7-Day Kilimanjaro · Rongai Route
Day-by-Day Itinerary
7-Day Kilimanjaro · Rongai Route
- 1
Day 1: Nale Moru → Simba Camp
1,950 m → 2,625 m · ~8 km · 3-4 hrs
Three-hour transfer from Moshi around the eastern flank of the mountain to the Nale Moru trailhead. Three to four hours of gentle climbing through cultivated land and pine forest to Simba Camp (2,625 m).
- Accommodation
- Simba Camp
- Meals
- Lunch on the trail, hot dinner at camp
- 2
Day 2: Simba → Second Cave
2,625 m → 3,450 m · ~6 km · 5-6 hrs
Out of the forest and into the moorland zone. Steady, undulating climb across open ridges with the northern ice fields appearing as the trail rises.
- Accommodation
- Second Cave Camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- 3
Day 3: Second Cave → Kikelewa
3,450 m → 3,679 m · ~6 km · 4-5 hrs
Leave the established trail and head east across the lower slopes of Mawenzi. The terrain opens into a vast moorland with wide views back into Kenya. Camp tucked in a sheltered valley below Mawenzi.
- Accommodation
- Kikelewa Camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- 4
Day 4: Kikelewa → Mawenzi Tarn
3,679 m → 4,330 m · ~5 km · 3-4 hrs
A short, steep climb up to Mawenzi Tarn (4,330 m), an alpine lake in the cirque beneath Mawenzi peak's jagged spires. Arrive by lunchtime. Optional acclimatisation walk in the afternoon up the lower slopes of Mawenzi.
- Accommodation
- Mawenzi Tarn Camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- 5
Day 5: Mawenzi → Kibo Hut
4,330 m → 4,700 m · ~9 km · 5-6 hrs
Across the lunar landscape of the saddle, the alpine desert between Mawenzi and Kibo. Arrive Kibo Hut (4,700 m), summit base camp, by lunch. Rest in the afternoon, early dinner, into sleeping bags by 19:00 for a few hours of sleep before the midnight summit start.
- Accommodation
- Kibo Hut
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, early dinner
- 6
Day 6: Summit day → Horombo
4,700 m → 5,895 m → 3,720 m · ~22 km · 12-14 hrs
Midnight start up the scree slope to Gilman's Point on the crater rim (5,681 m), reached at sunrise. From Gilman's a further hour along the crater rim brings you to Uhuru Peak. Descend back to Kibo for a hot lunch, then a long descent down the Marangu trail to Horombo Hut (3,720 m).
- Accommodation
- Horombo Hut (dormitory)
- Meals
- Hot tea before start, breakfast at Kibo, lunch, dinner
- 7
Day 7: Horombo → Marangu Gate
3,720 m → 1,860 m · ~20 km · 5-6 hrs
Final descent through moorland and rainforest to Marangu Gate. Collect summit certificate and transfer to your hotel in Arusha.
- Accommodation
- Hotel in Arusha
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch at the gate
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