Itinerary
- Day 1
Umbwe Village to Umbwe Camp
Start early with a briefing and breakfast before driving from Moshi or Arusha to Umbwe Village. Once guides and porters organize the equipment, you'll begin your ascent at Umbwe Gate and climb through dense forest filled with rubber trees and giant fig trees for several hours. The terrain includes steep root and rock sections that require careful footing. By late afternoon you'll reach Umbwe Camp nestled in the forest, where hot food and rest wait for you.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch (Lunch pack provided), Dinner (Hot meal served graciously at camp)
Included Activities
- Briefing on climbing route and safety
- Ascent from Umbwe Gate through Montane Forest
- Climb through dense forest with rubber trees and giant fig trees
- Navigate steep sections of roots and rock
Optional Activities
- Explore nearby caves at Umbwe Camp
Landmarks Umbwe Gate Mount Kilimanjaro - Day 2
Umbwe Camp to Shira Camp Area
After tea or coffee and breakfast, the real climbing starts as you head steeply upward through forest glades that gradually thin out. Giant Erica and Heather plants appear as the air gets drier, and you'll hike along a ridge with some steep drop-offs. If the weather cooperates, Uhuru Peak becomes visible overhead from here. After lunch you enter an otherworldly landscape where giant groundsels stand like sentinels, one of Kilimanjaro's distinctive features at higher elevation.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Included Activities
- Steep climb through thinning forest glades
- Hike along ridge with steep drop-offs
- Enter zone of giant groundsels (Seneci Kilimanjaro)
Landmarks Uhuru Peak - Day 3
Shira Camp Area to Karanga Valley Camp
Following breakfast, you tackle a steep ridge leading to the Barranco Wall, that imposing rock formation most climbers worry about beforehand. Once you top out near the Heim Glacier, the true scale of the mountain opens up with Kibo's glaciers hanging overhead. From there you descend into the Karanga Valley and reach camp where jagged Mawenzi peaks sit visible to the east. After hot lunch, the afternoon is yours to rest or wander around. This shorter day matters a lot for giving your body time to adjust before the final push.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch (Hot lunch at camp), Dinner
Included Activities
- Climb steep ridge to Barranco Wall
- Ascend the Barranco Wall
- Descend into Karanga Valley
Optional Activities
- Explore area around Karanga Valley Camp in the afternoon
Landmarks Barranco Wall Heim Glacier Kibo Mawenzi - Day 4
Karanga Valley Camp to Barafu Camp
Morning hike takes you east across ridges and valleys until you connect with the Mweka Route, which will be your way down the mountain. You then turn back toward Kibo and climb a sparse ridge landscape for roughly an hour to reach Barafu Hut, where hot lunch waits. The campsite sits on a narrow, stony, wind-swept ridge, so take time before dark to get familiar with the surroundings and where things are. After an early dinner you'll catch a few hours of sleep before the midnight start to the summit.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch (Hot lunch at Barafu Hut), Dinner (Early dinner)
Included Activities
- Hike east over intervening ridges and valleys
- Join the Mweka Route descent path
- Hike up ridge through sparse landscape to Barafu Hut
Landmarks Mweka Route Barafu Hut - Day 5
Barafu Camp to Uhuru Peak to Mweka Camp
Around 11:30 PM you'll rise and have hot tea and biscuits before heading out into darkness. The next 6 hours involve climbing northwest through heavy scree between the Rebmann and Ratzel glaciers toward Stella Point on the crater rim. Most climbers find this section the toughest part of the whole climb. Once you reach Stella Point there's time to rest and catch the sunrise, then you walk along the crater rim toward Uhuru Peak (snow may be present depending on the season). After celebrating at the summit, a 3-hour descent takes you back to Barafu where you'll rest briefly, pack up, and head down through moorland and forest to Mweka Camp in the upper forest zone.
- Meals
- Breakfast (Steaming tea and biscuits before midnight ascent), Dinner (Dinner at Mweka Camp)
Included Activities
- Midnight ascent from Barafu Camp through heavy scree
- Climb between Rebmann and Ratzel glaciers
- Reach Stella Point on crater rim
- Watch sunrise at Stella Point
- Hike along crater rim to Uhuru Peak
- Reach Uhuru Peak (5,895m/19,340ft)
- Descend from summit back to Barafu Camp
- Hike down to Mweka Camp through moorland and forest
Landmarks Rebmann Glacier Ratzel Glacier Stella Point Uhuru Peak Mawenzi - Day 6
Mweka Camp to Moshi/Arusha
After a good breakfast, it's a short 3-hour hike back down to the park gate. At Mweka Gate you'll sign in, receive your summit certificate (green if you reached Stella Point, gold if you summited Uhuru Peak), and collect any final paperwork. From there you continue down to Mweka Village, which might be a muddy 3 km hike if vehicles can't access the upper road. In the village there's hot lunch waiting, then you'll drive back to Moshi or Arusha for a hot shower and comfortable sleep after your climb.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch (Delicious hot lunch in Mweka Village)
Included Activities
- Hike from Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate
- Sign register at Mweka Gate
- Receive summit certificate
- Hike from Mweka Gate to Mweka Village
Optional Activities
- Arrange trip to Zanzibar beaches for recuperation
- Arrange trip to Serengeti National Park
- Arrange trip to Ngorongoro Crater
- Arrange trip to Lake Manyara National Park
- Arrange trip to Tarangire National Park
- Arrange trip to Arusha National Park
- Arrange trip to Selous Game Reserve
- Arrange trip to Mikumi National Park
- Arrange trip to Ruaha National Park
Landmarks Mweka Gate Mweka Village
