The Lemosho route, which starts from the western flanks of Mount Kilimanjaro, is considered to be the most beautiful of all the trekking trails up Mount Kilimanjaro. The trail takes hikers through a beautiful rain forest, where they might have the chances to spot wildlife along the way. Blue monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys and birds can be seen in the forest. From there, the path wanders on the moorland zone.
As one of the newer routes,(which was opened in the late 1,900s to relieve Marangu and Machame routes from the traffic and open the western parts of the mountain to international tourists), Lemosho is a superb choice for your climb. It is our preferred route to do to its ideal balance of lower crowds, beautiful scenery and a higher summit success rate than all the other routes in Kilimanjaro. It has more days to acclimatize and its climb high sleep low `kind of itinerary` and a shorter elevation gain from day to day, make it the best route to acclimatize. This help to maximize the healthy and safety of trekkers, as this is the key for your summit`s success. Most of our clients climb Kilimanjaro using this route and they consistently report that they loved it! Lemosho route is highly recommended.
Together with Rongai, lemosho is one of the most remote routes on Kilimanjaro. It takes around three hours driving to get to the trailhead from Arusha. That is why the prices for Kilimanjaro trips through Lemosho route are usually slightly higher.
The Northern Circuit route which is an alternative Lemosho route, starts in the west, travels to the Shira ridge and crosses over to the Shira plateau. Then instead of traveling south and following the direction that other routes take, the Northern Circuit swings north, travelling clockwise to the summit from the east. While no Kilimanjaro route is easy, the Northern Circuit is generally considered to be one of the easiest routes to climb, due to its longer itinerary which gives climbers plenty of time to acclimatize and rest.
The Lemosho route is a camping trip climbers and crew sleep in tents and descent is via Mweka route.
TOTAL TREKKING DISTANCE: 84 KILOMETERS
TOTAL TREKKING TIME: 51 HOURS
DIFFICULTY: MODERATE
SUMMIT SUCCESS RATE: 92%
If you have chosen to take a flight to Kilimanjaro International Airport,your host will be waiting for you outside of the customs area,then he will take you to your hotel in Arusha.A day before your climb,you will be met by your mountain guide,who will give you a pre-climb briefing and gear check,to make sure that you have all the necessary and proper climbing gear.For gear that will be missing,can be rented on the same day.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
ALTITUDE GAIN: 300m.
Today you will wake up early for last climb preparation and early breakfast aiming to depart around 07:30. The vehicle with your crew and guide will arrive at the hotel at 07:30 and from the hotel, you will travel to Lemosho gate with your picnic lunch. At the gate, you will do registration(your passport number will be required).Then you will eat from your lunch box.
After done with all formalities at the gate, you will start trekking through the tropical rain forest. In the forest, exotic moss and flowers delight the eye while bird calls entertain the ear. You may see black and white colobus monkeys as well as signs of elephants that travel in this area.
We expect to reach the camp in the late afternoon, where you will find all tents have been settled already by your porters. At the camp you will have warm washing water and tea in the mess tent.
Dinner and overnight at the Forest camp.
TREKKING DISTANCE: 5KM.
TREKKING TIME: 4HRS.
VEGETATION ZONE: FOREST
ALTITUDE GAIN: 1,170m.
You will start your trek early in the morning around 07:00 and you will start to hike through the forest. The trail in the forest is steep and you will be at the boundary between the forest and the moorland zone after about an hour and a half. Make sure you have your sun-cream on as you will be out of shade from here. Now you will be walking up-down hills crossing the moorland zone, before eventually climb on the Shira ridge, and you will keep on walking up-left to the top of the ridge. From here, you can get the first view of Kibo and the camp, and you will be descending to the bottom. Then, you will keep on walking across the Shira plateau all the way to the camp.
You will reach the camp in the afternoon, and will have lunch there. Later on, you will get warm washing water and tea with popcorns in the mess tent. The rest of the day time,you will be relaxing at the camp.
At the camp,in clear days,there is spectacular views of Kibo and different features of Shira like Shira plateau,Shira Cathedral,Shira cone and Shira ridge,and far down the forest covered with `cloud of seas`. `.
Dinner and overnight at Shira 1 camp.
TREKKING DISTANCE: 13KM.
TREKKING TIME: 6-7HRS.
VEGETATION ZONE: MOORLAND
ALTITUDE GAIN: 340m.
Breakfast will be served early today so that we can leave the camp early. We will start our trekking by crossing the Shira plateau through the moorland, which will take us about an hour or more. We will cross a rescue road and ascending until we meet the junction to Shira 2 camp. We will take the left trail and keep on walking up for a while before trekking up on a steep rocky-way to Fischer`s camp.At this point we can get excellent views. From here we will be waking up and down hills for another hour and a half to the camp, where you will find everything is ready for you. Lunch will be served here.In the afternoon,if the weather is friendly,we will go for acclimatization walk to the top of the ridge before we come back down for warm washing water and tea.
Dinner and overnight at Moyr camp.
TREKKING DISTANCE: 14KM.
TREKKING TIME: 6-7HRS.
VEGETATION ZONE: MOORLAND
From Moyr hut (4,160m.) To Third cave camp (3,900m.)
ALTITUDE LOSS: 260m.
Today is long walking day, so you need to get up early for an early breakfast. You will leave the camp at around 07:00 with lunch box in your day-pack. From the camp, you will start trekking towards Pofu camp, hiking up a steep ridge to the top, then from here you will be walking down and up crossing some valleys and ridges, through semi-desert area, then you continue with the circuit towards the east. This rarely travelled route allows you to enjoy the vast mountain wilderness in peace. You will take a lunch break on the way. After lunch, the trek leads to Pofu camp (4,040m.) then you will carry on down to the camp. On the way, before reaching the camp, you will have a first sight of Mawenzi peak. On the left, there is great views of plains in Kenya.
You will reach the camp in the late afternoon and will have time to rest and having washing water and tea. At the camp, you can have excellent views of Kibo,Mawenzi and the surroundings.
Dinner and overnight at third cave camp.
TREKKING DISTANCE: 11 HRS.
VEGETATION ZONE: MOORLAND ZONE
ALTITUDE GAIN: 900m.
Then,
From School hut base camp (4,800m.) To Uhuru peak (5,895m.) - 7.5km/8hrs.
ALTITUDE GAIN: 1,095m.
This is the final leg of the trip before your last ascent up to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Today involves a steady incline up and over the Saddle which located between the peaks of Kibo and Mawenzi. The trail then leads to south-west up to School hut. You will arrive at the base camp in the early afternoon and will have few minutes to rest before keep on going for acclimatization walk, if the weather permits. The hike takes about one hour forth and back. After the hike, you will have lunch together with the summit`s briefing from your guide.You may use the rest of the day time by resting and doing some summit`s preparations.
Dinner will be served early so that you can go early to sleep.
You will be awoken around 23:00 and you will have just few minutes to do the last summit`s preparation. As we won`t come back again here after the summiting, you need to pack your large ruck-sack for the porter to carry. Then you will have a light breakfast before we start. We start the final and most demanding part of the climb by head-lump, around mid night. We will then begin the steep incline up to the slopes of Kibo under the cover of darkness. The trail swings back and forth up a steep scree slope and the climate can be bitterly cold. This is the most mentally and physically challenging portion of the trek. The summit climb is an event you will not forget, with the night sky full of stars and only your breathing to help focus your mind.
It takes normally about three hours to reach Hans Mayer cave,which is lacated at the half way to the crater rim,then about three more hours to Gillman`s point.The last hour to the rim can be very difficult,and the trail is steep and passes through the boulder`s area.But the zig-zag kind of trail help climbers to utilize less effort and energy.
Most climbers arrive at Gillman`s point(5,685m.) in time to enjoy sunrise around 06:30.The views from the top looking down on the plains of Africa make it all worthwhile. From Gillman`s point the rest of the trail to the summit is less steep and flatter at some points. You will be walking now along the crater rim and it takes about a half an hour or more to Stella point. From stella point, we have one more hour trekking to Uhuru peak, the highest peak in Kilimanjaro. At the top, you may spend more or less fifteen minutes, depending to your condition and weather for resting, taking photos and enjoying views.
TREKKING DISTANCE: 13.5KM.
TREKKING TIME: 12HRS.
VEGETATION ZONE: ICE CAPED
From Uhuru peak (5,895m.) To Mweka camp (3,100m.)
ALTITUDE LOSS : 2,795m.
From Uhuru peak,we will start to walk back down to Stella point. From here we will be descending through the volcanic loose scree to barafu base camp. It takes about two walking hours from Stella to Barafu. From Barafu camp, we keep on walking down for about an hour or one hour and a half more to Mweka high camp (3,850m.)We will stop here for hot lunch. Then at this point, you check your condition, if you feel that you are fit enough to carry on for another one and a half hours more, you can go on, but if you think that it is too much for you to carry on, then tell your guide in advance, so that he can organize a night sleep for you and the team here. But note that, Mweka high camp is still very high, therefore it is not very good decision to overnight here.
Dinner and overnight at Mweka camp.
TREKKING DISTANCE: 14.5KM.
TREKKING TIME: 7HRS.
VEGETATION ZONE: HEATHER
ALTITUDE LOSS: 1,460m.
Today is the last day of the climb. In the morning, after packing your stuff and having break-fast, you can have an opportunity to sing together with your supporting staff, some old Kilimanjaro songs and probably taking a group photo. Eventually, you will start walking down through the rain forest towards the gate. The forest is so beautiful with some wild flowers like impatient kilimanjarica (elephant trunk flower), wild begonia, blood lili flowers, gladiola and many others, some trees like Podocarpus, African rose wood, African pencil cedar, Canfor and giant fern. If you are lucky, you can also spot some monkeys like blue monkey and black and white colobus monkeys.
At the gate, you will sign out and your guide will collect your summit`s certificate, hope that you are going to make it! Then you will get in the vehicle and drive down for some minutes to the lunch stop, where you will have hot lunch and celebrate your summit`s success!
After lunch, you will travel to your hotel in Arusha, a journey that can take about two driving hours more.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
TREKKING DISTANCE: 10km.
TREKKING TIME: 3hrs.
We hope that, your stay in Tanzania for your tour with us, in our hands will be safe and enjoyable, and your climb will be successful and a life time experience.
WISHING YOU A GREAT CLIMB!
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