You will be picked up at Kilimanjaro International Airport and get transferred to a hotel in Moshi for your overnight stay.  Before dinner, you will have a briefing about your upcoming climb.

After an early breakfast you will depart from the hotel and drive for approximately 50 minutes to Kilimanjaro’s Marangu Gate on the eastern side of the mountain. Your guide will handle your registration before you begin the hike. You start off in the rainforest – enjoy the towering Eucalyptus trees, bird life, and Colubus monkeys.. You will stop at the halfway mark for lunch, and then continue your hike towards the Mandara Huts where you will stay overnight.

Marangu Gate to Mandara Huts

Elevation: 1860m to 2715m 

Distance: 8 km
Hiking Time: 4-5 hours 

Habitat: Montane Forest

After breakfast you will make your way for your second day on the mountain. You will leave the glades of the rainforest and follow an ascending path through heathland where you’ll be able to look for giant lobelias and groundsels. You continue up into open moorlands where small shrubs comprise the majority of vegetation. You’ll stop halfway for lunch, where you will enjoy amazing views of Mawenzi, if the weather is clear. You will arrive at the Horombo Huts, where Kibo summit is visible on clear days. Rest, unpack, and prepare for dinner.  Here you may start to feel the effects of altitude. 

Mandara Huts to Horombo Huts

Elevation: 2715m to 3705m  

Distance: 11.5 km
Hiking Time: 6-8 hours 

Habitat: Heathland and moorland

You will have another day at Horombo Huts to help you with acclimatisation. A hike to basecamp below Kibo’s sub peak Mawenzi, passing the Zebra Rocks on the way (around 3 hours up and 1.5 hours down), is strongly recommended. This hike will further assist with the process of acclimatisation. 

After breakfast you will start your hike passing through the last watering point, walking onto the saddle of Kilimanjaro between the peaks of Kibo and Mawenzi. Vegetation begins with upper heathland but then disappears into “moonscape”. Dinner, rest, and prepare for the summit climb. 

Horombo Huts to Kibo Huts

Elevation: 3705m to 4730m 

Distance: 10 km
Hiking Time: 6-8 hours  

Habitat: Alpine Desert

You will wake up at midnight, have a light breakfast and prepare for your summit ascent. The goal is to reach Uhuru Peak around sunrise. You will leave Kibo Huts at 1am where you will start the climb to the summit on steep and heavy scree or snow up to Gilman’s point located on the crater rim. Continuing, you will ascend to Uhuru Peak, which is the highest point in Africa. You will take a memorable picture at the summit to remember this great accomplishment. You will then descend back to the Kibo Huts, have lunch and rest a while. You’ll then collect your things and cross the saddle and head back to the Horombo Huts. After dinner, get some well-deserved sleep! Please note that we will be doing 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! 

Summit Day – Kibo Huts to Uhuru Peak to Horombo Hut

Elevation: 4730m to 5895m to 3705m 

Distance: 5.4 km up, 15 km dow
Hiking Time: 13-16 hours  

Habitat: Stone scree/ice-capped summit

After breakfast you will descend through the moorland back to the Mandara Huts. You’ll have lunch there and continue down through lush forest to the park gate, which you should reach around 2 or 3pm. At this point you’ll say goodbye to the guides, cooks, and porters. We’ll transfer to your hotel in Moshi or Arusha or take you straight to the airport, where it is definitely time for celebration!

Horombo Huts to Marangu Gate

Elevation: 3705m to 1860m 

Distance: 19 km
Hiking Time: 6-7 hours