Mt Meru

Just north of Arusha a few miles is Mt Meru. It is 4,565 m (15,000 ft) high and the 5th highest mountain in Africa. An impressive old volcano that last erupted a long time ago. The lower slopes are covered in forests and fruit plantations now days. The mountain causes a large rain shadow around the region which is why Arusha is where it is. The lands around are quite fertile compared to areas further away which are desert effectively. The water supply for Arusha and surrounds comes from the catchment off Mt Meru. The mountain is quite pretty to see though it is often hidden clouds. The short wet season started this week and Mt Meru had a light dusting of snow on the top we could see one day.
Mt Kilimanjaro (19,500 ft) is about 40+ miles to the east. You can’t see it from Arusha though.
People who want to climb Mt Kilimanjaro often climb Mt Meru first to get some acclimatisation experience. It is a 4 day trek, 2 up and 2 down, staying in lodges for 3 nights. Some good animal wild life lives on the mountain like elephants, giraffes, monkeys etc.