Kilimanjaro

Arrive into Kilimanjaro International Airport in the evening, where you will meet your guides. Transfer to our hotel in Arusha, at the base of Kilimanjaro, where we’ll meet up with the rest of the team and get ready to start the expedition.

In the morning we explore the local villages surrounding the base of Kilimanjaro. In the afternoon we hold our first team meeting and organize our gear for the climb.

Drive to the Rongai trailhead, with stunning views of the mountain along the way. Once there, we meet our Tanzanian porters and staff, organize loads, and then begin our climb through lush forests. Four hours of walking will take us to our first camp, at 9,500 feet (2,696 meters).

Our 6-hour hike takes us out of the humid forest and onto a stunning ridge with our first views of the upper crater walls of Kilimanjaro. The trail continues climbing on this ridge to our camp at 12,000 feet (3,658 meters).

Today is a 5-hour hike to the Mawenzi Tarn. This camp is a favorite with our groups. The camp at 13,000 feet (3,962 meters) is next to a small lake and below the Mawenzi Towers, with unbelievable views of the entire summit cone and our route to the top.

Today’s hike takes us through the last of Kilimanjaro’s vegetated zones and into the barren alpine world of the upper mountain. A four hour hike takes us past species of plants found only here on Kilimanjaro’s upper flanks, and ends at our camp at the Kibo Hut, at 15,500 feet (4,724 meters). This camp is the staging point for many teams’ summit push. With so many other climbers here, the camp has a true international feel.

Today is an important additional acclimatization day. We wake up, eat a good breakfast, and go for a 2-3 hour hike to a bit over 16,000 feet (4,877 meters). This dramatically aids in our acclimatization, and gives us a perfect view of our summit route. We get back to camp early, and spend the afternoon resting and preparing for our summit attempt.

Summit Day! We wake around midnight for a hot drink and snack and then begin our climb. The first 5-6 hours are steep and we occasionally scramble over rocky sections (no ropes or technical experience are necessary) as we ascend the crater wall. Around sunrise we top out on the wall at Gilman’s Point and step onto the crater. The route from there crosses the small crater glacier and then ascends easily to the true summit, the highest point in Africa at 19,341 feet (5,895 meters)! Our descent is via the Marangu route. After at least a 12 hour day we will set camp at 12,000 feet (3,658 meters).

6+ hours of descent take us through the Marangu’s lush rainforests (a completely different ecological zone than we saw on our ascent) to the end of the trail (6,000 feet/1,829 meters) and our van. We return to our hotel for much needed showers and a celebration dinner. Those who only have time for the climb fly home (after 9pm). We highly recommend our Safari Extension, an unforgettable East African experience.

A 3 hour drive in the morning takes us to the Ngorongoro Crater. Ngorongoro holds the highest concentration of big game anywhere in Africa. It is an unbeatable place to see herds of wildebeest, zebras, antelope, and buffalo, along with the predators that feed on these herds – lions, cheetahs, and leopards. It is also one of the better places to spot rhinoceros. We will return to our hotel on the rim of the crater that evening.

Today we drive to the central Serengeti to continue our Safari. We end our day at a luxury tented camp in the central Serengeti.

An early morning wake up call for a half day game drive allows us to explore at the best time of the day when animals feed. An afternoon bush plane flight brings us back to Arusha in time for evening flight out.