Mount Kilimanjaro Trek itinerary

Day one
Overnight flight from the UK to Tanzania.

Day two
Moshi
After arriving at our hotel, near the town of Moshi, we enjoy a welcome meal and a briefing on the challenge ahead.

Day three
Machame camp – 3,000 metres (five to six hours trekking)
After a good breakfast we transfer to the Machame gate and start our trek through the lush vegetation of the humid rainforest. Reaching our camp that afternoon we enjoy dinner and settle down to our first night under canvas. We may be lucky enough to spot Colobus monkeys.

Day four
Shira camp – 3,840 metres (six to seven hours trekking)
Our route takes us through the ever changing scenery as we make the steep ascent up through heather and moorland to the Shira Plateau. Continuing across the plateau to our camp, which is above the cloud line, we relax and enjoy the fabulous views.

Day five
Barranco camp – 3,950 metres (six to seven hours trekking)
Trekking east across beautiful, barren, moonlike landscape we reach the Lava  Tower, where we stop for lunch. This is the highest point of our trek so far, at 4,526 metres, and is a tough ascent. We descend through the surrounding ravines to reach our camp by late afternoon. The descent aids the acclimatisation process and allows our bodies to adjust to the ever changing altitude.

Day six
Barafu camp – 4,600 metres (six to seven hours trekking)
We leave camp early for a short climb and scramble up the volcanic rock of the Barranco wall. From here we have fantastic views over to Barafu. For the rest of the day we make the steady ascent to our camp, positioned on a ridge overlooking the south east valley. After an early dinner, we get a few hours sleep before the tough summit challenge ahead.

Day seven
Summit day – 5,896 metres (12 hours trekking)
We awake just before midnight, and trek for about six hours by torchlight up the steepest and most demanding part of the route to reach Stella point at the crater rim. We then make our final traverse to Uhuru Peak, the highest point on the African continent at 5,895 metres. The morning sunlight gives us spectacular views across the plains below and of Mount Meru in the distance. We have a tough descent to Barafu camp, where we stop for a rest and some breakfast before continuing onto Mweka camp.
Day eight
Moshi (three to four hours trekking)
After breakfast we continue our descent back through the rainforest to Mweka Gate. A short transfer by bus takes us to Moshi where we have the afternoon free before marking our achievement with a celebration dinner.

Day nine
Moshi
We can enjoy a free morning either by the pool or exploring the local area before transferring to the airport for our overnight flight back to the UK.

Day ten
Arrive home.

Itinerary and accommodation are subject to change. All tour and travel arrangements are made by our tour operators Action Challenge.