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Itinerary
Day 1
After and early
morning pick up from your hotel in Arusha or
Moshi will drive to the Machame village. Here
will do final packing, organize porters and, if
need be, purchase last foodstuffs for the trek.
Depending on the condition of the road with will
either drive or hike on a dirt track another 3
kms through coffee farms and forest to the Park
gate. At the gate we will spend an hour or so
registering and paying park fees. A clear
trail continues up through plantation and
natural forest to the ridge between the Weru
Stream and the Makoa Stream until the main
trailhead is reached. From here a narrow
forest (sometimes soggy and wet) path continues
up to Machame Campsite.
Day 2-3
After hiking
through the forest, the trail and vegetation
will dry and you will hike up a steep boulder
ridge. At 3-4 hours the trail goes west into a
gorge and ascends to Shira Hut/Camp on the Shira
Plateau. We will spend a second night in this
area around 16,000 feet, doing day hikes to
higher altitudes to acclimatize.
Alternatively, we will travel to Barranco, Moir
or Lava Tower Camp to spend the third night.
Day 4
We will travel to a
short distance to Arrow Glacier above the Lava
Tower camp. At the glacier you will have
impressive views of the Shira plateau behind you
and a rock/scree ridge, the Western Breach, in
front of you leading up to the crater rim.
Alternatively, we take a more moderate Barranco
Trail if the Western Breach is to be avoided.
Day 5
Day five will begin
shortly after Day four is over. We will break
camp early between 1 and 3 a.m. for the last
push to Uhuru Peak through the Western Breach.
After crossing glacial scree we will head
straight up through a steep boulder field (this
part of the route is strenuous and not
recommended for anyone acrophobia). At the
top...Kibo crater. Another 1-2 hours and Uhuru
Peak will have been reached. Mount
Kilimanjaro, the top of Africa.
From the peak, any
route down can be taken, but we recommend
Marangu or Mweke. Mweke is less traveled and
affords beautiful views of the mountain as we
descend to Mweke camp slightly below the tree
line.
Day 6
Down through the
forest and to the Mweke trailhead/gate. Our car
will pick you up and return you by dinner to
your hotel. A hot shower will be awaiting
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