Kilimanjaro Trek
Overview
Arusha · Londorossi Gate · Shira Plateau · Barranco · Barafu · Uhuru Peak · Mweka
Every day here is private — your own guide and your own vehicle — so the order holds but the hours are yours to move.
After breakfast your private transfer takes you round to Londorossi Gate on the western side of the mountain, where the climb begins.
The trail winds up through thick rainforest — colobus monkeys and forest game are both possible — and after three or four hours you reach Mti Mkubwa, "Big Tree Camp", for your first night.
The rainforest gives way to open moorland and heather as the trail climbs towards the Shira Plateau.
The landscape opens dramatically on this stretch, and you get your first wide view of the mountain you are on.
A gentler day, and a deliberate one — it exists to let your body catch up with the altitude rather than to cover ground.
You cross the Shira Plateau itself, an ancient collapsed caldera with sweeping views and high-altitude vegetation found almost nowhere else, and reach Shira 2 in good time.
The key acclimatisation day. You climb to Lava Tower at around 4,640 metres, then drop down into the Barranco Valley to sleep — the altitude gained and then given back is what makes the summit possible.
The valley, and the Barranco Wall standing over the camp, make this one of the most memorable stretches of the route.
The morning starts with the Barranco Wall — a steady scramble rather than a technical climb, and over quicker than you expect.
Above it the trail runs on through the Karanga Valley with the mountain around you all day. It is a short day on purpose, so the afternoon goes on rest and acclimatisation.
A steady climb through the alpine desert to Barafu, the last camp before the summit.
You eat well and settle in early. The summit push begins in the middle of the night.
Around midnight your guides wake you for a hot drink and a light meal, and the climb starts in the dark.
It is a demanding ascent, but the pace is managed carefully. You reach Stella Point on the crater rim as the first light comes up, and from there carry on to Uhuru Peak at 5,895 metres — the highest point in Africa.
After time at the top and a rest and a meal back at Barafu, you continue down to Mweka Camp for your last night on the mountain.
Trekking poles and gaiters earn their place today: the ascent and descent are both on loose volcanic gravel and ash.
A last descent through the rainforest to Mweka Gate, and a chance to mark the climb with the crew before your private transfer arrives.
From there it is back to Arusha for a well-earned rest — or straight on to a safari or Zanzibar, if you have booked one on the end.
Everything below is settled before you travel. What isn’t covered is listed just as plainly, so nothing on this trip arrives as a surprise.
Included
Not included
Tell us roughly when, and we’ll come back with dates, the camps that are open and what the 8-day rate looks like for your party.
Or reach the team in Arusha directly — +255 654 592 688 or WhatsApp.
