7-Day Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route Trek to Uhuru Peak

• You will be picked up at your hotel around 08:00 am and transferred to the Lemosho Gate on the western side of Kilimanjaro. After registration, you will climb steadily through the forests of the Lemosho glades to reach Big Tree Camp, where you will spend the night.

Today you will cover a lot of ground as you trek across a plateau of grassy moorland and heather scattered with volcanic rock formations. We will trek through Shira 1 Camp, where there are often views of Kibo Peak floating on the clouds as we head towards our destination, Shira 2. We gain a reasonable altitude as we head towards Shira 1, and parts of the route are fairly steep. As you proceed towards Shira 2, you will view the Northern Ice Fields from the mountain's western side, with some unusual views of Kibo. Our steady climb across the moorland of the Shira Plateau will help with acclimatization, and we will enjoy great panoramic views.

Your trek starts with an ascent with far-reaching panoramic views, walking into the climatic zone of the upland desert and onto the lava ridges beneath the glaciers of the Western Breach.

You will reach the distinct pinnacle of the Lava Tower (4640 m), our high point for the day and a great place to enjoy your lunch. In the afternoon, we make a steep descent to our camp for the night, located at the base of the Great Barranco Valley (3960 m), sheltered by towering cliffs but with extensive views of the plains below.

Our day starts by descending into the start of the Great Barranco, a huge ravine. We then exit steeply up the Great Barranco Wall, which divides us from the southeastern slopes of Kibo. It's a climb over rock, not technical but long and tiring. We head towards the Karanga Valley, passing underneath the Heim and Kersten glaciers. We have a steep climb from Karanga Valley to our night's camp at Karanga Camp, set at 3963 m. For those feeling strong, we will go for a mid-afternoon acclimatization trek up to around 4200 m before returning to camp for the night.

After a good night's rest and breakfast, we walk to Barafu Camp at 4640 m. The climb will take us across desolate scree slopes with no vegetation around us at all. It's a tough, steep walk made more difficult by the altitude. On arriving at camp, we eat and spend the afternoon resting as we prepare for a long night and day ahead. It is important to keep hydrated and warm. We have an early dinner and then try to get some sleep, as we will get up between 11 pm and 12 am to climb to the summit.

We start off at around midnight and walk steeply upwards to the summit glaciers. We will climb the scree for 4 to 5 hours but gain incredible height over a short distance. The views are spectacular.

We should be on the crater rim at Stella Point (5739 m) as the first rays of the sun hit us. Spectacular ice cliffs within the crater surround us, and the views to the jagged Mawenzi Peak and beyond are breathtaking. Another hour's walking takes us to Uhuru Peak's summit (5895 m). We begin our descent by returning to Stella Point and then descending on scree slope and track back to Barafu Camp for breakfast before finally heading down to Millennium Camp for a long, well-earned rest.

A gentle trek takes us through the rainforest to Mweka Gate, where we complete park formalities and receive certificates, which you can hang up with pride! Our vehicles then meet us and return to the hotel in Moshi, where you can treat yourself to a welcome hot shower.