June 23: ARRIVAL AT KILIMANJARO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (JRO)
We will meet you on your arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) and transfer you to your overnight hotel which is located on the foot of Mt. Meru, the fifth highest mountain in Africa at 15,000 ft. Each of the rooms, comfortable with modern facilities, have the spectacular view of Mt. Meru or Arusha city which can be enjoyed from the private verandah. 

            Overnight: Ilboru Safari Lodge (Bed & Breakfast)

 

June 24: PRE-CLIMB ORIENTATION

            This day is designed to give you plenty of time to relax, pack and recoup from the long journey. Your Kilimanjaro climbing team leader and guides will meet you in the late morning for a short pre-climb orientation. During the orientation, you will meet the Trip Leader and the Guides and you will go through the climbing program, discuss about the mountaineering and group expedition ethics, hazards on the mountain, sickness prevention, treatment and evacuation procedures. Our guides will go through our group camping gear and demonstrate the use and operation of all the equipment. They will also show you and demonstrate the use and operation of our safety equipments especially Emergency Supplemental Oxygen Tanks, Pulse Oximeter, Gamow Hyperbaric Chamber and our climbing expedition First Aid Kits. Safety is our first priority on the mountain. The guides will answer any questions you have about the climb. We will do equipment check with each person to be sure that you are fully prepared. 

            Overnight: Ilboru Safari Lodge (Bed & Breakfast)

 

June 25: DRIVE FROM ARUSHA TO LEMOSHO GLADES TRAIL HEAD (7,550’) & HIKE TO MONTANE FOREST CAMP (9,450') 3.9 miles

            After breakfast in the morning we will drive approximately for about 2-2.5 hours to the Londorosi Registration Entrance Gate (7,750’) of Kilimanjaro National Park. We will checking in and register at the gate. After registration, we will continue with our drive (about 1 hour drive) through Kilimanjaro National Forest to the Lemosho Glades trail head; where we will meet the rest of our climbing crew including guides, assistant guides, porters and the cook. Our Lead Guide will give you a full introduction of the entire climbing team. After the introductions, we will start our hike for about 3-4 hours through a very thick and undisturbed forest to our first camp on the mountain for the night. We will see a lot of very beautiful flowers on the way; with luck we may hear and see Black and White Colobus Monkeys, signs of elephants or buffaloes and other forest wildlife on our hike to camp.

 

June 26: MONTANE FOREST CAMP (9,450’) TO SHIRA PLATEAU - WEST SIDE CAMP (11,450') 4.9 miles

            Today will be one of our long hikes, which will take us about 6 – 7 hours from the Montane Forest, through a transition zone into the Heath zone on the west side of the Shira Plateaus, where you will be able to see the old Lava flows. Your climbing guides will point out and discuss with you unique environmental differences that characterizes each climatic zone. We will take our time hiking slowly while spotting some of the plentiful different game and birdlife life to our overnight camp which offers dramatic view of Kilimanjaro and its glaciers.

 

June 27: SHIRA PLATEAU - WEST SIDE CAMP (11,450') TO SHIRA PLATEAU - EAST SIDE OR MOIR HUT (13,580’) 6.8 miles

            Our hike today will be about 4 - 5 hours across the Shira Plateau, a World Heritage Site to our picnic lunch stop at Scott Fisher’s Camp. After lunch we will proceed with our hike for about 1 – 2 hours up to the western slopes of the Kibo Massif. We will be hiking through Moorland Zone where we will spend our time admiring and exploring the plateaus, arriving to our beautiful overnight camp which is at the base of massive lava flow, a very fascinating terrain with a lot of elevation changes and uneven wall-type features that are very intriguing to  rock climbers.

 

June 28: BARRANCO CAMP (13,000’)

            We will start with climbing over boulders and very few rocks, then steady uphill climb to Lava tower (a 300 ft high volcanic lava plug that juts out of the side of the mountain) and stop for lunch around noon. For those interested we may climb up to the top of Lava tower which is 14850ft for acclimatization process (You may start to get a mild headache due to altitude change). From Lava tower we will go down for about 2 hrs through dusty and rocky trails to our next overnight camp Barranco Camp at 13000ft.

 

June 29: KARANGA VALLEY CAMP (13,450’)

            The day will start by scrambling up the Great Barranco Wall for about an hour and half. Some spots will be steep forcing you to use your hands to reach and maneuver yourself around rock boulders like rock climbing, although it's not as challenging as rock climbing. At the top of the wall you can see the Barranco valley and the campsite you spent a night before. You will walk up and down the greener valley which is the last water point to the mountain.

 

June 30: BARAFU HUT CAMP (14,200’)

            Today will be another short but steep uphill climb across barren landscape with lots of boulders and shattered rocks. You will see the Decken glaciers on your left. We will keep going through a very steep ridge until we reach a rocky section for more scrambling for about hour and half.  Our next camp will be on large rocks with very steep cliff faces. We will go to bed very early because we will have to wake up at 11pm for the summit.

 

July 1: SUMMIT DAY and MWEKA HUT (10,500’)

            We will wake up to around 11pm; have some food and dress up for the summit. We will start our summit climb at around midnight. We will start with very steep rocks for about 2 to 3 hours, and then will enter a snow covered area where you can see glaciers above. If it's a moonlight night, you may turn off your headlamp and walk in the moonlight, it is a wonderful experience. Next 3 hours to Stella Point, we will take a break every 15 minutes as a struggle gets more mentally and physically challenging. Then we will get to Stella Point where the Lava fields are like loose sand. After our last break at Stella Point we will climb to UHURU PEAK for about 1 hour just as the sun appears over the Mawenzi peaks. We will be at UHURU PEAK (19370ft) around 6.00am or 7.00a.m ready for pictures, big hugs and cheers! We will start our descent which is steep and rigorous via Stella Point to Barafu hut Camp. We will stop for lunch at Barafu Camp and a good rest before we proceed down to Mweka camp, a very comfortable hike, but very dusty and long.

           

July 2: MWEKA CAMP (10,000') TO MWEKA EXIT GATE (5,380’) & DRIVE BACK TO THE HOTEL IN ARUSHA,

            Today’s hike will take us about 3 to 4 hours to make the 4,500 feet descent to the park exit gate. We will start the hike down through rainy forest in a steep downhill and very often slippery terrain all the way to the park exit gate. We will arrive at the gate in the afternoon, sign-out on the National Park log book and receive your certificates. You will say goodbye to your climbing crew which is usually quite a sad moment after you have created a bonding with them over the days you were on the mountain. We will drive through very beautiful lush coffee plantations and small villages of the Chagga people back to Arusha for a nice hot shower and time to relax looking forward to go on safari or depart back home the following day. The last hike from Mweka Hut down to Mweka gate is about 3 – 4 hours and the drive back to Arusha will be about 1.5 hours.

            Overnight: Ilboru Safari Lodge (Bed & Breakfast)

 

Contact us for more information on this trip.