8-Day Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route Trek to Uhuru Peak

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

Today you will trek across a plateau of grassy moorland and heather scattered with volcanic rock formations. Your destination for today is Shira 1 Camp, where views of Kibo Peak are often seen floating on the clouds. You will gain a reasonable amount of altitude today, and parts of the route are fairly steep.

Today you will get to view the Northern Ice Fields from the mountain's western side, along with some unusual views of Kibo. Your steady climb across the moorland of the Shira Plateau will help with acclimatization, and you will enjoy great panoramic views. Your destination today is Shira 2 Camp. In the afternoon, you will take an acclimatization walk, then head back to camp for dinner and an overnight stay.

Your trek starts with an ascent offering far-reaching panoramic views, walking into the climatic zone of the upland desert and along the lava ridges beneath the glaciers of the Western Breach. You will reach the distinct pinnacle of Lava Tower (4640 m), our high point for the day and a great place to enjoy your lunch. In the afternoon, you will make a steep descent to your 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 climb 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. From Karanga Valley, we make a steep climb 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 takes 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 be getting up between 11 pm and 12 am to start the 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, gaining 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 walk takes us to the summit of Uhuru Peak (5895 m). We begin our descent by returning to Stella Point and then descending on scree slopes 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 us to the hotel in Moshi, where you can treat yourself to a welcome hot shower.