Description
Duration: 7 Days and 6 Nights
Price: Please Contact us about the price of this Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival
Arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport/Dar es Salaam International Airport/Nairobi International Airport. You will be meet at the airport and transferred to a reserved hotel.
Day 2: Marangu Gate (6000 ft) – Mandara Hut (9,000 ft)
Hiking time: 4 hours
Habitat: Montane forest
Morning transfer to Mt.Kilimanjaro at Marangu Gate on the eastern side of Kilimanjaro. Do the necessary paperwork at the park gate such as registrations. Begin hiking at about 1030hrs. Hike through rain-forest from the park gate (6000 ft) to Mandara Hut (9000 ft), taking about 4 hours. Stop half way for lunch. Reach Mandara Huts at about 2 or 3 PM. Unpack, rest and have some tea or coffee.
Dinner is served during early evening, about 7 PM. A side trip to Maundi Crater (about 15 minutes away) is a good way to see the surroundings as well as views of Kenya and Northern Tanzania. Bathrooms are available with running water.
Day 3: Mandara Hut (9,000 ft) – Horombo Huts (12,000 ft)
Hiking time: 6 hours
Habitat: Heath land
Wake to breakfast (approx. 7:30am) and pack for the next leg. Break camp at about 8:30am and hike to Horombo Huts (12,000 ft). This leg should take 5 to 6 hrs. You travel through lower heath land with small shrubs being the main vegetation. Stop half way for lunch. Views of Mawenzi are amazing. The summit of Kibo can be seen from Horombo Huts. Arrive Horombo Huts at about 3 PM. Rest, unpack and prepare for dinner. Bathrooms are available with running water.
Day 4: Horombo Huts (12,000 ft) – Kibo Huts (15,500 ft)
Hiking time: 7 hours
Habitat: Alpine Desert
Wake to breakfast as usual (if you wake before sunup you can get some great photos of the sunrise). Pack and begin the hike to Kibo Huts (15,500 ft). The first half of the day’s hike traverses the upper heath land while the second half crosses the vast saddle that connects Mawenzi and Kibo. The saddle is an alpine desert that resembles a lunar landscape. Be careful to notice signs of altitude sickness. The day’s hike should take 6 to 7 hours, stopping half way for lunch. No running water at Kibo Huts.
Day 5: SUMMIT DAY (19,340 ft) Hiking time: 7 hours
Habitat: Alpine Desert
Wake at around midnight to a light breakfast, and then prepare for the summit ascent. This part of the hike is carried out during the early morning before dawn so that the climbers reach Uhuru Peak at around sunrise. Leave at about 1:00am and reach Gilman’s Point at about 7:00am.
The climbers are meet with views of the crater from Gilman’s Point because it is on the Crater Rim. Another 2 hours of hiking brings the climber to Uhuru Peak (19,340 ft) at about 8:30 am. From there you will descend back to Kibo Huts, collect your things and cross the saddle again at Horombo Huts where you will spend the night. Eat dinner and get some well-deserved sleep.
Day 6: Descending from Horombo to the Marangu Gate
Wake as usual, pack and descend to Mandara Huts. Take lunch there and continue on to the park gate where you will be meet by your transport back to Arusha/Moshi town. You should reach the park gate around 2 or 3 PM.
Day 7: Departure
Depart for the airport or other destinations in Tanzania or Kenya. Zanzibar is a good way to recuperate. Other trips around Moshi/Arusha can be arranged at reasonable price.
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