Stand on the roof of Africa, taking in sweeping views and celebrate an achievement you’ll never forget. Experience the ultimate trekking adventure in Africa over ten unforgettable days. You’ll adventure through diverse landscapes to reach Uhuru Peak, the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. From lush rainforest to rocky alpine trails, each step brings you closer to the highest point on the continent.
Start - End: Kilimanjaro International Airport - Kilimanjaro International Airport
Total trip: 10 days
Average group size: 12 people
Level: 5
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The Mount Kilimanjaro trek is the ultimate trekking experience in Africa. This 10-day adventure will reward you with extreme landscapes, epic sunrises, unpolluted starry skies, and an unforgettable personal feat. You'll hike to the highest point of Mount Kilimanjaro on a route that allows more acclimatization time and offers spectacular scenery. The Lemosho Route is an adventurous trail, approaching Mount Kilimanjaro from the west through the Shira Plateau. Full of unique geographic features related to Mount Kilimanjaro’s volcanic past, it is an ideal route for those who are more experienced in hiking and would like to spend longer on the mountain. An added bonus is that there are possibilities of sighting buffalo, elephants and other larger game in the Lemosho Glades around the forest on the lower slopes of this route.
Discover what you'll be up to on each day of your bucket-list hike up Mount Kilimanjaro.
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Your trip will begin at Kilimanjaro International Airport, near to Moshi – the town located on the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro and Tanzania’s gateway to the mountain! You’ll be met in the airport by a friendly face our local Tanzanian team. They’ll take you to your accommodation where you will have some time to settle in.
This evening your guide will meet you at the lodge to run through the days to come, making sure you’re all set to begin your hike with a thorough personal equipment and gear check before dinner together.
Accommodation: Chanya Lodge, Moshi
Meals: Dinner
Today the hike begins! We’ll set out from the Lodge in vehicles over 3 hours of driving to Lemosho Gate at an elevation of 6,890 feet (2,100 meters) - one of the starting points of the Lemosho Trail. Here you’ll meet the rest of the hiking crew and set off at a leisurely pace into the beautiful Afromontane Forest through windy trails. At these lower elevations the trail can be muddy and quite slippery. We highly recommend gaiters and trekking poles here. Look out for colobus and blue monkeys whilst you walk, and if you don’t see them on the trail, you’ll probably hear them this evening.
We’ll stop for lunch and have a bite to eat along the way, aiming to be at Mti Mkumba Camp 9,500 feet (2,895 meters) by mid-afternoon. We’ll take things nice and slow today to ease us into the days ahead.
Accommodation: Mti Mkumba Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Hiking: 4 miles (7 kilometers), 4-6 hours
Elevation Gain/Loss: 2,610 feet (795 meters) ascent
After some breakfast at camp, we’ll head off again, getting another step closer to reaching the summit. From the forested slopes of Lemosho we’ll ascend through Podocarps and Juniper forest and break out of the tree line. We’ll enter the Giant Heather Moorland Zone and from here we’ll soon ascend to the extinct volcanic crater known as the Shira Plateau. This World Heritage site boasts deep valleys and the remains of weathered lava flows. Enjoy the dramatic views of the plateau whilst appreciating the distant views of Mount Meru, another extinct volcanic mountain.
We’ll take lunch on the trail and arrive in Shira I Camp 11,500 feet (3,505 meters) around mid-afternoon. Temperatures begin to drop here, so get those layers on!
Accommodation: Shira I Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Hiking: 4 miles (7 kilometers), 5-6 hours
Elevation Gain/Loss: 2,000 feet (610 meters) ascent
Today we’ll be crossing the Shira Plateau, this is one of the most scenic parts of the trip! Slowly and gently, you’ll walk eastwards toward Kibo’s glacier peak. Be sure to look out for the giant lobelia, growing amongst the Erica shrubs.
We’ll hike for around 3-4 hours before arriving at Moir Camp 13,800 feet (4,205 meters) for lunch. Altitude may start to play a role from here on out and everyone reacts differently, so easing into our new environment is important.
For those with the energy, we’ll do an optional acclimatization hike in the late afternoon to an epic viewpoint. This will keep your blood flowing and it’s great for acclimatizing in preparation for the rest of your trip.
Accommodation: Moir Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Hiking: 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometers), 5-6 hours
Elevation Gain/Loss: 2,000 feet (610 meters) ascent
Optional Acclimatization Hike: 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers), 1-2 hrs
Elevation Gain/Loss: 820 feet (250 meters) ascent, 820 feet (250 meters) descent
From our camp, we’ll traverse across the slopes of Kibo, one of the three volcanic cones that make up Kilimanjaro. You’ll notice the terrain changing into a semi-desert with a rocky landscape. Throughout the year the extreme temperature ranges and conditions in this zone make it hard for flora or fauna to survive.
We’ll stop for our lunch near to Lava tower, at an impressive 15,090 feet (4,630 meters) above sea level, before descending to camp. As we descend we’ll make the most of the opportunity to take breathtaking photos of the Western Breach and Breach Wall.
Although you’ll begin and end the day at the same elevation, the time spent in between at a higher elevation is great for acclimatization. Barranco Camp 12,795 feet (3,900 meters) is incredibly scenic with epic sunsets to finish up another top-notch day on the trails.
Accommodation: Barranco Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Hiking: 7 miles (11 kilometers), 7-9 hours, including lunch stop
Elevation Gain/Loss: 1,395 feet (425 meters) ascent, 2,395 feet (730 meters) descent
As summit day creeps closer we’ll start preparing, with an early start to the day crossing the floor of the Great Barranco Valley to hike the Barranco Wall 13,780 feet (4,200 meters). This is one of the most impressive days to see the power, agility, and strength of your mountain crew as they zip over this wall with what appears such ease.
After 2 hours of ascending we’ll reach the top and then hike over spectacular glacial valleys to our next camp – Karanga Camp 13,105 feet (3,955 meters). We’ve been to some incredible spots for sunsets so far, but this spot is particularly famous for them – with views of the southern glacial valleys and ice fields which tower 3,000 feet (over 1,000 meters) above us!
We’ll be hiking for around 5 hours today and we’ll get to experience the very best that the alpine desert landscape of Mount Kilimanjaro has to offer.
Accommodation: Karanga Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Hiking: 4 miles (6 kilometers), 4-5 hours
Elevation Gain/Loss: 985 feet (300 meters) ascent, 800 feet (245 meters) descent
We won’t be walking very far today as we near the mountain peak; we’ll save that for the final summit! We’ll spend 4-5 hours of the day completing the Southern Circuit, hiking past Barafu Camp. The scenic climb to Barafu Camp is mostly on a moraine with breath-taking views of Mawenzi Peak towering to the right, and Kibo Peak overhead. We’ll continue hiking to Kosovo Camp 15,750 feet (4,800 meters), a special, high campsite on the Arctic Zone of the mountain located on the southwest of Kibo Peak.
Today's walk will be through an increasingly inhospitable landscape with the Southern Glaciers looming to our left. Arriving early to our next camping spot will give us plenty of time to relax before our early start. We’ll be based in the desolate alpine desert with its few scatterings of lichens and mosses for the night, the feeling here is otherworldly, and in the evenings, incredible views of Mawenzi Volcano are the norm.
We’ll get an early night in preparation for our summit push to begin around midnight, only one final climb to go!
Accommodation: Kosovo Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Hiking: 3 miles (5 kilometers), 4-5 hours
Elevation Gain/Loss: 2,770 feet (845 meters) ascent
We’ll be departing just before midnight for the final stretch to the summit – yes, you read that right, just before midnight! It is going to be a hard wake-up call, but your guides will have some hot drinks on hand to get you going. Kosovo Camp being a high camp, we’ll have a head start over other tekkers and be able to avoid crowds on the summit night, allowing for a better experience on the summit night. This is the most physically and mentally challenging part of the trek, and patience and persistence are the names of the game here as you trek through heavy scree, with our aim to reach Stella Point on the crater rim by dawn. As the first rays of light start to appear and the sun peeks over the horizon, we’ll be rewarded with one of the most magnificent sunrises we’ve ever seen.
The break of dawn will give us a much-needed energy boost and with the sun on our faces, we’ll make our way along the final 1 hour stretch of our summit attempt to Uhuru Peak. After a moment to take it all in we can begin to celebrate, we’ve made it to the top of the highest free-standing mountain in the world, 19,340 feet (5,895 meters) above sea level! What an incredible achievement!
What goes up must come down and our goal after celebrating at the summit is to begin a steep descent to Millennium Camp in time for dinner, with a short stopover at Millenium Camp 12,530 feet (2,075 meters) for lunch and a brief rest. Congratulations!
Accommodation: Millenium Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Kosovo Camp to Uhuru Peak: 2.5 miles (4 kilometers), 6-7 hours
Elevation Gain/Loss: 3,590 feet (1,095 meters) ascent
Uhuru Peak to Millenium Camp: 5.5 miles (9 kilometers), 6-7 hours
Elevation Gain/Loss: 6,810 feet (2,075 meters) descent
We’ll start the day with some breakfast at the camp and then begin our descent through the Afromontane forest. We’ll stop for some lunch on the way down and when at the bottom, we’ll appreciate and say goodbye to the crew that helped us on our journey, collect our certificates and make a celebratory toast with some bubbly.
Once we get back to the national park gate and our transport, we’ll be bound for Chanya Lodge 4,500 feet (1,370 meters). As soon as we get back, we’ll all head to our rooms for a well-deserved shower.
We’ll meet again for dinner and reflect on our epic adventure together to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro! The highs, the lows, and all of the laughs in between (and we’ll enjoy a sundowner or two).
Accommodation: Chanya Lodge, Moshi
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Hiking: 8.5 miles (13.5 kilometers), 4-5 hours
Elevation Gain/Loss: 7,020 feet (2,140 meters) descent
After breakfast at the lodge, it’s time to leave Moshi and Mount Kilimanjaro behind us. We’ll transfer you back to Kilimanjaro International Airport in time for your flights (or your joining hotel if you’re staying in Usa River and joining our safari). We’ll say our emotional goodbyes after bonding on our Mount Kilimanjaro adventure and head off on our separate journeys.
For those of you that have opted to add-on our Serengeti Safari trip, your guide will meet you this evening and run through your safari briefing.
Accommodation: Not applicable
Meals: Breakfast
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Find out where this adventure starts and ends, what the accommodations will be like, and much more.
On the first day of the trip our two pick-up locations are the arrivals hall at Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO) on day one, or we’ll meet you at Chanya Lodge in the hotel foyer at 5pm. You are welcome to book your pre-trip stay at this hotel directly or any other hotel in area, though you must make your own way to one of the two pick-up points at the predesignated times.
The lead guides from the climb crew will meet you at the lodge for a briefing and sorting out all of the equipment to ensure everybody is ready to start the climb the next day. Please have all your gear ready for your guides to check over and your passport.
Your trip ends with a drop-off at the Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO) in time for flights departing at any time, or anywhere in Central Moshi.
Arrival: If you’re flying in on the first day of the trip, we recommend arriving into Kilimanjaro Airport before 2pm.
Departure: Flying out on the last day of the trip, we can provide transport to meet your departing flight at any time after breakfast.
The lodge on the first night will provide private twin-share rooms with ensuites and every other night you will be in a Twin-share walk-in tent with a cot bed, a sleeping pad & pillow provided. Each campsite will have a mess tent and toilet tent as well.
We recommend bringing enough clothing to only have to do laundry where necessary during your trek. Fast drying clothing is recommended while walking (see our recommended packing list), and the cold mountain air makes it hard for things to dry. There will only be opportunities to do laundry at the lodge in Moshi so we recommend hand-washing only the vital items you need while on trail.
This is classic trekking—at altitude—so you’ll need an advanced level of fitness. Hiking at elevation is hard work, and the more preparation you do beforehand, the better. Just be careful not to overexert yourself or put stress on your body, especially in the days leading up to the climb. Some might even call this “expedition-style” trekking. You should already be in the habit of regular aerobic exercise, frequent hill walking, and carrying a daypack. Nepal is famous for its “undulations”—a charming way of saying you’ll be hiking in the biggest mountains on Earth. Expect lots of stairs and steep sections, so we highly recommend training on hills or staircases whenever possible: a stair machine at the gym or even laps up and down a high-rise stairwell will do the trick. The better prepared you are, the more you’ll enjoy the rewarding, rugged nature of this adventure.
Please head to our Fitness Guide for great tips on how to prepare along with a workout plan!
By paying in full we are able to pass on savings to our guests, but please note that by opting for this payment plan, your booking becomes non-refundable, non-cancellable, and non-changeable. This offer is only valid for reservations where the trip is no sooner than 180 days from the departure date at time of booking.
We highly recommend that you purchase Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) insurance. We recommend Redpoint Insurance - you can find details here.
*Terms and conditions apply - read more here.
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