Kili-Crater Camp

– Fantastic for experienced and adventurous climbers.

 – Offers good acclimatisation even though it starts at a higher altitude than other routes.

 – Avoids midnight rush to the summit and get to see the sunrise from the Crater Rim.

 – Explore Kilimanjaro’s diminishing glaciers and ash pit

DETAILED ITINERARY

:DAY1:MACHAME GATE TO MACHAME CAMP

Elevation (m): 1800m to 3000m,

Distance: 11km,

Time: 5-7hours,

Habitat: Montane Forest

Transfer from your hotel to Machame Gate for registration. Our porters prepare and pack our supplies and luggage before we start our ascent along the forest trailto Machame Camp.

DAY2:MACHAME CAMP TO SHIRA CAMP

Elevation (m): 3000m to 3850m,

Distance: 9km,

Time: 4-6 hours,

Habitat: Moorland

After breakfast, we start walking, leaving the rainforest behind, and continue our ascent, crossing a small valley and up to a steep rocky ridge, covered with heath. Our route now turns west onto a river gorgeuntil we reach Shira 1 Camp.

DAY3:SHIRA CAMP VIA LAVA TOWER TO BARRANCO CAMP

Elevation (m): 3850m to 4600m to 3950m,

Distance: 12 km,

Time: 6-7 hours,

Habitat: Semi-desert

Today we will climb up to 4600m to the base of the Lava Tower for lunch and acclimatization. This will be our toughest day so far and you may, for the first time, feel the altitude. After lunch we will descend again by almost 650m to Barranco camp, following “walk high, sleep low” golden rule of acclimatisation. Our descent to Barranco camp takes about 2 hours and offers great opportunities to take some beautiful photographs of the Western Breach and Breach Wall. The camp is situated in a valley below the Breach and Great Barranco Wall

DAY 4: BARRANCO CAMP TO KARANGA CAMP

Elevation (m): 3950m to 3930m,

Distance: 7 km,

Time: 4 hours,

Habitat: Alpine Desert.

A short, but funday, starting with a scramble, to the top of the Great Barranco Wall. We then traverse over scree to the Karanga Valley (3930m) beneath the icefalls of the Heim, Kersten and Decken Glaciers.We will stay overnight at Karanga campsite.

DAY 5: KARANGA CAMP TO BARAFU CAMP

Elevation (m): 3930m to 4600m,

Distance: 6kms,

Time:3 hours

Habitat: Alpine Desert

We leave Karanga campsite behind to meet the junction connecting with the Mweka descent Trail. From here we continueup to the Barafu Hut. You have now completed the Southern Circuit, which offers views of the summit from many different angles. At camp, we can rest, enjoy dinner, and prepare for the summit day. The two peaks of Mawenzi and Kibo are to be clearly seen from this position.

DAY6:BARAFU CAMP TO SUMMIT  TO CRATER

Elevation (m): ):4600m to 5895m (down to 5730m) ,

Distance: 8kms,

Time: 7-8 hours,

Habitat: Stone scree and ice-capped summit

You will be woken at 7:00.We start our trek to the summit between the Rebman and Ratzel glaciersthrough heavy scree up to Stella Point on the crater rim. This is the most mentally and physically challenging part of the trek. At Stella Point (5732m), we will stop for a short rest.We are now only an hour away from the summit, Uhuru Peak (5895m), the highest point on Mount Kilimanjaro and the continent of Africa. After celebrating with a few summit photos we begin our descent into Kibo Crater to camp for the night. The scenery is breathtakingly unbelievable and depending on the time of year you will see the fast receding glaciers set amidst either sandy,dessert or snowy conditions.

DAY 7: KIBO CRATER TO MWEKA CAMP

Elevation (m): 5730m to 3100m,

Distance: 12 km,

Time: 6-8 hours,

Habitat: Stone scree and moorland

We wake up early to hike to the Crater Rim in time to see the sunrise. From the rim, we descend down to the Mweka Hut camp site. Trekking poles will be needed for the loose gravel going down to Mweka Camp (3100m). Later in the evening, we will enjoy our last dinner on the mountain and a well-earned sleep.

DAY 8:MWEKA CAMP TO MWEKA GATE

Elevation (m): 3100m to 1800m,

Distance: 10 km,

Time: 3-4 hours,

Habitat: Forest

Your final day on the trek, departing after breakfast we descend a further 1300m to the Mweka Park Gate to pick up your summit certificatesfrom the Park gate. Transfer to your hotel.