7 Days Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route
Day-by-Day Itinerary
7 Days Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route
- 1
Day 1: Lemosho Gate to Mti Mkubwa Camp
2,100 m to 2,750 m, about 6 km, 3 to 4 hrs
Drive from Moshi to Londorossi and on to Lemosho Gate (2,100 m) for registration. Three to four hours through dense rainforest to Mti Mkubwa Camp, the big tree camp, surrounded by the huge trees that give it its name and the calls of black and white colobus monkeys overhead.
- Accommodation
- Mti Mkubwa Camp
- Meals
- Lunch box on the trail, hot dinner at camp
- 2
Day 2: Mti Mkubwa to Shira 1 Camp
2,750 m to 3,500 m, about 8 km, 5 to 6 hrs
Climb steeply out of the rainforest and into heath and moorland, with the Shira Ridge to the north. A long day but gradient friendly, arriving at the western edge of the Shira Plateau at Shira 1 Camp (3,500 m) in the late afternoon.
- Accommodation
- Shira 1 Camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- 3
Day 3: Shira 1 to Shira 2 Camp
3,500 m to 3,840 m, about 7 km, 4 to 5 hrs
Traverse the Shira Plateau eastward, one of the highest and largest high altitude plateaux in the world, wide open, windswept, otherworldly, with the summit cone of Kibo directly ahead the whole way. A shorter and easier day for further acclimatisation.
- Accommodation
- Shira 2 Camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- 4
Day 4: Shira 2 to Lava Tower to Barranco
3,840 m to 4,600 m to 3,950 m, about 10 km, 6 to 8 hrs
The critical acclimatisation day. Climb up to Lava Tower at 4,600 m for lunch, then descend to Barranco Camp at 3,950 m for the night. Climb high, sleep low. The elevation profile of this day is the single biggest factor in your summit success. Barranco Camp is dramatically sited beneath the Western Breach with the great Barranco Wall directly above.
- Accommodation
- Barranco Camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch at Lava Tower, dinner
- 5
Day 5: Barranco to Karanga to Barafu
3,950 m to 4,673 m, about 9 km, 7 to 8 hrs
Start with the Barranco Wall, a 257 m scramble up a steep but non technical rock face that takes most climbers around 90 minutes. From the top, undulating terrain across the Karanga Valley to Karanga Camp for a hot lunch, then a further three hours climb to Barafu Camp (4,673 m), the summit base. Early dinner and into sleeping bags by 19:00.
- Accommodation
- Barafu Camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, hot lunch at Karanga, early dinner at Barafu
- 6
Day 6: Summit day, Uhuru Peak and down to Mweka
4,673 m to 5,895 m to 3,068 m, about 17 km, 12 to 14 hrs
Midnight start. Slow, steady walk up the scree slope to Stella Point on the crater rim (5,756 m), typically reached around sunrise. From Stella Point a 45 minute walk along the crater rim brings you to Uhuru Peak (5,895 m), the highest point in Africa. Descend back to Barafu for a hot brunch, then continue down to Mweka Camp at 3,068 m, a long, knee punishing descent that finishes in the late afternoon.
- Accommodation
- Mweka Camp
- Meals
- Hot tea before start, hot brunch at Barafu after summit, hot dinner at Mweka
- 7
Day 7: Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate
3,068 m to 1,640 m, about 10 km, 3 to 4 hrs
A final three hour walk through the rainforest to Mweka Gate. Collect your summit certificate and transfer to your hotel in Arusha.
- Accommodation
- Hotel in Arusha
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch at the gate
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