Day 1. Welcome to Tanzania
Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, you will meet your Sensation of Africa guide who will take you to Arusha (approx 1-hour drive) to your accommodation, for dinner and overnight. You will often hear people tell you “ Karibu or Karibu Sana Tanzania ” is a Swahili expression that means “welcome or very welcome to Tanzania”.
Day 2. Activity in Arusha and preparation for the crossing
During the morning we have the option of doing some activity in Arusha, such as a short walk to the falls, a city tour or, after the long flight of hours, you can start your vacation by relaxing in comfortable accommodation with a pool.
We recommend using this day also to double-check the mountain backpack with your luggage because in case you have forgotten or are missing something, it is possible to find it during the day in the city of Arusha. If you bring more suitcases with unnecessary things for the mountain trip, you will be provided a safe place to store them in the accommodation.
Your mountain guide will meet you at your accommodation in the late afternoon (before dinner) for a full route briefing including essential information.
You will have dinner and spend the night at the Mount Meru Hotel, Zawadi House Lodge, or similar.
Day 3. First day of the crossing: Londorossi gate to the great forest camp
Early in the morning, you will have breakfast and a guide from the Sensation of Africa will pick you up to go to the Londorossi gate passing through the nearby farmlands, and continue towards the Lemosho road at 2100 m where the walk will begin. During today’s section, we will cross the lush forest of the Lemosho glades. You will carry the backpack with the necessary things for the day (sun protection, raincoats, water bottle, camera, three liters of drinking water, and lunch). The trekking will be 3-4 hours with a difference in altitude of 680 m in a route of 7 km. Dinner and night at the Forest Camp.
Day 4. The second day of the crossing: from Forest Camp to Shira camp
Today we will hike through a grassy and heather-covered moor plateau with volcanic rock formations to Shira 3500m. We will hike 8.5 km, for 4-5 hrs and a height difference of 720 m, with beautiful views of the Kibo peak, apparently floating between the clouds and on the other side of the Amboseli national park in the nearby lands of Kenya. This part of the route is quite steep. We will have dinner and sleep at Shira1 Camp.
Day 5. The third day of crossing: from Shira to Moir’s cabin, through the desert of Mount Kilimanjaro
We will climb up to about 4114m to Moir’s cabin where we will camp today, the camp is hidden on the edge of the great gorge, under a giant lava flow. We will cross the path through the plateau and gradually ascend on easy terrain. This hike will help with acclimatization and give us great panoramic views with the opportunity to see the northern ice forests from the western side of the mountain. The unevenness will be about 600 m in a distance of 10 km, in a time of 6 hours approx. then we will be in Moir, our camp at 4114 m where we will have dinner and spend the night.
Day 6. The fourth day of the crossing: from Moir to the Great Ravine
Today we will climb to 4602 meters and as we cross the ridge we will see the beautiful plain below. We will have lunch here while admiring the glacial ice of the breach wall before descending to 3959 meters. This day includes a section of acclimatization with a gain of 487 m in height and a loss of 520 m in a distance of 10 km in about 6 hours. We will have dinner and sleep at the Great Barranco camp.
Day 7. The fifth day of the crossing: from Barranco (the largest rock and ice face in Africa) to Karanga
This morning we will climb over the great wall of Barranco, reaching 4233 m approx. Before going down to 4050 meters to the Karanga camp where we will camp. The wall is believed to have been formed by a landslide 100,000 years ago. The path makes its way through the wall and there are sections in which it will be easier to advance without poles. Remember that walking to the top of Kilimanjaro does not need any technical skills, so the climb can be done easily. This will be a new day of acclimatization gaining 400 m and losing 300 m in a distance of 5 km and time of 4-5 hours until reaching the Karanga camp. During the day, the temperature can reach up to 26 ° C, but in the evening it can drop below 0 ° C. We will have dinner and sleep at the Karanga camp.
Day 8: Sixth day of the crossing: from Karanga to Barafu, with views of Mawenzi
In the morning we will start to climb while enjoying a beautiful view of Mawenzi (5,149 m) to the east, passing the desert plateau full of volcanic rocks. We will start from Karanga with 4055 m and finish in Barafu 4815 m, while we gain an altitude of 700 m in a distance of 5 km, in 4-6 hours. We will spend our time preparing for the summit attempt the next day. We will have dinner and spend the night in the Barafu camp.
Day 9. Seventh-day of crossing: from Barafu Camp to the summit or the roof of Africa (5895 m); Descent to Millennium Camp
Finally, Summit day! We will wake up around 2 am and head to Uhuru peak, at this altitude the weather is extremely cold. Right now the snow is still frozen over which is a bonus for us as we are going to go up and down before the top layer gets wet and slippery. We will go up using our flashlights until the dawn light reflects off the African plains. Following a path, we will approach Stella point 5685 m at the edge of the crater. Then we will cross, from the northwest, the edge of the crater to the Uhuru peak (5895 m) “The roof of Africa”. Enjoy your achievement, take good photos at the famous summit sign, enjoy these moments before descending to Barafu camp to rest. Then we will continue the descent towards the Millennium Camp at (3760 m). From Barafu to the Uhuru peak, the progression is (1080 m) with a distance of 7 km and the walking time will be 8 hours and another 2 hours that we will use to descend to the Barafu camp, while from Barafu to the Millennium camp it will be between 2 and 3 hours. We will have dinner and spend the night at the Millennium Camp.
Day 10: Eighth and last day of the crossing: from the Millennium to the door of Mweka and back to Arusha
We will have breakfast early in the morning, leaving around 7 am On our last day of hiking we descend through the green forest of Mweka, enjoying nature and the richness of the mountain air. We finish at the Mweka Gate (1780 m) with an altitude of (2029 m), the distance from Millennium to the Mweka gate is about 14 km and the walk will last 4-5 hours. We will meet a Sensation of Africa guide at Mweka Gate, who will transfer you to Moshi for a hot lunch and then to Arusha (2 hours drive) to the accommodation.
Our guide will spend a few minutes reporting on the safari schedule the next day. You will have enough time to shower and relax in comfortable accommodation.
Important note: Although Trekking to Kilimanjaro is easy and does not need any special skills, it is not recommended for travelers with back problems, it is not recommended for pregnant travelers, with heart problems or other serious medical conditions. Hikers must have a good level of physical preparation.
