Itinerary

Day 1: ARRIVE IN KILIMANJARO - A member of the Inspired Escapes team will meet you at Kilimanjaro International Airport and take you to Springlands Hotel, your accommodation in Moshi. There you can exchange money, have dinner and rest for what lies ahead.

Day 2: VISIT TO THE LITERACY PROJECT - Today you will visit the project you are supporting, Empowering Local Schools - Tanzania. You will get a chance to meet the children you are helping and get your hands dirty building teachers accommodation alongside the members of the local community. It is a unique opportunity to work with and get to know the people who live at the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro, all while making an active contribution to improving the future of schools in Tanzania.

Day 3: TREK BEGINS - Our day will start early with a briefing, followed by breakfast and a 45-minute drive from Moshi (910m) to the Machame village (1490m). The guides and porters will prepare and pack the supplies and our equipment in the village. Depending on the condition of the road, it is possible to drive from the village to the Machame gate, but if not, the muddy 3km walk will take about 1 hour to complete. After registering at the gate office, we will start our ascent and enter the rainforest. You will receive a lunch pack at the gate and you can also drink bottled water you bought at Springlands Hotel in Moshi. There is a possibility of rain in the forest, which will transform the trail into a very soggy, muddy and slippery experience. In the evening the porters will boil drinking and washing water and the cook will prepare dinner before you retire to your tent for the night. Night temperatures can drop to freezing point at the Machame campsite, so remember to pack or rent a heavy duty sleeping bag.

Day 4: SHIRA CAMPSITE - We will rise early at Machame camp and after breakfast we will climb an hour or so to the top of the forest, then continue for 2 hours on a more gentle gradient through the moorland zone. After a short lunch and rest, we'll continue up a rocky ridge onto the Shira plateau. By now you will be able to see in an easterly direction the Western Breach with its stunning glaciers. We are now due west of Kibo and after a short hike we will reach the Shira campsite at 3840m. The porters will boil drinking and washing water, before serving dinner. The night at this exposed camp will be even colder than the previous night, with temperatures dropping to well below freezing.

Day 5: BARRANCO CAMPSITE - At this point the route turns east into a semi desert and rocky landscape surrounding Lava Tower, where we'll reach an altitude of 4630m after about a 5 hour walk. Lunch is served in a designated area before ascending the rocky scree path that leads to Lava Tower (4630m). This is definitely the toughest day so far. It is normally around this point that some climbers will start to feel symptoms of breathlessness, irritability and headaches. Our team is trained in spotting altitude sickness and will determine what action to take if someone feels unwell. After lunch we descend again by almost 680m to the Barranco campsite. After having reached the high altitude of 4600m at Lava Tower, the true acclimatisation benefit of this day becomes clear. 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. The camp is situated in a valley below the Breach and Great Barranco Wall, which should provide us with a memorable sunset while we wait for the preparation of our dinner and overnight at Barranco Campsite.

Day 6: DAY BEFORE THE SUMMIT - Today we will be totally exposed to the ever-present gales. The tents will be pitched on a narrow, stony, and dangerous ridge. Make sure that you familiarise yourself with the terrain before dark to avoid any accidents. The summit is now a further 1345m up and we will make the final ascent the same night. We will prepare our equipment, ski stick and thermal clothing for our summit attempt. This should include the replacement of your headlamp and camera batteries, so make sure you have a spare set available. To prevent freezing it will be wise to carry your water in a thermal flask. We'll go to bed at round about 1900hr and try to get some precious rest and sleep for no more than 5 hours.

Day 7: SUMMIT DAY - ON TOP OF THE WORLD - We will rise around 23h30, and after some tea and biscuits we'll shuffle off into the night. You will head in a northwesterly direction and ascend through heavy scree towards Stella Point on the crater rim. This 6-hour walk to Stella point is, for many climbers, mentally and physically the most challenging part of the route. At Stella Point (5685m) we will stop for a short rest and you'll be rewarded with the most magnificent sunrise you are likely to ever see (weather permitting). From Stella Point we will normally encounter snow the whole way up during our 2-hour ascent to Uhuru Peak. The time we will spend on the summit will depend on the weather conditions. We won't stop here for too long, as it will be extremely difficult to start again due to the coldness and fatigue. We'll enjoy our accomplishment as a day to remember for the rest of our lives. The walk back to Barafu from the summit, takes about 3 hours. Here we will have a well-earned but short rest and collect the rest of our gear, before heading down to Mweka Camp (3100m) for Dinner and Overnight.

Day 8: HEAD BACK TO CIVILISATION - After Breakfast, from the Mweka Gate we will continue down into the Mweka village, which is normally a muddy and long 1-hour walk. From the Mweka village we'll drive to Springlands Hotel to enjoy a delicious hot lunch!! We'll then drive back to Moshi for a long overdue hot shower, followed by an overnight at Springlands hotel. Tips are highly appreciated (and recommended) at the end of your trip. Tips can be given to the guide at Springlands Hotel. This is also where successful climbers receive their summit certificates. Those climbers who reached Stella Point (5685m) are issued with green certificates and those who reached Uhuru Peak (5895m) receive gold certificates.

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