Description - What to expect

Climbing Kilimanjaro Itinerary

◾ Arrival Day
Arrive at the Kilimanjaro International Airport. You will be met at the airport and transferred to the hotel in Arusha or in Moshi for your overnight and briefing by your mountain guide.

◾ Day 1: Machame Gate to Machame Camp
Elevation (m): 1,490m to 2,980m
Elevation (ft): 4,890ft to 9,780ft
Distance: 18km
Hiking Time: 5-7 hours
Habitat: Montane Forest

Your climbing Kilimanjaro adventure starts early with a briefing, followed by breakfast and a 50-minute drive from Moshi or a one and half hours drive from Arusha to the Machame Village (1,490 m/4,890 ft) where your guides and porters prepare and pack your equipment and supplies.

You will receive a lunch pack, and you can also buy mineral water in the village. If the road is very muddy, it may be impossible to drive from the village to the Machame Gate, and in this case, it will take you an hour to complete the muddy 3 km walk to the gate. After registering at the Mount Kilimanjaro Park Office, you will start your ascent and enter the rainforest immediately. Heavy rains on this side of the mountain often transform the trail into a soggy, slippery experience, so good footgear, trekking poles, and gaiters are essential.

You will enjoy a welcome lunch stop halfway up and will reach the Machame camping area in the late afternoon. Your porters will arrive at camp before you and will build your tents before you arrive. In the evening, the porters boil drinking and washing water while the cook prepares your dinner. Night temperatures can drop to freezing at the Machame Camp.

◾ Day 2: Machame Camp to Shira Camp
Elevation (m): 2,980m to 3,840m
Elevation (ft): 9,780ft to 12,600ft
Distance: 9km
Walking Time: 4-6 hours
Habitat: Moorland

Rise early at Machame camp, and after breakfast, climb for an hour to the top of the forest, then continue for 2 hours through a gentle moorland. After a short lunch and rest, continue climbing Kilimanjaro up a rocky ridge onto the Shira Plateau where you will be able to see Kilimanjaro’s great Western Breach with its stunning glaciers.

Sometimes, the walls of the Western Breach are draped with extensive ice curtains. You are now west of Kibo on the opposite side of the mountain from the Marangu Route. After a short hike west, you will reach the Shira campsite. The porters will boil drinking and washing water before serving dinner. The night at this exposed camp will be colder, with temperatures dropping below freezing.

◾ Day 3: Shira Camp to Lava Tower to Barranco Camp
Elevation (m): 3,840m to 4,630m to 3,950m
Elevation (ft): 12,600ft to 15,190ft to 12,960ft
Distance: 15 km>
Walking Time: 5-7 hours
Habitat: Semi-desert

After breakfast, you will walk up a steep path above the highest vegetation toward Kilimanjaro’s looming mass. After several hours, walk through a rocky landscape to reach the prominent landmark called Lava Tower, also called the “Shark’s Tooth.” at 4,630 m/15,190ft. This chunky remnant of Kilimanjaro’s earlier volcanic activity is several hundred feet high, and the trail passes right below it.

For extra credit, the sure-footed can scramble to the top of the tower. After a lunch stop near Lava Tower, descend for 2 hours below the lower cliffs of the Western Breach and Breach Wall to Barranco Camp at 3,950 m/12,960 ft. There are numerous photo opportunities on this hike, especially if the walls are festooned with ice. Barranco Camp is in a valley below the Breach and Great Barranco Walls, which should provide you with a memorable sunset while you wait for your dinner. On this day, be careful to notice any signs of altitude sickness. Although you end the day at almost the same elevation as when you started, this day is very important for acclimatization and will help your body prepare for the summit day.

◾ Day 4: Barranco Camp to Barafu Camp
Elevation (m): 3,950m to 4,550m
Elevation (ft): 12,960ft to 14,930ft
Distance: 13km
Hiking Time: 8 hours
Habitat: Alpine Desert

After spending a night under the imposing Great Barranco Wall, continue climbing Kilimanjaro. Climb this awesome obstacle, which turns out to be easier than it looks! Topping out just below the Heim Glacier, you can now appreciate just how beautiful Kilimanjaro really is. The route then heads down through the Karanga Valley and goes over intervening ridges and valleys to join the Mweka Route, which will be your descent route. You have now completed the South Circuit, which offers views of the summit from many different angles. For now, all eyes are still on the summit, so turn left and hike up the ridge for another hour to the Barafu Hut.

The last water on the route is in the Karanga Valley. There is no water at Barafu Camp, even though Barafu is the Swahili word for “ice.” The famous snows of Kilimanjaro are far above Barafu Camp near the summit of the mountain. Your tent will be pitched on a narrow, stony, wind-swept ridge, so make sure that you familiarize yourself with the terrain before dark to avoid any accidents. Prepare your equipment and warm clothing for your summit climb. This should include replacing your headlamp and camera batteries, and to prevent freezing, consider carrying your water in a thermal flask. Go to bed by 7 PM, and try to get a few hours of precious sleep.

◾ DAY 5: Summit Day! “Barafu Camp to Uhuru Peak to Mweka Camp”
Elevation (m): 4,550m to 5,895m (and down to 3,100m)
Elevation (ft): 14,930ft to 19,340ft (and down to 10,170ft)
Distance: 7km up / 23km down
Hiking Time: 6 – 8 hours up / 7 – 8 hours down
Habitat: Stone scree, seasonal snow, and ice-capped summit

You will rise around 11:30 pm, and after some steaming tea and biscuits, you shuffle off into the night. Your 6-hour climbing Kilimanjaro up through heavy scree between the Rebmann and Ratzel glaciers to Stella Point on the crater rim is the most challenging part of the route for most climbers. At Stella Point (5,685 m/18,650 ft) stop for a short rest and a chance to see a supremely sanguine sunrise.

At Stella Point, join the top part of the Marangu Route, but do not stop here too long, as it will be extremely difficult to start again due to cold and fatigue. Depending on the season and recent storms, you may encounter snow on your remaining hike along the rim to Uhuru Peak. On the summit, you can enjoy your accomplishment and know that you are creating a day that you will remember for the rest of your life.

After your 3-hour descent from the summit back to Barafu Camp, you will have a well-earned but short rest, collect your gear, and hike down a rock and scree path into the moorland and eventually into the forest to Mweka Camp (3,100 m/10,170 ft). This camp is in the upper forest, so you can expect mist or rain in the late afternoon. Dinner and washing water will be prepared, and the camp office sells drinking water, soft drinks, chocolates, and beer!

◾ Day 6: Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate to Moshi/Arusha
Elevation (m): 3,100m to 1,980m to 890m
Elevation (ft): 10,170ft to 6500ft to 2,920ft
Distance: 15 km
Hiking Time: 3 – 4 hours
Habitat: Forest

After a well-deserved breakfast, it is a short, scenic, 3-hour hike back to the Mount Kilimanjaro Park gate. At lower elevations, it can be wet and muddy. Gaiters and trekking poles will help. Shorts and t-shirts will probably be plenty to wear (keep rain gear and warmer clothing handy). Don’t give your porters any tips until you and all your gear have reached the gate safely, but do remember to tip your staff at the gate.

At Mweka Gate, you can sign your name and add details to a register. This is also where successful climbers receive their summit certificates. Climbers who reached Stella Point are issued green certificates and those who reached Uhuru Peak receive gold certificates. From the Mweka Gate, you will continue down to the Mweka Village, possibly a muddy, 3 km, 1-hour hike if the road is too muddy for vehicles. In the Mweka Village, you will be served a delicious hot lunch after which you are driven back to Moshi/Arusha for an overdue hot shower and a comfortable night in a hotel.

◾ Arusha/Moshi:
Your climbing Kilimanjaro adventure is now complete! Depart for the airport or other destinations in Tanzania or Kenya. A trip to the beaches at Zanzibar is a good way to recuperate.