Whisky Route

Distance: 11 km Hiking Time: 5-7 hours Habitat: Rain Forest You will be driven from your hotel in Arusha or Moshi to the Mount Kilimanjaro National Park Gate, passing through the village of Machame, located on the lower slopes of the mountain. As we leave the park gate behind, our walk starts through the rainforest on a winding trail up the ridge. At some sections the trail can be muddy and slippery, so the gaiters and trekking poles are good to bring. At the end of our today’s trek lies Machame Camp, where we stay for the night. Meals: Full Board.

Distance: 5 km Hiking Time: 4-6 hours Habitat: Moorland The second day continues through increasingly sparse trees and bushes into the moorlands. The day finishes with Shira Camp, which is on a small plateau in the high moorlands, and features views of Kibo in the northeast and Mount Meru towards the west. White-necked ravens can be seen throughout the day. There is also a set of small caves a short walk from the campsite known as the Shira Caves. Meals: Full Board.

Distance: 10 km Hiking Time: 6-8 hours Habitat: Semi Desert Today’s route turns east into a semi-desert and rocky landscape surrounding Lava Tower. Lunch will be served in a designated area before ascending the rocky path to Lava Tower. After lunch, you descend again to the Barranco camping area, and after reaching the high altitude of 4600m at Lava Tower, you will feel the actual benefit of acclimatization. This descent to Barranco camp takes about 2 hours and offers great opportunities to take some beautiful photographs of the Western Breach and Breach Wall.

Distance: 10km Hiking Time: 8-10 hours Habitat: Alpine Desert After breakfast, we take a short scramble to the top of the Great Barranco and then a traverse over scree and ridges to the Karanga Valley, beneath the icefalls of the Heim, Kersten, and Decken Glaciers. After a short and well-deserved break, we leave Karanga and cross the junction that connects with the Mweka Trail, used for descending from the mountain later. From here we continue up to the Barafu Camp. Here we will rest, have dinner and prepare for the summit day. From Barafu you can enjoy the view of two volcanic cones Mawenzi and Kibo peaks, and that view is quite spectacular and you should not miss it. Meals: Full Board.

Distance: 5 km ascent / 12 km descent Hiking Time: 7-8 hours ascent / 4-6 hours descent Habitat: Arctic An early start for the ascent to the rim of the Kibo Crater between the Rebmann and Ratzel Glaciers. The last section before the rim can sometimes be snow-covered and an ice axe or ski stick is useful for balance. At the rim we will reach Stella Point, you may encounter snow on your one-hour ascent to the summit of Uhuru Peak. After a short stop for taking photos and celebrations, you will descend to the Barafu camp for a rest and breakfast, and lunch before continuing past the Millenium camp down to the Mweka camp in the giant heather zone on the forest edge. We begin our steep descent down to Mweka Camp. We strongly recommend gaiters and trekking poles for uncooperative loose gravel and volcano ash terrain. Well-deserved rest awaits you to enjoy your last evening on the mountain. Meals: Full Board.

Distance: 10 km Hiking Time: 3-4 hours Habitat: Rain Forest After breakfast at the Mweka camp, we continue the descent down to the Mweka Park Gate to receive your summit certificates. From the gate, you continue another hour to Mweka Village. Our representative will meet you at the gate and drive you back to the hotel in Moshi or Arusha. Meals: Full Board.