Mount Kilimanjaro is located three degrees south of the equator in North eastern Tanzania. It is the tallest mountain in Africa and is the highest free-standing mountain in the world. This immense mountain is made up of three volcanoes: Shira, Mawenzi, and our goal, Kibo, the tallest one in the middle
You will be met at the airport and transferred to the Hotel for your overnight Dinner and Breakfast Included. You can start your trek any day of the year!
It is approx. 1hr drive from Arusha to Machame gate. All your equipments and supplies are taken over by porters; a cook will prepare all your meals. Where accommodation on the Marangu route are in huts, the Machame route offers tents only. After all, formalities have been taken care at the gate, head into the forest and begin the 7-hour ascent to the first camp on the mountain, Machame camp (3000m)
Breakfast is served early in the mess tent and, weather permitting; you could take in your first view of the Western Breach of Kilimanjaro. The lunch stop will be reached at about 3600m and after this short lunch and an equally limited rest you’ll continue up the rocky ridge to the next camp on the mountain, Shira camp (3840).
The route now turns east into a semi-desert and rocky environment where you reach an altitude of 4600m after a 5 hours walk to Lava Tower. As you ascend from the Shira camp (3950m), there are good views of the Shira Plateau to the west, Oehler Ridge to the northeast and the Western Breach to the east. This day you will climb high and steep low.
The morning starts with a scramble up the almost vertical Barranco Wall to an altitude of about 4200m and after approx. 3 hours, the path now crosses through the southern slopes to reach the Karanga Valley.
After breakfast, you continue in a southeasterly direction to the junction before turning north to reach Barafu camp (4600m) after about 4 hours. Here you take a long rest and prepare for the midnight ascent to the summit.
At around midnight, you’ll head in a northwesterly direction up the southeast valley towards Stella Point on the crater rim. The 6-hour long walk to Stella Point is a mental and physical challenge with the steep face just below Stella posing the ultimate challenge. The time you spend on the summit is determined by the weather and wind conditions. The walk back to Mweka Camp from the summit can take over 7 hours.
You will camp for the night at Mweka camp (3100m) before departing for the Mweka Parks Gate the next morning where your driver will pick up and take you back to the Moshi