9 Days Lemosho Route

Arrive at the Kilimanjaro International Airport where you will be met on time of your arrival and transferred to the Hotel in Moshi/Arusha for overnight.

After breakfast a briefing at your hotel will be given by your chief Guide followed by a drive to Londorossi Park Gate (2,250m / 7,380ft, 2.5 hours). After completing to obtain all paer work the trail will commence taking you to the forest with our 4WD vehicle towards Lemosho Glades known as starting point (2,390m 7,830ft, 11km, 45 minutes) and Walk along the forest trails to Mti Mkubwa campsite where you will have dinner and overnight at Mti Mkubwa camp site.

The trail on this day is very steep and enters the moorland zone, then crosses the Shira Ridge at 3,600 m/11,810 ft and drops gently to Shira Camp one located by a stream on the Shira Plateau. Going on with your trek and continue hiking on the steep trail and enter the giant heather moorland zone crossing several streams then you will reach the Shira ridge at about 3600m / 11,810ft where the trail drops gently down to Shira one campsite where you will have dinner and overnight.

Today you will have very moderate walk across the plateau which leads you to Shira Camp two on moorland meadows by a stream. Although variety walks are available on the plateau just to make this an excellent acclimatization day.

You will have breakfast and precede hiking east up to a steep path above the vegetation toward Kilimanjaro looming mass. You will walk through a rocky landscape to reach the prominent landmark called Lava Tower at 4,630 m/15,190 ft. 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 plentiful 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 waiting for your dinner. On this day, be careful and aware of any signs of altitude sickness.

After breakfast you continue up a steep ridge to the great Barranco Wall, and then you climb this magnificent obstacle which turns out to be easier than how it looks like. Topping out just below the Heim Glacier, you can now appreciate just how beautiful Kilimanjaro really is. With Kibo glaciers soaring over head as you descend into the lush Karanga Valley to the Karanga Valley campsite. From the camp you can look east and see the jagged peaks of Mawenzi into the African sky. After a hot lunch at the camp your afternoon is spent at leisure for resting or exploring. This short day is very important for your acclimatization, since your summit push is about to start a while to come.

This morning you will hike over intervening ridges and valley to join the Mweka Route, which will be your descent route. Turn left toward the mountain and hike up the ridge through a sparse landscape for another hour to Barafu Hut where you will have hot lunch. The last water point on this route is Karanga Valley as there is no water at Barafu Cam. 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 darkness. Prepare your equipment and warm clothing for your summit attempt, and drink a lot of fluids. After an early dinner, go to bed for a few hours of valued sleep.

You will be awoken around 11:30 PM, and after some hot tea and biscuits you will put your next leg on the go into the night. 6-hour climb northwest 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. you stop for a short rest and a chance to see a supremely sanguine sunrise. At Stella Point you join the top part of Marangu Route but do not stop here too long, as it will be extremely difficult to start again due to cold and exhaustion. Depending on the time of year and current storms you may stumble upon 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-deserved but short rest then collect your gears and hike down a rock and scree path into the moorland and sooner or later into the forest to Mweka Camp 3,100 m/10,170 ft This camp is in the upper forest, so you can anticipate mist or rain in the late afternoon. Dinner and washing water will be prepared.

After a well deserved breakfast it is a short scenic 3-hours hike back to the park gate. This is the tipping day to supporting mountain crew, at Mweka Gate you will sign your name and add details in a register. This is also where successful climbers normally receive their summit certificates and can be followed by a bottle of champagne. Climbers who reached Stella Point are issued green certificates and those who reached Uhuru Peak receive gold certificates. From Mweka Gate you will continue down to Mweka Village where you will be served a delicious hot lunch after which you will be transferred to Moshi/Arusha for a past due hot shower and comfortable night in a nice hotel in Moshi/Arusha.

Depart for the airport or other destinations in Tanzania or a trip to the beaches in Zanzibar as it is one of the very good way to build up your strength, we can arrange many rationally priced trips and safaris around Moshi and Arusha region.