Mount Meru is 4.565 m high and the fifth-highest mountain peak in Africa. It is part of Arusha National Park and situated 68 km west-southwest of Mount Kilimanjaro. Its extinct crater is easily accessible from Arusha city, which lies at the mountain’s southern base. The mountains densely populated southern and eastern slopes are well watered, and the fertile volcanic soil supports many of the local coffee plantations. There are rain forests on the slopes up to about 2,900 m.