Itinerary Details
MT Sobek: Tanzania Climb Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route Trekking
Day 1 Welcome to Tanzania
Arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), where an MT Sobek representative will meet you and transfer you to the KIA Lodge, just five minutes from the airport. Tonight is yours to rest and recover. Enjoy a hot shower, a comfortable bed, onsite dining, and a savannah garden perfect for unwinding before your adventure begins.
Accommodation: KIA Lodge
(B, L, D)
Day 2 A Game Drive in Arusha National Park
2-hour private transfer
Game drive
After breakfast, meet your guide and the rest of the group in the lobby for a brief introduction and welcome orientation. Then transfer into Arusha National Park, watching for giraffes, black-and-white colobus monkeys, and Cape buffalo along the way. Pause midday for a beautifully prepared picnic lunch in the open bush, then continue on to Itikoni Tented Camp, nestled in the lush forest of Mount Meru's slopes at almost 6,800 feet. Settle into your canvas tent, relax by the fire, and join the group for a welcome dinner beneath the stars.
Accommodation: MT Sobek Camp—Itikoni Camp
(B, L, D)
Day 3 Hike the Forested Slopes of Mount Meru
1-2 hours/2 miles optional hiking with 2,000' elevation gain; camp at 6,000'
Spend a leisurely morning soaking in camp views of Kilimanjaro, Meru, and the Ngurdoto Crater before lunch. Afterwards, gather for a briefing and gear check, separating what you'll carry on the mountain from what will be waiting for you when you return. Then head out for an afternoon hike through the cedar and podocarpus forests of Mount Meru, a 14,968-foot dormant volcano and Tanzania's second-tallest peak. A perfect introduction to the altitude, with good chances of spotting colobus monkeys, bushbuck, giraffe, and a host of bird life along the way. Look up and you'll catch impressive views of Meru's dramatic ash cone summit.
Accommodation: MT Sobek Camp—Itikoni Camp
(B, L, D)
Day 4 Trek Through Kilimanjaro’s Montane Forest
1-hour private transfer
4.5 miles/4-6 hours hiking with 1,750' elevation gain
Today your Kilimanjaro trek begins. After an hour's drive from camp you'll arrive at the forested edge of Kilimanjaro National Park. From here, walk about three hours through undisturbed cloud forest, ascending among moss-covered trees and through mist-shrouded jungle. Keep your eyes open for Colobus monkeys, signs of elephants, and other forest wildlife along the way. Enjoy a flora-filled ascent toward camp, stopping to replenish with a hearty lunch along the way. Settle into camp near Machame Hut at 9,000 feet, then gather with your group in the mess tent for a warm, thoughtfully prepared dinner before turning in for the night.
Accommodation: MT Sobek Camp—Kilimanjaro
(B, L, D)
Day 5 Trek to the Shira Plateau at 11,600’
7.2 miles/6 hours hiking time with 3,100' elevation gain
Embark on a slow-paced hike through the forest, ascending through Kili's enchanted cloud forest and into its high-elevation Hagenia forest zone. Colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, and Hartlaub's turacos are some of the wildlife and bird life you might spot as you make your way upward through these equatorial transition zones. Over the ascent, dense forest gradually gives way to the expansive moorland and heather of the Shira Plateau, where your camp tonight sits at 11,600 feet with stunning views of the 19,341-foot Kibo peak.
Accommodation: MT Sobek Camp—Kilimanjaro
(B, L, D)
Day 6 Cross the Shira Plateau from West to East
6 miles/5 hours hiking with 2,000' elevation gain
Cross the Shira Plateau today, one of the highest plateaus in the world, on a relatively flat four-hour traverse through vast moorland and heather. Ancient lava flows and dramatic rock formations like the pyramid-shaped Shira Cathedral line the route as you move from the plateau's western edge toward Kili's eastern slopes. Spend another hour ascending the western slope of Kibo, the largest of the mountain's three volcanic cones, with the dramatic Western Breach coming into full view as you climb. Camp tonight at Moir Camp at 13,600 feet, one of the mountain's most remote and peaceful sites, surrounded by steep slopes and ridgelines that reward patient campers with dramatic sunsets and star-filled skies.
(B, L, D)
Day 7 Into the Great Barranco Valley
5 miles/5-7 hours hiking with 16,015’ elevation gain and 2,330’ elevation loss
Head east to the Great Barranco Valley, a high-altitude gorge brimming with lush vegetation and sheer rock faces that the Kilimanjaro IMAX film called the most striking spot on the mountain. Camp tonight at 13,000 feet, your first night at this elevation and a critical acclimatization milestone before the summit push. From camp, the towering Barranco Wall looms above you, tomorrow morning's first and most exhilarating challenge. Once settled, head out for a short afternoon walk through the extraordinary prehistoric-looking Senecio forests for further acclimatization.
(B, L, D)
Day 8 Ascend the Breakfast Wall to Barafu Camp
4.5 miles/6-8 hours hiking with approximately 2,330' elevation gain
The morning starts with Kilimanjaro's famous Breakfast Wall, a steep 1,000-foot hands-and-feet climb that separates the Barranco Valley from the Karanga Valley below. Though non-technical, it's an invigorating stretch that rewards you with stunning views of the southern glaciers and the valleys below. From the top, descend into the deep and scenic Karanga Valley—a vital acclimatization stop—before climbing out and traversing to Barafu Camp at 15,330 feet, where other climbers typically base themselves for a midnight summit attempt. Instead, you'll get a restful night before setting out the next day for Crater Camp.
(B, L, D)
Day 9 The Push to Crater Camp — Africa's Highest Campsite
2 miles/7-9 hours hiking with 3,600’ elevation gain
Wind your way up the non-technical Barafu route to the crater rim of Kilimanjaro's main summit massif, a dramatic threshold with the whole of Africa spread out below you. The landscape here is unlike anything lower on the mountain—volcanic gravel, ice fields, and the vast silence of the crater. If energy allows, spend some time exploring the inner crater and ash pit, one of the rarest experiences on Kilimanjaro and a sight very few climbers ever see. Then make your way to Crater Camp, the mountain's highest campsite, perfectly perched beside the Furtwangler Glacier at 18,800 feet. As the sun sinks westward over Mount Meru, settle in for your final night before your dawn summit bid.
(B, L, D)
Day 10 Summit Kilimanjaro
8 miles/8-10 hours hiking with 540’ elevation gain and 8,800’ elevation loss
Summit day is finally here. Start your 540-foot ascent in the early morning, leaving enough time to be standing on Kili's 19,341-foot top near dawn. The moment at Uhuru Peak, Africa's highest point, is yours to take in. Soak up the views, breathe it in, and relish the accomplishment. Then begins the long descent: first to Barafu Hut to refuel, then continuing down to your final camp near Mweka Hut at 10,170 feet. The trail from Barafu is rocky and steep at first, but softens into lush rainforest as you drop through the lower slopes, a fittingly beautiful end to the mountain.
(B, L, D)
Day 11 Down the Mountain & Back to Arusha
1.5- to 2-hour private transfer
4 miles/3-5 hours hiking with 4,500' elevation loss
Start your morning with a final 4,500-foot descent, hiking 3 to 5 hours to reach the park gate and your pick-up point. A celebratory lunch awaits, along with the chance to say a proper goodbye to your mountain staff before boarding your transfer to the KIA Lodge in Arusha. A hot shower, a comfortable bed, and a story-swapping dinner with the group round out an extraordinary journey. Rest well before your flight home, or wherever your travels take you next.
(B, L, D)
