5 Days: Climb Marangu Route

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Duration

6 days

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Overview

This is the only route on Kilimanjaro with the comforts of solar-powered sleeping huts and comfortable beds at every camp. The huts are communal, and each bunk has a sponge mattress and pillow. There are 60 beds at both Mandara and Kibo Huts and 120 beds at Horombo Hut. Bathrooms and running water are available at the two lower huts. Basic men’s and ladies’ latrines are available at the last camp.

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Tour Plan

Day 1: Transfer from Moshi town to Marangu Gate

Hiking time: 7 hours.
Distance: About 18 km's.
Habitat: Montane forest.
Elevation change: + 1490 m

After breakfast and a briefing from your guide, leave Moshi at 9 AM, drive for 45 minutes to the Marangu Gate on the eastern side of Kilimanjaro, register with the national park, and begin hiking at 10:30 AM. In the rainforest, look for towering Eucalyptus trees, bird life, and Colobus monkeys. At these lower elevations, it can be wet and muddy, so gaiters and trekking poles will help. Shorts and t-shirts should be sufficient, but keep your rain gear and warmer clothing handy. Stop halfway for lunch, and reach the Mandara Huts at 2 or 3 PM. Unpack, rest, and have some tea or coffee. A 15-minute side trip to Maundi Crater is a good way to see the surroundings including Northern Tanzania and Kenya. Dinner is served during the early evening at 7 PM. Bathrooms with running water are available.

Day 2: Mandara Hut - Horombo Hut

Hiking time: 6 hours
Distance: About 9 km's.
Habitat: Moorland.
Elevation change: + 860 m

Wake to a 7:30 AM breakfast, and pack for your next trek. Break camp by 8:30 AM, hike for an hour through rainforest glades, then follow an ascending path through heathland where you can look for giant lobelias and groundsels. Continue up into open moorlands where small shrubs are the main vegetation. Stop halfway for lunch, where you can enjoy amazing views of Mawenzi. Arrive at the Horombo Huts by 3 PM, where you can see Kibo’s summit. Rest, unpack, and prepare for dinner. Bathrooms with running water are available. You may start to feel the effects of altitude here, and to aid your acclimatization, you can choose to spend an extra day resting at Horombo or climbing to a basecamp below Kibo’s sub peak Mawenzi.

Day 3: Horombo Hut - Kibo Hut

Hiking time: 6 hours
Distance: About 15 km's
Habitat: Semi desert.
Elevation change: + 790 m, - 680 m

Final Elevation: 3950 m Wake to breakfast as usual, but if you wake early you can get some great photos of the sunrise. The first part of the day’s hike climbs through the dwindling heathland that blends into a moonscape as you enter the sweeping saddle connecting Mawenzi and Kibo. When you stop for lunch, and later when you cross this surprisingly large saddle, you can examine the summit climb up Kibo that you will be starting in just a few hours. Be careful to notice any signs of altitude sickness. There is no running water at the Kibo Huts.

Day 4: Kibo Hut - Uhuru Summit - Horombo Hut

Elevation (ft): 13,000ft to 15,000ft
Distance: 9km
Hiking Time: 8-10 hours
Habitat: Alpine Desert.

Wake at midnight to a light breakfast, then prepare for your summit ascent. The goal is to climb before dawn so that you can reach Uhuru Peak shortly after sunrise. Leave at 1 AM, switch back up steep scree or possibly snow, and reach Gilman’s Point on the crater rim at 5,861 m/18,640 ft between 5 and 7 AM. Here, views of the fabled crater and its icecaps greet you. Another 2 hours of hiking along the crater rim near the celebrated snows take you to Kilimanjaro’s true summit, Uhuru Peak, by 9 AM. This is Africa’s highest point, and you would have to travel more than 3,000 miles toward the Himalayas to find a higher peak! Be sure to have your picture taken at the summit to show your friends. After your summit stay, descend back to the Kibo Huts, have lunch, rest, collect your things, and recross the saddle to the Horombo Huts. Eat dinner and get some well-deserved sleep.

Day 5: Horombo Hut to Marangu Gate - to Moshi

Wake, as usual, pack, and descend through the moorland to the Mandara Huts. Have lunch there then continue your triumphant recessional down through lush forest to the park gate, which you should reach around 2 or 3 PM. Remember to tip your guides, cooks, and porters, since you will be leaving them here. At the Marangu Gate, meet Mount Kilimanjaro National Park Officials gives you the Certificate of Achievement. After sign out to the park gate you will be transferred to a your hotel in Arusha for hot shower probably dinner and overnight or otherwise in the evening you will be transferred to Kilimanjaro International Airport to connect with your flight.