Kilimanjaro - Marangu Route

This morning you meet your Group Leader, in the hotel reception at 08.30, who will then brief you on the trek. You then drive (about two hours) through Kilimanjaro’s semi-tropical foothills to Marangu (1372m), situated on the south-eastern side of the mountain. As you drive, there are usually some excellent views of the snow-capped peak. On arrival at Marangu, you meet your team of guides and porters, pick up any last minute supplies for the trek, and head to the entrance of Mount Kilimanjaro National Park to register for the climb. From the cluster of buildings at the gate it is some four to five hours walk through patches of coffee plantation and dense rainforest to Mandara Hut. The forest teems with brightly-coloured bird life, colobus and other varieties of monkey. The flora includes numerous mosses, lichens and flowers, as well as delicate orchids. If the skies are clear you may have fine views over the town of Moshi lying at the edge of the plain far below. Mandara Hut is a collection of basic, A-frame mountain huts with bunk beds - quite adequate for your needs - where you inevitably meet up with fellow trekkers who are bent on the same goal. Hut - 1 night (BLD)

A day here provides an opportunity for you to acclimatise gradually to the altitude. Statistics show that an acclimatisation day like this effectively doubles the chance of making it to the summit, so this time is well spent! There are a few walks you can make in the vicinity of the hut - the most popular of which is to the base of Mawenzi Peak, the dramatic eastern summit of Kili. This walk takes four to five hours (round trip), and will get you to an altitude of 4600m before you return to the hut - this will stand you in good stead later on. (BLD)

This is a long and demanding day! The guides wake you soon after midnight and you start out in darkness, zigzagging up a long scree slope by the light of your torch in the extreme cold. At this time of day the scree is still frozen - which makes it easier to walk on! After roughly two hours you should reach Hans Meyer's Cave - named after the German geologist who made the first successful ascent in 1889 - where he found the remains of a frozen leopard. The gradient gets steeper and three hours on (this is the hardest stretch of the ascent!) you should reach the crater rim at Johanne’s Notch. From here it's a short scramble to Gillman's Point (5680m) 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 (5895m). Your descent (approximately three hours) retraces the route back down past Kibo Hut to Horombo Hut for a well-deserved rest. Total walking time approx. 11 hours. Hut - 1 night (BLD)