8 Days Lemosho
Route

A member of Jerry Tanzania Tours hospitality team greets you upon your arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO). He will drive you to Chanya Lodge, where you will have all the essentials for a comfortable stay after a long flight, such as: pleasant rooms with hot showers, a restaurant with delicious choices, genial service team and access to the Internet. Your briefing, in the course of which your guides will provide all the details of the forthcoming trek, takes place at the appointed time. They will answer your questions and make sure you are properly equipped for the trek, providing rental gear when necessary.

Journey time and Distance: 77 minutes’ drive, from Kilimanjaro International Airport to Chanya Lodge

After an early breakfast (07.00hrs), you will leave the Chanya Lodge one hour later to arrive at the Londorosi Gate to acquire climbing permits around 11.00hrs, and in time to have your cooked lunch. After having lunch, you will have a short drive to the start-point of today’s walk. Today your walk will be a distance of 7 km/4 miles, with an expected 3.5 to 4 hours of walking time.

Your starting altitude will be at 2,100 metres and you will finish at the first camp of the route: Mti Mkubwa Camp 2,650 metres. Your approach to the mountain using the Lemosho Route is from the western side that is highly considered to provide the best views of Kilimanjaro. At the start of your walk, you may be lucky enough to spy some colobus or blue monkeys, though an encounter with buffalo or elephant – while possible – would be rare nowadays. Your walk, steadily upwards, is a wonderful experience, with fantastic forest and some really colourful flowers. When you reach the camp, your mountain support crew will take care of the necessities and prepare dinner.

Hiking time and Elevation: 4 hours’ walking from Starting Point at 2,100 m to Mti Mkubwa Camp at 2,650 m

You will soon become used to the early, 07.00hrs breakfast and your departure time today will be at 08.00hrs. Although your walking distance is only slightly longer than yesterday, today you will be ascending from 2,650 metres to the second high-altitude camp, Shira 1 Camp at 3,610 metres, and you expect a longer walking time of between 4.5 and 5 hours. Indeed, you will start climbing straightaway, to the top of a ridge as you head eastwards and upwards. Today, the trees of your first day thin out, you will eventually leave the forest environment behind as you move onto the moorland. From here, you are able to get your first view of both the Shira Plateau and mighty Kibo itself.

As ever, you should concentrate on walking pole pole (slowly) to reduce the chances of feeling unwell. Your direction is largely eastwards, picnic lunch will be taken around 13.00hrs. Walking is steep at first after lunch, but then flattens and with the snow-topped Kibo ahead of you, you will descend slightly to the camp. Arriving at around 16.00hrs, there will be some welcome resting time before dinner, which will be served at 18.30hrs.

Hiking time and Elevation: 4.5 – 5 hours’ walking, From Mti Mkubwa Camp at 2,650 M To Shira 1 Camp at 3,610 M

Today you will potentially have less climbing to do than yesterday, so you celebrate (!) with a later breakfast, at the leisurely hour of 08.00 and a departure about one hour later. We say ‘potentially’ as your guide will explain that today you have the option of ascending Cathedral Peak – 3,872 metres, one of the highest points of the extinct Shira volcano.

Besides the captivating hiking experience, reaching the summit of Cathedral Peak on a clear day offers breathtaking views down into the valley. In our decade of experience arranging Kilimanjaro expeditions, the valley below resembling a lost world is among our favourite views. This is a straightforward hike with no technical challenges. Although the peak may be shrouded in clouds at times, there's a stella providing an opportunity for a memorable photograph. 

If you prefer to skip this ascent or encounter unfavorable weather, heading directly to Shira 2 is an option. This choice doesn't impact acclimatization since Shira 2 and Cathedral Peak stand at a similar elevation. Nevertheless, we believe the hike to Cathedral Peak is worth it and wholeheartedly recommend it.

The standard walking distance you will cover today will be about 7 km/4 miles. It is a steady climb and you should expect about 3.5 to 4 hours of walk time in total. By this standard route, you intend to reach Shira 2 Camp at 3,850 metres by 13.00hrs, in time to be served a cooked lunch. Dinner tonight will be at 18.00hrs.

Hiking time and Elevation: 3.5 – 4 hours’ walking, from Shira 1 Camp at 3,610 m to Shira 2 Camp at 3,850 m

Today you are back to your early, 07.00hrs breakfast time, ready for 08.30hrs departure. You will have around 10 km/6 miles to cover, but although you will finish your day only 50 metres higher than you started it, in between you have to climb to the crucial point of the route: Lava Tower. This section of the route has a lot of ascents and descents that end in a camp at 4,600 metres. Portions of the trek may be difficult, and it is common to experience some discomfort, but in order to successfully acclimate to the altitude you have to spend at least 1–2 hours here, so this is where you will enjoy your cooked lunch.

Today you are back to your early, 07.00hrs breakfast time, ready for 08.30hrs departure. You will have around 10 km/6 miles to cover, but although you will finish your day only 50 metres higher than you started it, in between you have to climb to the crucial point of the route: Lava Tower. This section of the route has a lot of ascents and descents that end in a camp at 4,600 metres. Portions of the trek may be difficult, and it is common to experience some discomfort, but in order to successfully acclimate to the altitude you have to spend at least 1–2 hours here, so this is where you will enjoy your cooked lunch.

Hiking time and Elevation: 6.5 – 7 hours’ walking, from Shira 2 Camp at 3,850 m to Baranco Camp at 3,900 m

This day you will wake up early and enjoy a warm and hearty breakfast at the same time as yesterday before starting to climb Baranco Wall. We recommend you leave the camp as early as possible to avoid crowds of the other groups, which can slow you down. Hiking up the gorge wall is not difficult and only takes around an hour. After the climb, you can have a rest and take photos in front of the Kibo volcano.

Then you will start a more difficult hike to Karanga Camp at 3,995 metres, which features a lot of ascents and descents during the route, but don't worry: your guides are experts at choosing an optimal pace for the party. After reaching the camp you will be offered warm lunch. Your overall altitude gain today will be only 95 meters.

Hiking time and Elevation: 3.5 – 4 hours’ walking, from Baranco Camp at 3,900 m to Karanga Camp at 3,995 m

Another short day -in terms of distance – begins with your breakfast at the camp at 07.30hrs and another 08.30hrs departure. Today you will ascend about 670 metres in a distance of around 5 km/3 miles and walking time once again is between 3.5 and 4 hours.

You will be aiming to arrive at the Barafu Camp at 4,673 metres by 13.00hrs, when you will be rewarded with a cooked lunch. (With tomorrow being the summit day, it will be important to relax and prepare for the hard work ahead.) Dinner tonight is served at 17.30hrs, giving you time to get to bed early. After leaving Karanga, today’s stage climbs steadily, passing through barren, rocky landscape, with the Decken and Kersten glaciers visible away to your left. At the top of the climb, the landscape remains bleak as you descend into a valley and you get your first sight of another glacier, Rebmann. At the end of this valley is today’s goal, the Barafu Summit Camp, at which you arrive after a short, steep scramble and a walk.

Hiking time and Elevation: 3.5 – 4 hours’ walking, from Karanga Camp at 3,995 m to Barafu Camp at 4,673 m

Today is the most challenging day, but hopefully with the great sense of achievement of reaching your goal – the summit of Kilimanjaro! Your schedule for your ‘Summit Day’ is necessarily very different to your other days on the mountain. Rising at 23.00hrs, you take your tea and biscuits at 23.30hrs before a midnight departure.

The day starts with the long, tough climb from Barafu at 4,673 metres to Stella Point at 5,756 metres; for some of this you will be walking on scree, making your trek more difficult. From Stella Point, there is still another 139 metres of ascent and 45 minutes’ walk to the summit. Your goal is to reach the summit by around 07.00hrs then celebrate reaching the top, take your precious photos and enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime experience. After the summit at 5,895 metres above sea level, you return to Barafu Camp at 4,673 metres, where you rest for a couple of hours, take a brunch and then leave again at 13.30hrs to continue to descend to Mweka Camp at 3,100 metres where you will spend the night. You would expect to arrive there at 17.00hrs and take your dinner at 19.00hrs. (In total, you will cover around 17 km/10 miles today with about 11-14 hours of walking – tough going, but with your objective hopefully achieved!)

Hiking time and Elevation: 11-14 hours’ walking, from 4,673 m at Barafu Camp to the summit at 5,895 m, then down to 3,100 m at Mweka Camp

Still thrilled by your achievement, breakfast is taken at 07.00hrs and at 08.00hrs you can take the chance to reward your trekking team at the ‘Tipping Celebration.’

Although you will still have 10 km/6 miles to walk, departure is at a leisurely 09.00hrs and you will descend down to the Mweka Gate which sits at an altitude of 1,640 metres. There, you will be served a cooked lunch at midday and be presented with your hard-earned certificate. Your driver will be waiting to bring you back to Chanya Lodge, where you can choose to relax – or, if you have any energy left, to celebrate!

Hiking time and Elevation: 3 hours’ walking, from Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate, descending from 3,100 m to 1,640 m

After a good night’s rest at your hotel, you will take breakfast ready for the scheduled check-out by 10.00hrs.(If you wish to remain in the hotel during the day, please advise us of this when you book your trip and we will inform you of the cost for a ‘day room’ which allows you to stay until 18:00hrs, and then make the booking on your behalf.)

As the transfer services have been already included in this package, you will be collected from your hotel and dropped off at the airport. For those travellers who have booked to go on safari, our Jerry Tanzania Tours guide will be meeting you in the afternoon to provide you with a pre-safari briefing.