Option 1 without additional acclimatisation day
Day
1 Moshi
(915 m/3,000 ft)
Arrive at the Kilimanjaro International Airport. You will be
met at the airport and transferred to the Springlands Hotel or similar hotel
in Moshi for your overnight. You can start your trek any day of the year!
Day 2
Moshi (915 m/3,000 ft) to Marangu Gate
(1,830 m/6,000 ft) to Mandara Huts (2,740 m/9,000 ft) 7 km, 4-5 hours
Montane Forest
After breakfast and a briefing from your guide, leave Moshi
at 9 AM, drive for 45 minutes to the Marangu Gate on the eastern side of
Kilimanjaro, register with the national park, and begin hiking at 10:30 AM.
In the rainforest, look for towering Eucalyptus trees, bird life, and
Colubus monkeys. At these lower elevations, it can be wet and muddy, so
gaiters and trekking poles will help. Shorts and t-shirts should be
sufficient, but keep your rain gear and warmer clothing handy. Stop halfway
for lunch, and reach the Mandara Huts at 2 or 3 PM. Unpack, rest, and have
some tea or coffee. A 15 minute side trip to Maundy Crater is a good way to
see the surroundings including Northern Tanzania and Kenya. Dinner is served
during the early evening at 7 PM. Bathrooms with running water are
available.
Day 3 Mandara Huts
(2,740 m/9,000 ft) to Horombo Huts (3,690 m/12,100 ft) 11 km, 6-8 hours
Heath land
Wake to a 7:30 AM breakfast, and pack for your next trek. Break camp by 8:30
AM, hike for an hour through rainforest glades, then follow an ascending
path through heath land where you can look for giant lobelias and
groundsels. Continue up into open moorlands where small shrubs are the main
vegetation. Stop halfway for lunch, where you can enjoy amazing views of
Mawenzi. Arrive at the Horombo Huts by 3 PM, where you can see Kibo’s
summit. Rest, unpack, and prepare for dinner. Bathrooms with running water
are available.
You may start to feel the effects of altitude here, and to aid your
acclimatization, you can choose to spend an extra day resting at Horombo or
climbing to a base camp below Kibo’s sub peak Mawenzi.
Day 4 Horombo Huts
(3,690 m/12,100 ft) to Kibo Huts (4,695 m/15,400 ft) 10 km, 6-8 hours Alpine
Desert
Wake to breakfast as usual, but if you wake early you can get some great
photos of the sunrise. The first part of the day’s hike climbs through the
dwindling heath land that blends into a moonscape as you enter the sweeping
saddle connecting Mawenzi and Kibo. When you stop for lunch, and later when
you cross this surprisingly large saddle, you can examine the summit climb
up Kibo that you will be starting in just a few hours. Be careful to notice
any signs of altitude sickness. There is no running water at the Kibo Huts.
Day 5
Summit Day! Kibo Huts (4,695 m/15,400 ft) to Uhuru
Peak (5,895 m/19,340 ft) to Horombo Huts (3,690 m/12,100 ft) 4 km up, 14 km
down 10-15 hours
Alpine Desert Wake at midnight to a light breakfast, and then prepare for
your summit ascent. The goal is to climb before dawn so that you can reach
Uhuru Peak shortly after sunrise. Leave at 1 AM, switchback up steep scree
or possibly snow, and reach Gilman’s Point on the crater rim at 5,861
m/18,640 ft between 5 and 7 AM. Here, views of the fabled crater and its
icecaps greet you. Another 2 hours of hiking along the crater rim near the
celebrated snows takes you to Kilimanjaro true summit, Uhuru Peak, by 9 AM.
This is Africa’s highest point, and you would have to travel more than 3,000
miles toward the Himalayas to find a higher peak! Be sure to have your
picture taken at the summit to show your friends. After your summit stay,
descend back to the Kibo Huts, have lunch, rest, collect your things, and re
cross the saddle to the Horombo Huts. Eat dinner and get some well-deserved
sleep!
You do the beginning of this climb in the dark with headlamps or
flashlights. It will be very cold until you start descending, so you will
need all of your warm layers. This is, by far, the most difficult part of
the trek. Slowly slowly, or, “pole pole,” and an optimistic attitude will
get you there!
Day 6 Horombo Huts
(3,690 m/12,100 ft) to Marangu Gate (1,830 m/6,000 ft) to Moshi (890 m/2,920
ft) 18 km, 5-7 hours
Wake as usual, pack, and descend through the moorland to the Mandara Huts.
Have lunch there then continue your triumphant recessional down through lush
forest to the park gate, which you should reach around 2 or 3 PM. Remember
to tip your guides, cooks, and porters, since you will be leaving them here.
A vehicle will take you back to the Springlands Hotel or similar hotel in
Moshi, where it is definitely time for celebration!
Day 7
Moshi
Depart for the
airport or other destinations in Tanzania or Kenya. A trip to the beaches at
Zanzibar is a good way to recuperate. We can arrange many reasonably priced
trips and safaris around Moshi and the Kilimanjaro region. Depart for onward
destination after breakfast
Option 2 with extra acclimatisation day
Day
1 Moshi
(915 m/3,000 ft)
Arrive at the Kilimanjaro International Airport. You will be
met at the airport and transferred to the Springlands Hotel or similar hotel
in Moshi for your overnight. You can start your trek any day of the year!
Day 2
Moshi (915 m/3,000 ft) to Marangu Gate
(1,830 m/6,000 ft) to Mandara Huts (2,740 m/9,000 ft) 7 km, 4-5 hours
Montane Forest
After breakfast and a briefing from your guide, leave Moshi
at 9 AM, drive for 45 minutes to the Marangu Gate on the eastern side of
Kilimanjaro, register with the national park, and begin hiking at 10:30 AM.
In the rainforest, look for towering Eucalyptus trees, bird life, and
Colubus monkeys. At these lower elevations, it can be wet and muddy, so
gaiters and trekking poles will help. Shorts and t-shirts should be
sufficient, but keep your rain gear and warmer clothing handy. Stop halfway
for lunch, and reach the Mandara Huts at 2 or 3 PM. Unpack, rest, and have
some tea or coffee. A 15 minute side trip to Maundy Crater is a good way to
see the surroundings including Northern Tanzania and Kenya. Dinner is served
during the early evening at 7 PM. Bathrooms with running water are
available.
Day 3 Mandara Huts
(2,740 m/9,000 ft) to Horombo Huts (3,690 m/12,100 ft) 11 km, 6-8 hours
Heath land
Wake to a 7:30 AM breakfast, and pack for your next trek. Break camp by 8:30
AM, hike for an hour through rainforest glades, then follow an ascending
path through heath land where you can look for giant lobelias and
groundsels. Continue up into open moorlands where small shrubs are the main
vegetation. Stop halfway for lunch, where you can enjoy amazing views of
Mawenzi. Arrive at the Horombo Huts by 3 PM, where you can see Kibo’s
summit. Rest, unpack, and prepare for dinner. Bathrooms with running water
are available.
You may start to feel the effects of altitude here, and to aid your
acclimatization, you can choose to spend an extra day resting at Horombo or
climbing to a base camp below Kibo’s sub peak Mawenzi.
Day 4 Horombo Huts
(3,690 m/12,100 ft).
You can spend a full day and a second night at Horombo. On this day, you can
either rest at the huts or take a stroll up to the Mawenzi base camp then
return to the Horombo Huts. This extra day will help your acclimatization,
and further your understanding of the mountain’s weather and altitude. After
your pause, you will continue up to the Kibo Huts on your fourth day for
your midnight start to the summit.
Day 5 Horombo Huts
(3,690 m/12,100 ft) to Kibo Huts (4,695 m/15,400 ft) 10 km, 6-8 hours Alpine
Desert
Wake to breakfast as usual, but if you wake early you can get some great
photos of the sunrise. The first part of the day’s hike climbs through the
dwindling heath land that blends into a moonscape as you enter the sweeping
saddle connecting Mawenzi and Kibo. When you stop for lunch, and later when
you cross this surprisingly large saddle, you can examine the summit climb
up Kibo that you will be starting in just a few hours. Be careful to notice
any signs of altitude sickness. There is no running water at the Kibo Huts.
Day 6
Summit Day! Kibo Huts (4,695 m/15,400 ft) to Uhuru
Peak (5,895 m/19,340 ft) to Horombo Huts (3,690 m/12,100 ft) 4 km up, 14 km
down 10-15 hours
Alpine Desert Wake at midnight to a light breakfast, and then prepare for
your summit ascent. The goal is to climb before dawn so that you can reach
Uhuru Peak shortly after sunrise. Leave at 1 AM, switchback up steep scree
or possibly snow, and reach Gilman’s Point on the crater rim at 5,861
m/18,640 ft between 5 and 7 AM. Here, views of the fabled crater and its
icecaps greet you. Another 2 hours of hiking along the crater rim near the
celebrated snows takes you to Kilimanjaro true summit, Uhuru Peak, by 9 AM.
This is Africa’s highest point, and you would have to travel more than 3,000
miles toward the Himalayas to find a higher peak! Be sure to have your
picture taken at the summit to show your friends. After your summit stay,
descend back to the Kibo Huts, have lunch, rest, collect your things, and re
cross the saddle to the Horombo Huts. Eat dinner and get some well-deserved
sleep!
You do the beginning of this climb in the dark with headlamps or
flashlights. It will be very cold until you start descending, so you will
need all of your warm layers. This is, by far, the most difficult part of
the trek. Slowly slowly, or, “pole pole,” and an optimistic attitude will
get you there!
Day 7 Horombo Huts
(3,690 m/12,100 ft) to Marangu Gate (1,830 m/6,000 ft) to Moshi (890 m/2,920
ft) 18 km, 5-7 hours
Wake as usual, pack, and descend through the moorland to the Mandara Huts.
Have lunch there then continue your triumphant recessional down through lush
forest to the park gate, which you should reach around 2 or 3 PM. Remember
to tip your guides, cooks, and porters, since you will be leaving them here.
A vehicle will take you back to the Springlands Hotel or similar hotel in
Moshi, where it is definitely time for celebration!
Day 8
Moshi
Depart for the
airport or other destinations in Tanzania or Kenya. A trip to the beaches at
Zanzibar is a good way to recuperate. We can arrange many reasonably priced
trips and safaris around Moshi and the Kilimanjaro region. Depart for onward
destination after breakfast
Climbing
Mount Kilimanjaro is normally a ‘’Once in a lifetime’’ event and should
be arranged and handled correctly so as to ensure a pleasurable and memorable
experience. The Marangu route (up and
down) offers hut accommodation, to reserve hut space, bookings are required well
in advance for climbs made during the busy months, (July, August, December and January) If no hut space is available, camping can sometimes be arranged. For the
other routes (up and down) camping is arranged. Any necessary or additional
climbing equipment can be arranged. Climbing
certificates are issued by the Kilimanjaro National Park for successful
climbers.
The
Various climbs include:
-
Springlands Hotel on the first and last night on B&B
basis
-
Transportation
from Moshi to the starting point and return to Moshi
-
National
Park gate fees
-
Hut
fees / Camping fees
-
Rescue
fees / Park Commission
-
Guides
& Porters salaries
-
All
meals on mountain
-
Government
tax
For
sodas and other drinks bring smaller Tanzanian
bank
notes with you, change is scarce on the mountain
