You will be picked up at Kilimanjaro International Airport and transferred to your hotel in Arusha. You will meet your guide who will brief you on your upcoming trek and perform an equipment check to make sure you have all the necessary mountain gear. Any missing gear will be recommended and provided on a rental basis. 

Meals: Bed & Breakfast

Rainforest Zone

in the morning, we start our drive to Kilimanjaro National Park Lemosho Entrance Gate (3hrs). We will enter through the Western Gate of the Park (7,700ft/2,100m) and climb to Forest Camp (9,255ft/2,821m) in the Rainforest Zone.

This trek takes approximately 2-3 hours, along which we will travel through a lush rainforest. You may have the opportunity to see black and white Colobus Monkeys as well as Blue Monkeys.

Approximate time taken: 2-3 hours

Meals: Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Heather/Moorland Zone

We will climb from Forest Camp (9,255ft/2,821m) to Shira 1 Camp (11,300ft/3,444 m) within the Heather Zone. We will be trekking through the Heather and Moorland Zones, consisting of very lush vegetation. The entire journey takes approximately 5-7 hours, including a lunch break that we will enjoy halfway into the trek. We will enjoy an overnight stay at Shira 1 Camp. 

Approximate time taken: 5-7 hours

Accommodations: Camping

Meals: Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Heather/Moorland Zone

We begin our climb from Shira 1 Camp (11,300ft/3,444m) to Moir Camp (13,779ft/4,200m) through the Heather and Moorland Zone. The landscape will begin to change to much smaller vegetation as we start to travel through a more desert-like landscape. This trek takes approximately 5-7 hours including lunch break. We will camp overnight at Moir Camp.

Approximate time taken: 5-7 hours

Accommodations: Camping

Meals: Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Lava Tower

We continue our climb from Moir Camp (13,779ft/4,200m) to Lava Tower Camp (15,091ft/4,600m) within the Alpine Desert Zone. We will enjoy lunch and relax for the rest of the day to properly acclimatize. If you are feeling up to it, and depending on the weather, you can optionally climb Lava Tower with one of our guides for some spectacular views. 

Approximate time taken: 3 hours

Accommodations: Camping

Meals: Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Lava Tower (Acclimatization Hike)

We take an acclimatization hike to Arrow Glacier Camp (16,076ft/4,900m) with an elevation gain of approximately 1,000ft/300m. If you are feeling up to it, and depending on the weather, you can optionally climb Lava Tower with one of our guides for some spectacular views. We remain at Lava Tower Camp (15,091ft/4,600m) for the night.

Approximate time taken: 2-3 hours

Accommodations: Camping

Meals: Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Arrow Glacier Camp

We climb from Lava Tower Camp (15,091ft/4,600m) to Arrow Glacier Camp (16,076ft/4,900m) through the Alpine Desert Zone. We only gain about 1,000ft/300 m but the terrain is steep, with a few scramble sections to get over the Great Barranco Wall. We take the remainder of the day to relax at camp and prepare for our biggest day – climbing the Western Breach

Approximate time taken: 1-1.5 hours

Accommodations: Camping

Meals: Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Western Breach

We wake up at approximately 3-4am (just before sunrise), cross the Western Breach, and head into the Crater Rim. We climb from Arrow Glacier Camp (16,076ft/4,900m) to Crater Camp (18,800ft/5,730m). We trek past the Northern Ice Field and Furtwangler Glacier on our way to Crater Camp. This portion of the trek takes approximately 5-7 hrs.

We will enjoy our lunch at Crater Camp and from here onwards, the climbing group has two option options which will be decided in cooperation by the guides, and all the climbers on the trek.

Option 1: After a bit of relaxation,  we continue our ascent to the summit, reaching Uhuru Peak in approximately 1.5 hours. Many climbers still feel great at this point and wish to continue making their ascent to Uhuru Peak (19,341ft/5,895m) the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. If your group decides on summiting the same day, you will descend to Barafu Camp (15,239ft/3,983m) for an overnight stay. This portion of the descent from the summit to Barafu Camp will take approximately 2-3 hours.

The benefit of Option 1 is that you will be reaching the summit in the mid-afternoon (around 2-3pm). There will be very few climbers at the summit, giving you the freedom to take as many pictures as you wish. There is no rush to leave the summit (like a typical sunrise summit, which usually has many other companies and tourists).

Option 2: After lunch, we relax the rest of the day and spend the night at Crater Camp. You will make your ascent to the summit at sunrise the following day.

Congratulations on reaching the “Roof of Africa!”
(Uhuru Peak – 19,341ft/5,895m)

Approximate time taken: Varies depending on option chosen

Accommodations: Camping

Meals: Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Summit Day

Option #1 Continued: Wake up at Barafu Camp (15,239ft or 3,983m) and continue making our descent to our next camp – Mweka Camp (10,204ft or 3,110 m). Overnight at Mweka Camp. This portion takes approximately 4-5 hrs.

Option #2 Continued: Wake up at Crater Camp (18,800ft or 5,730 m) and begin making your ascent to Uhuru Peak (19,341ft or 5,895 m). This takes approximately 1.5 hrs.
Congratulations on reaching Uhuru Peak (19,341ft or 5,895 m). Spend a few minutes taking pictures and savouring the accomplishment of climbing to the Roof of Africa.
After reaching the summit, you will begin to make your descent via the Eastern Side of Mt Kilimanjaro to Mweka Camp (10,204ft or 3,110 m). This descent portion takes approximately 6-8 hrs.

Approx. time taken: Option #1 / 4-5 hours
Option #2 / 6-8 hours

Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner included

Mweka Gate – Arusha

After breakfast, we continue to climb down to Mweka Gate (5,423ft or 1,653m) where we sign the Official Kilimanjaro National Park Register, have a cold drink, and get presented our official Kilimanjaro Certificate by our Head Guide and enjoy our complementary hot buffet with drinks like beers, congratulations champagne and sodas.
This last descent to the gate should take approximately 3-4 hrs and another transfer from the gate to your lodge in Arusha takes 3hrs.

Approx. time taken: 6-7 hours

Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner included

The day is left free to wind down after the trek before your flight home. Depending on flight times you could go and explore Arusha town and grab some souvenirs before heading to the airport. Or optional continue with Tanzania safari