Itinerary

1. Day 1: Marangu Gate to Mandara Hut

   • Get picked up from the hotel and be driven to Marangu Gate. En-route, enjoy excellent views of the mountain.

   • Meet your Kilimanjaro trekking guides and porters at the gate. You could spot bright-coloured birds, Colobus monkeys, and other species as well as moss, lichens and delicate orchids in the surrounding forests. If the skies are clear, you can see the town of Moshi lying further down, at the edge of the plain.

   • Complete registration formalities and leave the park buildings behind to start the ascent. The walk is 4-5 hours through coffee plantations and thick rainforests.

   Reach Mandara Hut for dinner and overnight.

2. Day 2: Mandara Hut to Horombo Hut (3720 m)

   • Start the second day on the mountain just after breakfast, with a steep climb through the last swathe of the rainforest, though this soon gives way to a rolling alpine meadow dotted with giant heather.

   • Once you leave the forest sunshade, Kilimanjaro’s two peaks - snow covered Kibo and rocky Mawenzi - lie straight ahead, overlooking the skyline.

   • Further on, cross a zone of open moorland with diminutive vegetation. Today, you will gain roughly 1000 m altitude. The walk can take 5-7 hours, depending on your pace.

   Have dinner and overnight at Horombo Huts.

3. Day 3: Horombo Hut

   • Spend a day here which provides an opportunity for you to acclimatise to the altitude. It is known that an acclimatisation day effectively doubles the chance of a successful summit; thus, the time is well spent. The day is not precisely wasted on resting, as there are several walks you can take within the vicinity of the hut.

   • You will take one of the most popular acclimatisation walk, which leads you to the base of Mawenzi Peak, the dramatic eastern summit of Kilimanjaro. The walk will take 4-5 hours, round trip and will take you to an altitude of 4600 m.

   Return to Horombo Hut for dinner and overnight.

4. Day 4: Horombo Hut to Kibo Hut

   • See how the scenery changes to be more rocky and rough as you leave behind Horombo. Massive groundsels and lobelias appear in the sparse moorland. The trail up to Kibo will take between 5 - 7 hours.

   • Skirt Mawenzi Peak as you pass the last water point.

   • Cross a stark, almost lunar landscape to the saddle, which is a wide tundra desert between the two peaks of Mawenzi and Kibo. Here, you will find fantastic views of the upper ranges of the mountain before arriving at Kibo Hut (4705 m) - a dry-stone-walled hut with dorms and limited facilities.

   • Prepare for the next day's final assault. Re-pack and leave non-essential items with the porters. You need to summon all your energy to get to the summit, so there’s absolutely no point in carrying anything you don’t need. An early night is imperative as you must make a midnight start in order to reach the summit in the morning before the cloud cover settles.

   Overnight stay at Kibo Hut.

   (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner)

5. Day 5: Uhuru Peak

   • Get ready as the guide will wake you soon after midnight.

   • Start out in the darkness, in the extreme cold, zigzagging up a long scree slope by the light of your torch. At this time of day, the scree is still frozen, which makes it easier to walk on.

   • Hike for around two hours, and you should reach Hans Meyer’s Cave, named after the German geologist who made the first successful ascent in 1889 and found the remains of a frozen leopard. The gradient gets steeper, and three hours on (this is the hardest stretch of the climb), you should reach the crater rim at Johanne’s Notch.

   • From here, it’s a short scramble to Gillman’s Point (5685 m) in time for dawn. Your reward is the dramatic spectacle of the sun rising over the ice fields and craggy peaks of Mawenzi. The profusion of colours and shapes make all the suffering seem worthwhile. For those who still have the energy and drive, it takes another couple of hours along the crater rim to reach Uhuru (Freedom) Peak (5896 m).

   • Descend (approx. 3 hours) and retrace the route, down past Kibo Hut to Horombo Hut for a well-deserved rest.

   Overnight stay at the Horombo Hut.

   (Breakfast, lunch, and dinner)

6. Day 6: Back to Moshi

   • See how the pace quickens as you continue your way back down across alpine meadows, past Mandara Hut through the rainforest to Marangu Gate, where you can board the vehicle and return to Moshi.

   • Return to Moshi, where you check-in to the day room or an overnight stay before departing for the airport or other destinations in Tanzania.