Mount Kilimanjaro~Marangu Route

You will be picked up by the staff of Expect In Africa Safari from Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) and driven to your accommodation in Arusha. Participants will be given a short briefing for the climb the next day. Kits and the necessary equipment will be checked as well.

After an early breakfast we will leave Arusha at 8:30am, drive for approximately 50 minutes to Kilimanjaro’s Marangu Gate on the eastern side of the mountain. Your guide will handle your registration before we begin the hike around 10:30am.

We start off in the rainforest – enjoy the towering Eucalyptus trees, bird life, and Colubus monkeys. At these lower elevations, it can be wet and muddy, so gaiters and trekking poles will help. Shorts and t-shirts should be sufficient, but keep your rain gear and warmer clothing handy. We will stop at the halfway mark for lunch, and reach the Mandara Hutsat 2 or 3pm. Unpack, rest, and have some tea or coffee. A 15 minute side trip to Maundi Crater is a good way to see the surroundings including Northern Tanzania and Kenya. Dinner is served during the early evening at 7pm. Bathrooms with running water are available.

Marangu Gate to Mandara Huts

Elevation: 1860m to 2715m
Distance: 8 km
Hiking Time: 4-5 hours
Habitat: Montane Forest

Today we will have a fairly leisurely wake up in time for a 7:30am breakfast. We’ll aim to break camp by 8:30am and hike for an hour through rainforest glades. We will then follow an ascending path through heathland where we’ll be able to look for giant lobelias and groundsels. We continue up into open moorlands where small shrubs comprise the majority of vegetation. Again we’ll stop halfway for lunch, where we will enjoy amazing views of Mawenzi, if the weather is clear. We should arrive at the Horombo Huts by 4pm, where Kibo summit is visible on clear days. Rest, unpack, and prepare for dinner. Bathrooms with running water are available.




Mandara Huts to Horombo Huts

Elevation: 2715m to 3705m
Distance: 11.5 km
Hiking Time: 6-8 hours
Habitat: Heathland and moorland

Acclimatization Day - Horombo Hut is a village of huts perched on a small plateau, with a total capacity of 120 climbers. Horombo is normally bustling with hikers, guides and porters, with an atmosphere of adventure and excitement. You will meet both ascending and descending hikers here. This extra day and night at Horombo is for additional acclimatization. A hike to basecamp below Kibo’s sub peak Mawenzi, passing the Zebra Rocks on the way (around 3 hours up and 1.5 hours down), is strongly recommended. This hike will further assist with the process of acclimatization. Remember to drink enough water and move slowly!

We will wake up for breakfast as usual – or wake up early to capture an amazing sunrise. The first part of the day’s hike climbs through the dwindling heathland that blends into what can best be described as moonscape as we enter the sweeping saddle connecting Mawenzi and Kibo. When we stop for lunch, and later when crossing this surprisingly large saddle, take in the summit climb up to Kibo that we will be starting in just a few hours. Be careful to notice any signs of altitude sickness. There is no running water at the Kibo Huts.


Horombo Huts to Kibo Huts

Elevation: 3705m to 4730m
Distance: 10 km
Hiking Time: 6-8 hours
Habitat: Alpine Desert

We will wake at midnight, have a light breakfast and prepare for our summit ascent. The goal is to reach Uhuru Peak around sunrise. We leave Kibo Huts at 1am, switchback up steep scree or possibly snow, and reach Gilman’s Point on the crater rim at 5861m around 4-6am. Here, views of the fabled crater and its icecaps greet us. Another 2 hours of hiking along the crater rim near the celebrated snows takes you to Kilimanjaro’s true summit, Uhuru Peak, by 6-8am. This is Africa’s highest point – we’d have to travel more than 3,000 miles toward the Himalayas to find a higher peak! Be sure to have your picture taken at the summit to show your friends. After our time on top, we descend back to the Kibo Huts, have lunch and rest a while. We will then collect our things and cross the saddle and head back to the Horombo Huts. After dinner, get some well-deserved sleep!

Please note that we will be doing the beginning of this climb in the dark with headlamps or flashlights. It will be very cold until you start descending, so you will need all of your warm layers. This is, by far, the most difficult part of the trek. Slowly, slowly, or, “pole, pole,” and an optimistic attitude will get you there!

Summit Day - Kibo Huts to Uhuru Peak to Horombo Huts

Elevation: 4730m to 5895m to 3705m
Distance: 5.4 km up, 15 km down
Hiking Time: 13-16 hours
Habitat: Stone scree/ice-capped summit

Today we descend through the moorland back to the Mandara Huts. We’ll have lunch there and continue down through lush forest to the park gate, which we should reach around 2 or 3pm. Here you will receive your certificates and we will say goodbye to our guides, cooks, and porters. We’ll transfer to your hotel in Moshi or Arusha or take you straight to the airport. Wherever you are it will definitely be a time for celebration!

Horombo Huts to Marangu Gate

Elevation: 3705m to 1860m
Distance: 19 km
Hiking Time: 6-7 hours

After breakfast, we can arrange for a private transfer or taxi to Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO). Drive time : 1 hour