A three-hour drive from our hotel in Machame brings us to the Londorossi Park Gate located on the western side of Kilimanjaro. At the gate, we pick up our game ranger who will accompany us, as we might encounter elephants and buffaloes during our trek. We drive to the trailhead at Lemosho Glades and start our trek through the rain forest. In places, the vegetation is so untouched that it grows right across the narrow track. The flora and fauna are richer here than on the other more popular routes through the rain forest. Our trek today will be along a little-used track known as Chamber’s Route. In about 3-4hours, we reach our camp in the rain forest at Mti Mkubwa (Big Tree).
After breakfast, we start the climb cross the remaining rain forest towards the giant moorland zone. Today is a full day trek with an altitude gain of 2,000 ft. A great lunch stop is One, a beautiful valley just outside the Shira Crater at around 10,000 ft. After lunch, we cross into the Shira Caldera, a high altitude desert plateau that is rarely visited. Shira is the third of Kilimanjaro volcanic cones and is filled with lava flow from Kibo Peak. The crater rim has been decimated by weather and volcanic action. Today you will get your first close views of Kibo – the dramatic summit of Kilimanjaro.
After breakfast continues hike east across the Shira Plateau past the Shira Cathedral towards Shira T camp. We only gain 700 feet in elevation – this allows us to acclimatize slowly to the altitude. The views of the plateau are nothing less than spectacular.
Today is the last of the “easy days”. It is about a 7-hour hike. We pass the Lava Tower, around the southern flank of Kibo, and slowly descend into the spectacular Barranco Valley, interspersed with giant lobelia and special plants. After arriving at our most spectacular campsite, everyone stands in awe at the foot of Kibo Peak, looming high above, on our left. Our camp is only 465 feet higher than where we were last night, but during the day, we will have climbed to just over 14,000 feet. This is one of our most valuable days for acclimatization.
On the eastern side of the valley, across the stream is the Barranco Wall-a 950ft. barrier of volcanic rock. Although it is tall and looks steep, it is very easy to climb. This is our first challenge of the day. The views from the wall are nothing less than magnificent. The rest of the day is spent skirting the base of Kibo peak over our left shoulder. We descend down into the Karanga Valley, where we rest up for the night before the tough climb up to Barafu hut.
First thing, you will be making a steep hike out of the valley. The air starts getting quite thin, and you will be running short of breath. It is a tough, but rewarding uphill to the rocky, craggy slopes at the camp. Barafu means ice in Swahili, and it is extremely cold at this altitude. So, go to bed early because we will be waking you at midnight for the final leg to Uhuru Peak.
Dress warmly, because we start climbing around midnight, on the steepest and most demanding part of the mountain. The moon, if out, will provide enough light, and we will reach the crater rim by sunrise, after a 7-hour hike, to welcome a new dawn.From the crater rim, rugged Mawenzi Peak is a thrilling sight, with the Kibo saddle still in darkness beneath you, and the crater’s ice-walls looming ahead. We now continue to Uhuru Peak(1-2hrs.) This is the highest point in Africa, and the world’s highest solitary peak (19,340 ft). It is the best view in Africa!
Final elevation: 1828 M in the morning we walk down to the road head. This takes about 3 – 31/2 hours. After a welcome lunch, it is time to say “kwaheri” to the porters. We then get a transfer back to Arusha to your suggested hotel or onward connection.
Our guides, our accommodations and our tour not only lived up to our expectations, they exceeded them. We were a group of six. We were met at the Nairobi airport by Mark, who drove us to our hotel (Eka). In the brief time we had with him, we thought Mark was great. Read More...
Everything was very well arranged. Except for our first gate entry which took more than 1 hour everything else was perfectly planned and done. Excellent professional and polite service through out our stay. Read More...
It is always a little intimidating traveling overseas and there were some minor hiccups in communication, however, the situation was dealt with promptly and professionally. The trip was organized to our specifications with much appreciated recommendations to improve our visit. Read More...
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Jandu Street, Uzunguni, Arusha
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