We start our eight days of Kilimanjaro trekking via the Kibo North Circuit at Londrossi on the western slopes of the mountain, our route then climbing through rain forest and onto the Shira Plateau. There are views to Shira Ridge and the lava formations Shira Needle and Cathedral as we continue towards the dramatic west face of Kibo, the tallest volcano of Kilimanjaro. With the glaciers and cliffs looming above us but still over 3km away, we turn onto the North Circuit route. Leaving the well-trodden Shira Route behind and beginning our traverse of the mountain, we are to experience a totally different Kilimanjaro than the majority of trekkers that come to 'tick' Africa's tallest mountain. The Kibo North Circuit route follows little used paths around the 4300 metre contour line that shows the real solitude and wilderness of the mountain, the real Kilimanjaro. Coming round to the eastern side of Kibo we have great views of Mawenzi, the third volcano of Kilimanjaro and its most impressive peak. Mawenzi is a mass of lava that has been eroded away over time to become an impressive peak of cliffs, gullies and ridges, seldom climbed due to its seriousness and technicality.
We ascend to School Hut, our last camp before the summit, and prepare for the big push up Kibo to Gilmans Point on the crater rim. It is not far to Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa with 360 degree views stretching as far as Mt Kenya over 250km away. Descent is via the Mweka route on the southern side of the mountain and takes two days. At the bottom we transfer to Moshi, where we have day rooms and can clean up before flying back home after our African adventure!
Why not extend your trip and enjoy East
Africa for a little longer either by combining any of our trips, or
by adding a safari or beach extension detailed on our Trip Extensions page.
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Itinerary
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10 day trip, with 8 days on
the mountain (see
Altitude and
Acclimatisation) |
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Day
1:
Fly from UK to Kilimanjaro
airport, arrive mid-evening, drive to Arusha hotel
Day
2:
Drive to Kilimanjaro NP, Londorosi Gate, trek 3-4 hrs, camp at
Mti Mkubwa
Day
3:
Trek for 6-7 hrs onto the Shira Plateau to camp at Shira One
campsite
Day
4:
Cross the Shira Plateau & heather moorland (5-6 hrs trek)
to Shira Hut camp
Day
5:
Morning trek to Moir Hut camp, then acclimatisation walk to
Shark’s Tooth
Day
6:
Trek for 4-5 hrs in real wilderness (today & day 7), camp
at Pofu campsite
Day
7:
5
hrs trek, completing the North Circuit, & early to bed at
School Hut camp
Day
8:
Leave camp around midnight for an 8-9 hr trek to Uhuru Peak at
5895m,
descend to Barafu & then to Mweka campsite: a 12-16
hr day
Day
9:
4 hrs through forest to park gate, drive to Moshi hotel,
evening flight home Day
10:
Arrive back in the UK
mid-morning
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| Sunday
25 January - Tuesday 3 February 2009 |
Trip Ref - KC250109 |
|
Saturday 28 February - Monday 9 March 2009 |
Trip Ref - KC280209 |
| Sunday 7 June - Tuesday 16 June 2009 |
Trip Ref - KC070609 |
| Saturday 8 August -
Monday 17 August 2009
|
Trip Ref - KC080809 |
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Sunday 11 October - Tuesday 20 October 2009 |
Trip Ref - KC111009 |
If you want to
travel on a different date, and/or with your own group of
family or friends, just go to Make my own adventure to create your own adventure
trip.
General
Information | How to
Book | Group
Size |
Trip
Extensions
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 |
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