Kilimanjaro - Lemosho Route

Leave in the morning from Arusha to drive by 4WD to Londorossi gate (2250m), the entrance to Mount Kilimanjaro National Park. The last 5km of the track is rough going and should be taken in your stride as part of the adventure! At the end of the track you register for the climb and meet your team of Chagga guides and porters. The Chagga people live from cultivating the fertile volcanic soil on the lower slopes of the mountain. Take lunch in the glades before starting your walk. The first day’s trek winds up through the lush forest zone on to the lower slopes of the northern side on a little used track going to Shira Plateau. There is a good chance of seeing wildlife today, perhaps buffalo or black and white Colobus monkeys. Approx 3-4 hours walking. Camping – 1 night (BLD)

With less altitude gain than the day before, this is more of an acclimitisation day. A gentle walk across the plateau on moorland meadows next to a stream. Summit Shira Cathedral a huge buttress of rock surrounded by pinnacles and spires. Relax at the campsite this afternoon and see views of Mt Meru floating in the clouds. Approx 4-5 hours walking. Camping – 1 night (BLD)

This morning you head eastward along the Southern Circuit. After a 200m scramble to the top of the Great Barranco Wall, you traverse scree fields and a series of ridges to the Karanga Valley (4100m), beneath the icy snouts of Heim, Kersten and Decken Glaciers. Approx 4-5 hours walking. Camping – 1 night (BLD)

The day of truth! The guides wake you at around midnight and you start out in darkness by the light of your head torch, in the extreme cold. The Mweka Route leads steeply upward over a long scree slope between Rebmann and Ratzel Glaciers. This is the hardest part; it can be covered with snow, so trekking poles are useful for balance. Eventually - after some five or six hours walk - you reach the rim of Kibo Crater, close to Stella Point (5735m). From here it’s another hour’s walk west along the crater rim past Hans Meyer's Point - named after the German geologist who made the first successful ascent in 1889 - to reach Uhuru (meaning “Freedom”) Peak (5895m). If the summit is clear, there are fine views of the sun rising over Mawenzi’s icefields and jagged peaks to the east, and of Mount Meru to the west. Triumphant, you then head back to Barafu Hut, where you rest from your exertions for a while. After lunch you continue down to your final camp at Mweka Hut, in the giant heather, close to the forest’s edge. Tonight you enjoy a well-earned rest and your last dinner on the mountain. Approx. 11-15 hours walking (5-9 hours ascent, plus 6 hours descent). Camping - 1 night (BLD)