Tanzania: Mt. Kilimanjaro Trek

Your driver will pick you up from the airport and transfer you to your lodge. On arrival the hotel staff will help you get settled in and relax after your flight. Later on, you will be met by your guide and the Climbs Manager who will brief you thoroughly on what to expect while on the mountain and will also conduct a kit check to make sure you have everything you need for the trip.

After breakfast, depart by vehicle to Kilimanjaro National Park. At the gate, your crew will finalize packing, and after finishing with formalities you return to your vehicle for another 30 minutes or so until you arrive at the start of the Lemosho Trail. Today's hiking is through verdant afromontane forest and is steep in places. A picnic lunch is usually taken on trail during the hike before reaching Forest Camp for the night.

From the forested slopes of Lemosho you ascend through podocarpus and juniper forest, and break out of the forest on to the heath zone and the Shira Plateau. A hot lunch is taken at Shira 1 Camp, and the rest of the afternoon is spent relaxing and acclimatizing to the new environment.

Crossing the Shira Plateau can be one of the most scenic parts of the trip, and this morning we hike for around 4-5 hours to Moir Camp, where lunch is taken. The afternoon is spent acclimatizing, and for those with the energy, a hike in the late afternoon up to a viewpoint is highly recommended to keep the blood flowing.

From Moir, we traverse across the slopes of Kibo. Here, relatively little flora or fauna can survive the extreme temperature ranges and conditions that typify this zone. Today is a “walk high, sleep low” day. You ascend into alpine desert to Lava Tower (Alt: 15,092ft, 4600m) where lunch is taken before descending to Barranco Camp. This is a long day, but note that the next time you head to this altitude is in two days time at base camp — a great acclimatization day!

From Barranco Camp, famous for its giant groundsels (senecio species), ascend the Barranco Wall and hike glacial valleys to Karanga Camp. Today is a relatively short day’s hike, and lunch is taken at Karanga Camp. The afternoon is spent relaxing and acclimatizing. In the evening, a practice walk for the summit is taken to make sure you are completely comfortable with the kit you are going to summit in.

Today is another half day, ascending to Upper Barafu Camp. Once again, lunch is taken in camp allowing plenty of time to relax before the summit bid. Desolate alpine desert and, at times, strong winds rip over this camp; yet in the evening splendid views of Mawenzi are the norm. A relatively early dinner is taken before heading to rest for the evening.

Most people depart just before midnight for the final summit bid. Patience and persistence are the name of game to reach the summit (Uhuru Peak: 19341ft, 5895m), and by dawn as the first rays of light start to appear, most arrive near the rim. Ascending via Stella Point (Alt: 18,865ft, 5750m) affords a relatively short final section to Uhuru Peak, the Roof of Africa! What goes up must come down, however. The first stage is to get back to our base camp for a quick change of clothes and refuel before the three-hour hike downhill to Millenium Camp. The downhill is hard on the knees, and walking poles at this stage are highly recommended. You should reach Mweka Camp before dusk for your final night on the mountain.

After breakfast, descend through afromontane forest, and around lunchtime, after saying farewell to your crew, you will be picked up and transferred back to your lodge for a well deserved shower! Later that evening, you will be visited by a representative to congratulate you, to find out how the trip went, and to answer any final questions you may have about your onward journey.

After one last breakfast, your driver will collect you from the lodge, at a time previously arranged time, in order to take you to the airport in good time for your return flight or onward travel arrangements.