8-Day Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route Climb with Shira Plateau and Uhuru Peak

• We will pick you up from your hotel and transfer you to Londorosi Gate for registration. After this formality, you will board the vehicle again and drive to Lemosho Glade. From here, you will begin the trek across the undisturbed Montane forest, decorated with black and white colobus monkeys, to the camp where dinner and your overnight stay will take place.
• Elevation: 1,200 m to 1,950 m to 2,850 m
• Distance: 9 km
• Hiking Time: 3-4 hours
• Habitat: Montane Forest

• This is an acclimatization trek, as you will gain over 650 m by walking across a beautiful valley outside the Shira Caldera rim (3,600 m). After a few hours, you will reach Shira Caldera. A high-altitude desert, Shira is one of the three peaks that erupted in the Kilimanjaro ecosystem. The peak later collapsed and formed a crater, eventually filling with lava flow from Kibo Peak. Its rim has been eroded and blasted away by weather and volcanic action. Camp and overnight stay will be at 3,500 m elevation at Shira One Campsite.
• Elevation(m): 2850m to 3500m
  Distance: 13km
  Hiking time: 8 hours
  Habitat: Moorland and heather land

• On this day, you will trek east across the Shira Plateau, visiting Cathedral Peak (3,850 m) for acclimatization. Upon reaching this peak, you will find spectacular views of Mt. Meru and Kibo Peak. We then continue trekking to Shira Two Camp, where we will stay for dinner and overnight.
• Elevation: 3500m to 3800m

Distance: 7km

Hiking time: 5-6 hours

Habitat: Moorland and rocky

• This is a long acclimatization day. You will have an early breakfast, then trek east to a junction leading to Lava Tower Rock at 4,600 m for acclimatization. Afterwards, you will descend to Barranco Campsite for dinner and overnight.

Elevation: 3800m to 3950m
Distance: 13km
Hiking time: 7-8 hours
Habitat: Moorland

• Today is a short trekking day. In the morning, you will climb the Barranco Wall, reaching 4,200 m for acclimatization, and continue across ridges and valleys to Karanga Campsite for a hot lunch. After lunch, you will rest and take another acclimatization trek up the scree slopes towards the Southern Ice Field. You will then return to camp for dinner and overnight.
• Elevation: 3950m to 3900m
  Distance: 6 km
  Hiking time: 4-5 hours
  Habitat: Moorland

• Today's trek to the Barafu Ridge campsite is challenging because of the altitude. The walk takes a few hours despite the short distance, but it is steep and requires a slow pace to avoid fatigue. You will walk across an alpine desert with strong, cold winds blowing down from Kibo Peak and its glaciers. You will have an early dinner at 1700hrs, then rest until midnight when you begin your push for the summit.
• Elevation: 3900m to 4620m
  Distance: 8 km
  Hiking time: 3-4 hours
  Habitat: Alpine Desert

• Wake to a light breakfast at midnight and prepare for your summit ascent. The goal is to climb before dawn to reach Uhuru Peak shortly before or after sunrise. Departure for the summit is at 12:00 AM. You will switch back up steep scree, or possibly snow, and reach Stella Point on the crater rim (5,861 m/18,640 ft) between 4 and 5 AM.
• At this point, you will have views of the fabled crater and its icecaps before you. After about 1 hour of hiking along the Kibo crater rim near the celebrated snow, you will reach Kilimanjaro's true summit, Uhuru Peak. Here, you will spend time taking photos. After your summit activities, you will return to Barafu Huts Campsite for lunch, rest, collect your gear, and continue through the moorland and heath zone to Mweka Huts Campsite. Dinner and overnight at Mweka Hut Campsite.
• Elevation: 4620m to 5895m to 3100m
  Distance: 15km
  Hiking time: 10 - 12 hours
  Habitat: Desert and ice

• Today is your last day on the mountain. After breakfast, you will descend to Mweka Park Gate, walking across Montane forest. This descent will take 3-4 hours. You will sign out and board the vehicle at the gate, ready for your transfer back to your hotel for your certificate presentation celebration.
• Elevation: 3100m to 1700m
  Distance: 9km
  Descending time: 3-4 hours
  Habitat: Montane forest