Kilimanjaro

Further flight information will be provided upon booking.

Arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport; transfer to Moshi town, where you can admire the views of Kibo, the crater at the summit and the youngest of Kilimanjaro’s three volcanic cones. After a hotel check-in, you will have time to relax, and sort out your kit for the next day’s adventures before dinner and a briefing.

One hour’s drive from Moshi lies the gate to the Machame route, where  park formalities will be completed, you will meet the crew of porters and start to climb! The first section of the route climbs steadily and passes through magnificent, dense rainforest. This path is less well-trodden so it can get somewhat overgrown in places and it is often wet and muddy underfoot.

Night camp: Machame Camp (3100m).

Trek approx 18km / 5-7 hours

The route continues on up through the forest until it reaches the steep ascent onto the Shira Plateau, where there are rewarding views of the mountain. Looking back, you will be able to see Mt Meru rising high above Arusha town in the distance.

Night camp: Shira Caves (3840m).

Trek approx 9km / 4-6 hours

The walk will now be on high moorland, where the landscape changes the entire character of the trek. You and your group will traverse the south west side of Kilimanjaro, passing underneath the Lava Tower, the final section of the Western Breach and finally reach camp at Barranco Hut (3900m), a tin shack where you and your group will pitch your tents.

This day is at altitude (up to 4600m), but Discover Adventure will follow the mountaineering code of ‘walk high, sleep low’ to aid your body’s acclimatisation to altitude.

Night camp: Barranco Hut (3900m).

Trek approx 15km / 8-10 hours

The day will start by descending into the Great Barranco, a huge ravine. You and your group will then exit steeply, up the Great Barranco Wall, which divides trekkers from the southeastern slopes of Kibo. It’s a climb over rock, not technical, but long and tiring. The route passes underneath the Heim and Kersten glaciers, and heads towards the Karanga valley, which is the last stop for fresh water before the summit. Scree now forms the terrain as we walk through arid and desolate land towards camp.

Night camp: Barafu Camp (4600m).

Trek approx 18km / 7-9 hours

To avoid walking too long in the heat of the sun, you and your group  start the day while it’s dark, and walk steeply upwards to the summit glaciers. Led by Discover Adventure, climbing scree for 4 to 5 hours will enable you to gain incredible height over a short distance. The views are spectacular, and you should be on the crater rim at Stella Point (5739m) as the first rays of the sun hit.

Spectacular ice cliffs within the crater will surround you, and the views to jagged Mawenzi – Kilimanjaro’s secondary but more technical peak – and beyond are breathtaking. Another hour’s walk will take you to the summit, Uhuru Peak (5895m). Uhuru means freedom in Swahili. You and your group will begin the descent by returning to Stella Point and then descending on scree slope and track back to Barafu Camp for breakfast, before finally heading down to camp for a long well-earned rest. On the descent look out for the fabulous views of the plains and Mawenzi.

Night camp: Millennium Camp (3720m).

Trek approx 20km (7km climb); 10 – 12 hours

A gentle trek takes will take you and the group down through the rainforest to Mweka Gate, where you will complete park formalities and receive certificates, which you can hang up with pride!

You will then be met by Discover Adventure vehicles and return to the hotel in Moshi, where you can treat yourself to a welcome shower (and a cold beer or two!) before a big celebration.

Night hotel.

Trek approx 10km; 5 hours

Moshi has some great markets and areas to explore, or you can just relax with your fellow achievers and new friends from the group. Flight times vary, but you will re-group at the hotel in time to transfer to the airport for your flight home, arriving on Day 10.

(Breakfast included with overnight stay; lunches and dinners not included)

Further flight information will be provided upon booking.