner was late that night, but they pulled it off without electricity and we had a lovely candlelit meal. Because power outages are not unusual the rooms are stocked with candles and matches. There are no laundry facilities and while we were there the air was too moist for anything to dry out in less than a day. Those are all small inconveniences more than offset by the beauty and serenity of the location.

One warning about metal roofs and avocado trees: Avocados dropping onto a metal roof makes a sound that will startle and delight you each and every time.

Farming in Mbahe Village

Almost all of the food served at Mbahe farm is grown locally in small farms like the ones above. The crops we saw most often were coffee, potatoes, beans, yams, tree tomatoes (tamarillo), and bananas. The paper in the fields helps to keep the birds and other pests away. Upon closer inspection, we were surprised to see the papers were discarded bits of homework. Families will trade harvested products in town for items like rice and flour that are not grown in the village.

Mbahe farm sources more than produce locally. On our walks, we saw goats, cows, pigs, and chickens. The farm even produces its own honey with hives on-site.

The Food at the Farm

Chef Leonard transfers the bounty from local farms into delicious, healthy meals. The breakfast menu includes eggs, bacon, fruit and our visit freshly made banana bread. Lunch and dinner both start with soup and feature local produce and meats.

The food is so fresh and so clean. It is well-seasoned and presented beautifully. After five days of these meals, I felt so good.

Chef Leonard shows us how he makes banana bread

Coffee Grown and Roasted on the Farm

Once our entire climbing party arrived we were treated to a demonstration of coffee roasting at the farm.

When the beans begin turning red they are ready to be picked. The beans are first processed to remove the husks and then soaked in water to ensure only the best beans make it to your cup (the good beans settle to the bottom).

The beans are then dried and roasted in a cast iron pan over a flame. Once the beans are fully roasted they are transferred to a wooden coffee grinder that works like a mortar and pestle. The ground coffee goes through a sieve and large pieces go back to the grinder until it is all the right consistency. From there the next stop in the process is a delicious cup of coffee.

Gallery of Our Hiking Trips in Marangu

The word “Marangu” means a place with too many water streams – there are many, many waterfalls but not too many I think. While at the farm our guide, Felix, led us on two hikes each day. As we were training and acclimating we were also learning about village life, farming practices, the local environment, and even a little history and politics.

At 6,100 feet elevation Mbahe farm was a great place for us to adjust to higher elevations and gave our guides a chance to assess our abilities. The area around the cottages is beautiful – a nice mix of waterfalls, farms, and village life. It was cloudy most days and we never saw Mt. Kilimanjaro despite to hikes to the park border early in the morning when the mountain is more likely to be out.

Our daily hikes took us to the river, up to Kilimanjaro’s Marangu Gate, and through the village. Our climb would leave from the Lemosho Gate, Marangu Gate is the start of the Marangu route – also known as the Coca-Cola route. Marangu is the most popular route up the mountain. Outside the gate, there are several shops where you can purchase souvenirs, art, or climbing gear.