Itinerary

1. Day 1: Arrival and climb briefing

   • Today has no planned activities and is only an arrival day for you to reach your base lodge in time for a pre-climb briefing with your mountain guide.

2. Day 2: Lemosho gate to Mti Mkubwa (Big tree) camp

   • You will be transferred by road from Moshi (or Arusha) to Lemosho gate and after registration, you continue on the 4x4 track to the trailhead, where you begin your trek through the rainforest zone with your guide. The forest is thick and diverse with flora/fauna, and you may experience rain this afternoon, which is common in this zone, making the path slightly slippery. A short and winding path takes you steadily to the first camp.

3. Day 3: Mti Mkubwa (Big Tree) camp to Shira One Camp

   • This morning, you quickly leave the forest zone on a steep path as the dense vegetation slowly eases into the Heather and Moorland zone. The remainder of the day takes you on a steady hike across the Shira ridge, where views of the Shira peak (the third of Kilimanjaro’s volcanic cones) give you the spectacular jagged scenery of this eroded peak.

4. Day 4: Shira One Camp to Moir Hut camp

   • Today's hike takes you gradually across the Shira Plateau within the heather and moorland. It diverts off the main trail towards the Northern circuit bypass into the alpine desert zone to Moir Hut camp at the base of the Lent Hills, where you may optionally hike further for additional acclimatization walks. You have already diverted off the commonly used southern circuit trail onto the northern circuit, which takes you around the back of the Kibo cone.

5. Day 5: Moir Hut Camp to Pofu (Buffalo) Camp

   • Leaving behind the Moir valley, you trek on a relatively steep path to the summit of the Lent Hills (if you didn’t reach here the day before) before circling north of the Kibo cone into the Alpine desert and enjoying this remote part of the mountain with unique scenery of the Northern Kilimanjaro peak and the Kenyan plains below.

6. Day 6: Pofu (Buffalo) Camp to Third Cave Camp

   • Your final day on the northern circuit bypass today takes you through the remote mountain wilderness of the North, probably the least used trail on Kilimanjaro. Your hike takes you back out of the alpine desert through the Buffalo Ridge and the remote valleys until the drier heather and moorland area around the Third Cave Camp.

7. Day 7: Third Cave Camp to School Hut Camp (or Kibo Hut Camp)

   • Your hike today takes you abruptly towards the Kibo cone, steadily climbing up and over the edges of the alpine desert and journeying on the edges of the Kibo saddle. The relatively short distance today means you have plenty of time at your summit camp to rest and prepare for tonight's summit attempt.

8. Day 8: School Hut Camp to Gilman's point to Uhuru peak to Mweka camp

   • In the early morning (around 00:00 am), you begin your final ascent to the summit of Uhuru peak through the arctic zone. The trek is a steep hike over loose volcanic scree through the dark and cold night and takes a slow pace in a zig-zag pattern towards Gilman’s Point (5681m or 18640ft), your first stop on the Kibo crater rim. From here, a short (but difficult) hike remains to take you past Stella Point (the first stop on the rim for those summiting from Barafu camp / the Southern circuit) and further around till Uhuru Peak (5895m or 19341ft) the highest point in Africa. You usually don’t spend that long at the peak due to the extreme altitude and will descend via Stella Point until the southern circuit base camp (Barafu).
   • After a recovery meal, you continue descending through the alpine desert, heather, and moorland until the rainforest, where you stop for the night.

9. Day 9: Mweka camp to Mweka gate

   • Your final day on Kilimanjaro is a descent through the southern rain forest until Mweka gate, where our vehicle will wait to take you back to Moshi town. Usually, the crew will leave you at Mweka gate, and it’s a perfect opportunity to say goodbye to your crew, who generally head directly home from the end gate.

10. Day 10: Maybe Departure

    • On the 10th day of your itinerary, it is time to say goodbye and depart. However, if you are interested, our company would be delighted to arrange a post-climbing Safari trip or a day trip for you to continue your African adventure. Please let us know if you want to extend your stay with us.