7-Day Mount Kilimanjaro Hike from Arusha to Uhuru Peak

• Meet your guide in Arusha and begin the tour.

• Drive for about 1 to 2 hours from your lodge in Arusha to Machame Gate (8,000 ft) for registration, and meet the rest of the crew - cooks and porters - who will be ready for the climb.

• Start the climb through the rainforest and giant heathers for 6 hours to your first overnight camp.

• This is a short climbing day, but the trail is rather steep, rocky, and dusty.

• Hike slowly with plenty of breaks and enough time to acclimatise. Most of the route is rather bare of vegetation, providing little shade from the heat.

• Cross many ridges and see the first of many Senecas on the mountain.

• Start by climbing over boulders and very few rocks, then continue on a steady uphill climb to Lava Tower, a 300 ft-high volcanic lava plug that juts out from the side of the mountain.

• Stop for lunch around noon and climb to the top of Lava Tower, at 14,850 ft, for the acclimatisation process.

• From Lava Tower, descend for about 2 hours through dusty and rocky trails to your next overnight stop, Barranco Camp at 13,000 ft.

• Start by scrambling up the Great Barranco Wall for about an hour and a half. Some sections are steep, forcing you to use your hands to manoeuvre around rock boulders like rock climbing, although it is not as challenging as actual rock climbing.

• See the Barranco Valley and the campsite where you spent the previous night.

• Walk up and down the greener valley, which is the last water point on the mountain, and reach the ridge-top camp for the night.

• Climb steeply uphill across a barren landscape filled with boulders and shattered rocks. See the Decken glaciers on your left.

• Continue along a very steep ridge until you reach a rocky section for more scrambling for about an hour and a half. Your next camp will be set on large rocks with very steep cliff faces.

Go to bed very early because you will have to wake up at 11 pm for the summit.

• Wake up at around 11 pm, have some food, dress for the summit, and begin your climb around midnight. Start on very steep rocks for about 2 to 3 hours, then enter a snow-covered area where you can see glaciers above. If it is a moonlit night, you may turn off your headlamp and walk in the moonlight. Take a break every 15 minutes as the struggle becomes more mentally and physically challenging.

• Reach Stella Point, where the lava fields are like loose sand.

• Continue climbing to Uhuru Peak for about 1 hour as the sun appears over the Mawenzi peaks. Arrive at Uhuru Peak (19,370 ft) around 6:00 am or 7:00 am, ready for pictures, big hugs, and cheers!

• Begin your descent, which is steep and rigorous, via Stella Point to Barafu Hut Camp.

• Stop for lunch at Barafu Camp and enjoy a good rest before proceeding down to Mweka Camp, a very comfortable hike, though very dusty and long.

• Hike down from Mweka Camp.

• Drive back to Arusha.