6 DAYS OF KILIMANJARO TREKKING SAFARI DETAILED ITINARARY
Day 1: Marangu Gate to Mandara Hut.
6 days Kilimanjaro trekking through Marangu Route which is located on the south-Eastern side of Mount Kirimanjaro begins at Marangu Gate. Upon your arrival at this gate, you will be registered during the check-in process by the Park wardens. You will be driven to the gate from Moshi, which takes approximately an hour and passes through the village of Marangu.
Day one is a gradual trek through the Kilimanjaro rainforest and takes 5-7 hours to complete the trekking in a distance of about 8km or 5 miles. Make sure you have the appropriate equipment (gears) needed for the ongoing days ahead of trekking. Your first night is spent in the Mandara A-frame Huts (2,700 meters) which come equipped with solar generated lighting, flush toilets and water piped in from a nearby mountain stream
Day 2: Mandara Huts – Horombo Huts
After an early wake up, start off Day 2 with an early breakfast later on before 8:30am proceed your trek through the rainforest around the base of the Maundi Crater and then transitions rather rapidly into the low alpine moorland zone. A fairly long day of hiking will take you from Mandara Hut (2,700 meters) to Horombo Hut (3,720 meters). If the weather condition is favorable, you will take the opportunity to hike up the Maundi Crater to get your first view of Kibo.
With this trek, you will expect also to see giant lobelias which are scattered throughout the landscape at this altitude. Day two takes approximately 6-8 hours to compete and covers a distance of (11.5km / 7miles) in this Low Alpine Zone. You will be served dinner and shown to your sleeping quarters for a night at Horombo Huts
Day 3: Acclimatization at Hurombo Huts
Here you will spend an extra day at the Horombo Huts with the incense of allowing your body to acclimate to the increasingly high altitude. Under cases of feeling fatigue or any sign of illiness, you must stay at the camp for relaxation. Never the less if you feel well-acclimated to the altitude, you will walk up to Mawenzi Hut and admire clearly the incredible view of Kibo and Mawenzi. Continue your walk on the route and enjoy the magnificent landscape or take a journey to the remarkable Zebra Rocks. This requires a climb of 310 metres at the High-alpine zone. Hiking takes 1 to 3 hours
Day 4: Horombo Huts – Kibo Huts
You will depart from Horombo Hut early and begin a 1000 meter ascent to Kibo Hut which covers a distance of about 10k. While going to Kibo, there are two routes before you. The upper route located on the left hand side and the lower left route. On the left hand route you will pass the last water point at 4,130 meters and make sure to fill up your water vessels because you will not find another point that has water not until you get back to Horombo Hut from the summit.
An early dinner will be served to you at Kibo Hut Get to bed early, as the next day’s trek requires a full night’s sleep worth of energy. You are getting ready to take on Kilimanjaro’s most ultimate challenge. Make sure that you have all your equipment ready for a prompt departure including water, snacks, headlamps, camera and warm clothes for tomorrow’s journey to the peak.
On day 4, you will walk through varied and strikingly picturesque landscape. In order to start, you will continue across the heath as it slowly turns into the parched, desolate highlands between Mawenzi and Kibo. The scenery here is littered with huge and small volcanic rocks acting as a testmony to the volcanic activity of the past years. The final stretch to the Kibo Huts is very steep and physically challenging. A fairly long day hiking will take you 5-7 hours from Horombo Hut (3720 meters) to Kibo (4,700 meters) in a distance of 10 kilometers on this High-alpine desert zone
Day 5: Kibo Huts – Uhuru Peak – Horombo Huts.
After being woken up, you will be served with a cup of tea and a snack later on, you begin your night summit ascent. Day 5 begins with a summit night and during trekking, you will cover 6 to 8 hours upwards in a distance of about 20km or 12.5 miles, the Landscape is Low Alpine
Rainforest as the trail is generally good. Upon reaching the park gate, trekkers are presented with a certificate acknowledging their accomplishment of reaching either Gilman’s Point or Uhuru Peak. At Uhuru Peak (5,895 meters) you will not be able to stay too long so make sure you take all the necessary pictures you want and then begin your descent back to Kibo Hut and to Horombo Hut.
Many trekkers consider the difficult terrain, scattered with loose rocks to be the most difficult part of the climb. The route follows a rocky path to the first check point, Hans Meyer Cave at 5,150 meters. It then continues to zigzag for a 2-3 hours until you get to Gilman’s Point (5,681 meters) on Kibo’s crater rim. Afterward, you will continue along the edge of the crater to Uhuru, this is the last part of the ascent and features a steady incline.
While descending towards the Kibo Huts, you will find that this part goes by incredibly quickly. At the Kibo Huts, you will stop to relax and enjoy your lunch before moving along to the Horombo Huts where you will enjoy a well-deserved full night’s rest
Day 6: Horombo Huts –Marangu Gate
Day 6 from Horombo Hut to Marangu Gate is 20km but usually takes about 5 – 7 hours of completion. As you make your final descent through the rainforest, you will have lunch and say farewell to the mountain crew. You will then be driven back to your hotel