Kilimanjaro via the Lemosho Route

10 day Lemosho / Great Barranco ascent of Kilimanjaro

Day 1: ARRIVAL NIGHT: Arrive at Kilimanjaro Airport and get transferred to the airport hotel to relax after a long day of travel. 

Day 2: LUXURY TENTED CAMP(camp is at 6,400’) You will get pick up after breakfast by your guide and get transferred  to a special private luxury camp inside Arusha National Park. Our camp is large canvas-style tents with an on-suite toilet and shower.  Both the dinning and lounge tent are heated with “bio brick” burning stove, very comfortable and well-staffed. Our campsite provides you with the opportunity to spend your first two nights in the Equatorial Montane Forest on the slopes of Mt. Meru. This camp is at 6,400 ft, helping you acclimatize in preparation for climbing Kili. The walking from the camp is exciting and provides great opportunity to see animals and tropical birds while on foot. A half day acclimatization hike can take you to over 8,000ft, excellent for acclimatization. 2- hr drive from the airport.

Explore Itikoni Camp

Day 3: LUXURY TENTED CAMP Our exclusive camp looks out onto Kilimanjaro, Meru, and the Ngurdoto Crater. We spend the morning enjoying the spectacular setting and relaxing after the long flight. After lunch, we gather for a briefing and a gear check for the Kilimanjaro climb. You will separate your Kili gear from any items you want to store in Arusha during your climb (your extra baggage not needed for the climb is transported to the first lodge we stay in after the Kili climb). An afternoon hike takes us into the lush cedar and podocarpus forests of Mount Meru, set within Arusha National Park. The hike is a great way to acclimatize to the altitude and we’ll also have a good chance of seeing the unique black-and-white colobus monkeys of the park and perhaps bushbuck or giraffe, along with a host of avian life. Our hike also offers impressive views of the dramatic ash cone of Mt. Meru’s summit. We gather for a Welcome Dinner at camp in the evening.

Day 4: MONTANE FOREST (9,000') Drive approximately one hour to the Kilimanjaro National Park forest edge. From there we walk about 3 hours through the undisturbed forest to our camp for the night. With luck you will be able to see Colobus monkeys and signs of elephant and other forest wildlife on your walk to camp. 4-6 hours, 4.5 miles, 1,750 feet ascent

Day 5: SHIRA PLATEAU WEST SIDE (11,600') Taking our time walking through the forest will help us spot some of the plentiful game and bird life. The day's hike will take us up through the Montane Forest and the Hagenia forest zone. You will see the unique environmental differences that characterize these equatorial zones.  7.2 miles 3100 foot ascent.

Day 6: SHIRA PLATEAU EAST SIDE - MOIR CAMP (13,600')  Our hike today will be about 4 hours across the Shira Plateau, a World Heritage Site, and one hour up the western slope of the Kibo Massif. Camp will be in the upper heath zone in full view of the Western Breach. 6-mile hike 2,000 foot ascent

Day 7: GREAT BARRANCO (13,000’) Todays hike is to the beautiful Great Barranco Valley, noted as the most beautiful spot on the mountain by the Kilimanjaro IMAX film.  This is your first night at the 14,000 foot level which begins the critical acclimatization process helping everyone to acclimatize well and be ready for the summit push.  From camp you will see the awesome Breach Wall towering above you.  A short hike from camp in the afternoon will take you through beautiful Senecio forests.  5– 7 hrs, 6 miles,

Day 8: BARAFU CAMP (15,200')  We leave the awesome Great Barranco Valley, and hike below Kili’s beautiful southern glaciers. Enroute, we ascend the famous “Breakfast Wall,” a steep climb of about a thousand feet to the ridge separating the Barranco Valley from the Karanga Valley. From here we descend into the Karanga Valley We climb a few hundred feet out of the Karanga Valley then make traverse to the intersection of the Barafu and Mweka routes.  Here we turn uphill and climb to the Barafu Camp where we will spend the night. 6– 8 hrs, 4.5 miles

Day 9: SUMMIT CRATER CAMP (18,800') We will wind our way up the Barafu non-technical climbing route for about six hours to the crater rim of the main Kilimanjaro summit massif. Those who still have the energy on top can explore the inner crater and the ash pit before moving to our highest camp on the crater floor. This spectacular high camp is next to the Furtwangler Glacier with stunning views westward toward Mount Meru and the setting African sun.  7 – 9 hrs, 2 miles

Day 10: SUMMIT DAY and MWEKA CAMP (10,000') We will start our ascent to the summit (19,340') early enough in the morning to be on the summit near dawn. This final ascent is only 800 feet. This is quite a contrast to the 3,000 foot slog required to summit via all the other ascent routes on Kilimanjaro. After taking in the view from Uhuru Peak we will begin the long descent to Barafu Hut and down to our final camp near Mweka Hut.  8 – 10 hrs, 8 miles

Day 11: ARUSHA overnight Moivaro Hotel  It takes about 3 to 5 hours to make the 4,500 foot descent to the Park Gate and pick-up. We will have our lunch at the gate and say goodbye to our mountain staff before heading to the hotel near Arusha. Farewell dinner, overnight and one airport transfer per 5 clients are provided.  3 – 5 hrs, 4 miles

NOTE: 

Flying Doctors is included in the above cost: This is an emergency and evacuation insurance we buy in Arusha for a service that we can call on that will help us facilitate the most efficient emergency evacuation possible. https://flydoc.org/air-ambulance

Tips and Carbon offset, described below, are optional.. 

Additional services optional description:

Ø  Tip fund. This is a tip for the support staff and is included in the cost listed above. We still ask that you tip your leader and driver additionally.

Ø  Carbon Offset is a service provided by Carbon Tanzania a non-profit we support here in TZ. http://www.carbontanzania.com/

Ø  Wow Factor fund. This is for the trip leader to purchase gifts, drinks and any extras that he can use to create a WOW moment for the guests. 

Included:  Everything else..  Full board, beer and wine at Itikoni camp, all transfers, licensed WFR certified guide for each 3 clients.  Full porter assistance, minimum of 5 porters per person. 

Provided equipment:

·       Three person all season tents

·       Complete kitchen with all food preparation equipment for climbers and staff

·       Complete mess tent with tables, chairs with back, solar lights, all eating and serving equipment for the whole team.

·       Katadyn commercial water filter

·       Hyperbaric chamber

·       Supplemental oxygen system

·       HF radio or satellite phone

·       pulse oximeter

·       Repair kit for tents, packs, zippers

·       First aid kits with limited drugs like diamox, dexamethazone, compozine, epinephrine, and aspirin.

Trip Cost Does Not Include:

International airfare, any meals not specified after each itinerary day, transfers for independent arrival or departure, airport departure taxes, optional tipping or gratuities to leaders, additional hotel nights made necessary by airline schedule changes or other factors, pre-trip expenses such as medical immunizations (if any), travel insurance, or passports and visas. and other expenses of a personal nature (alcoholic beverages, laundry, etc.).