Menu
With the Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route, you can avoid the early Machame route crowds and enjoy a fantastic 8-day journey with a high likelihood of summiting the mountain.
At a height of 2360 meters, Londorossi Gate marks the start of the ascent. The approach is made from a great distance to the west of the mountain. It travels through a magnificent rainforest where some of the most unusual wildlife in the area can frequently be seen. Shira Ridge, the third summit of the mountain, is reached by continuing up the path. On day three of the main Machame route, you will arrive at Shira camp after passing through the renowned Shira plateau and admiring the breathtaking Shira Cathedral. This enables a few days of peaceful climbing while admiring some incredible terrain before using the more popular route to the summit. Instead of going back the way you came, you will take the Mweka trail down once you’ve reached the summit.
For those who haven’t hiked much at high altitudes, the Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route is a good eight-day hike with an effective extra day of acclimatization, improving success rates. Mountaineers with experience and acclimatization may choose the harder 7-day climb up the Lemosho route.
2 Nights in Moshi
To get to Kilimanjaro International Airport, every hiker must arrange their own flights (JRO). We will set up a private transfer for you from JRO to your hotel in Arusha. You will meet your local Sereti representative that evening or early the following morning and receive a thorough pre-climb briefing and gear checking
Transfer in a 4WD to the Lemosho Park Gate to register. Before we start our ascent along the forest trail to Mti Mkubwa (Big Tree) campsite at 2895m, our porters prepare and pack our supplies and luggage. We'll spend the night here.
Shira Cathedral is magnificently visible as we travel further east across the Shira Plateau. To get to Shira 1 Camp for dinner and overnight camping at 3500m, we cross a moorland meadow. The stunning glaciers of the Western Breach will be visible by now. Tonight will be significantly colder than last night, with potential lows below zero.
The trail becomes steeper as it enters the moorland region as we leave the forest behind. You can reach Moir Hut, which offers stunning views of the Arrow glacier, by walking across the high-altitude Shira Caldera at a moderate grade. Here at 4200m, we'll set up camp for the night.
We will ascend to 4600 meters today and descend to the base of the Lava Tower for lunch and acclimatization. Our hardest day thus far will be today, and you might feel the effects of the altitude for the first time. Following the acclimatization maxim "walk high, sleep low," we will descend once more by nearly 650 meters to Barranco Camp after lunch. We descend to Barranco Camp over a two-hour period, which provides wonderful opportunities to capture some breathtaking images of the Western Breach and Breach Wall. The camp is located in a valley between the Great Barranco Wall and the Breach.
A quick but enjoyable day that begins with a climb up the Great Barranco Wall. To reach the Karanga Valley (3930m), which is located beneath the icefalls of the Heim, Kersten, and Decken Glaciers, we then travel over scree. At the campsite at Karanga, we'll spend the night.
In order to reach the intersection with the Mweka descent trail, we leave the Karanga campsite behind. We then ascend to Barafu Camp from here. You have now finished the Southern Circuit, which offers numerous perspectives of the summit. We can rest, eat dinner, and get ready for the summit day at camp. From here, it is possible to see Mawenzi and Kibo's two peaks in full view.
Around 23:30, tea and biscuits will awaken you. Starting between the Rebman and Ratzel glaciers, we ascend to Stella Point on the crater rim on our ascent to the summit. The hardest part of the trek both mentally and physically is this. We'll take a quick break at Stella Point (5732m), where we're hoping to arrive in time to see the spectacular sunrise (weather permitting). The highest point on Mount Kilimanjaro and the African continent, Uhuru Peak (5895m), is now only an hour away. We take Barafu for lunch before descending to Mweka camp site from the summit. You'll need trekking poles for the loose scree leading down to Mweka Camp (3100m). We will have our final meal on the mountain later in the evening before a well-deserved rest.
This is your last day of the trek; after breakfast, we continue our descent of 1300 meters to the Mweka Park Gate, where you can pick up your summit certificates from the park headquarters to your hotel by transfer.
We'll say goodbye after a much-needed night of rest. If you have scheduled an airport transfer with us, a safari, or a trip to Zanzibar, we will pick you up in the morning for your next destination.
