7-Day Mount Kilimanjaro Rongai Route Climb to Uhuru Peak

Time: 3-4 hours / Distance: 6.5 km / Altitude gain: 700 m

• Pick up from your hotel and drive to Marangu Gate. On arrival at Marangu Gate (1843 m), complete the park registration and continue to Nalemoru Gate (1950 m), where you will meet your crew and begin your 6-day ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro.
• Enjoy a hot lunch at Nalemoru Gate before starting the trek along a winding path that crosses maize fields and then enters a dense, mist-covered forest. Along the way, blue monkeys, black-and-white colobus monkeys, and bush babies can sometimes be spotted.
• The trek takes about 3-4 hours to reach Simba Camp (2650 m), where you will spend the night.

Time: 3-4 hours / Distance: 4 km / Altitude gain: 500 m

• After breakfast, continue trekking up toward Kibo and on to Second Cave, following a gentle incline through upper moorland and heather into a lower moorland and heather vegetation zone. A hot lunch will be provided at Second Caves Camp (3150 m).
• Spend the rest of the day resting, or take a short acclimatization excursion toward Third Cave.
• You will have greater chances of seeing Kibo Peak, the summit peak, as well as Mawenzi Peak. If you are lucky, you may also spot jackals and sometimes buffaloes. The trek takes about 3-4 hours, and the night will be spent at Second Cave.

Time: 3-4 hours / Distance: 5 km / Altitude gain: 450 m

• After breakfast, continue trekking up toward Kibo, passing through a more open area of short moorland and heather vegetation on the way to Kikelewa Caves Camp.
• Lunch will be provided at camp.
• There will be even better chances of seeing Kibo Peak, the summit peak. If you are lucky, you may again spot jackals and sometimes buffaloes on this day. You will spend the night at Kikelewa Cave.

Time: 3-4 hours / Distance: 6 km / Altitude gain: 370 m

• After breakfast, begin the trek to Mawenzi Tarn Hut at 4,330 m.
• A short incline through grassy slopes leads to a tangible sense of wilderness. You will leave the short vegetation behind and enter a low desert area before reaching Mawenzi Tarn Hut, where you will have a hot lunch and spend the rest of the day resting or taking a short acclimatization excursion.
• This stage is approximately a 3- to 4-hour trek covering a distance of 6 km.

Time: 4-5 hours / Distance: 9 km / Altitude gain: 370 m

• The route becomes gradually steeper and rockier as you leave Mawenzi Tarn Hut.
• You will head across the stark landscape of The Saddle - the broad lava-stone ridge - between Mawenzi and Kibo.
• Stunning views of the upper reaches of Kilimanjaro unfold before you arrive at Kibo Hut (4703 m), where you will have a hot meal in the afternoon, enjoy a relaxing evening, and go to bed early so you are well rested for the midnight start of your final ascent to the summit.

Time: 6-8 hours ascent, 5-6 hours descent / Distance: 5 km ascent, 15 km descent / Altitude gain: 1195 m / Altitude loss: 2195 m

• Setting off at midnight for the summit, this is the longest and most demanding day of the entire trek. The trail follows a long scree slope past Hans Meyer Cave before turning into a single-file zigzag.
• A short rocky path requiring some scrambling leads to Gillman's Point on the crater rim at 5685 m. This section is very steep and is the most challenging part of the route.
• From Gillman's Point, it is another two hours to Uhuru Peak (5895 m), the highest point in Africa.
• Once there, all your hard work will feel more than worth it as you are rewarded with a spectacular sunrise over the ice fields and the Mawenzi peaks.
• After spending a short time at Uhuru Peak, begin the descent to Kibo Hut for a break and a short rest. Continue on to Horombo Hut for your last night on Kilimanjaro and a very well-earned sleep.

Time: 5-6 hours / Distance: 20 km / Altitude loss: 1900 m

• After breakfast, descend to Marangu Gate, retracing your steps past Mandara Hut, through the magnificent rainforest, and finally reaching the gate.
• Once at the gate, you will receive your summit certificates, enjoy a short celebration with your porters, and be driven back to your hotel, where you can have a hot shower and a well-deserved rest.
• Overnight accommodation in Moshi is included, with breakfast.