Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route

Location: Tanzania, Africa
Length: 10 days (8 days on the mountain)
Previous experience required: Hill walking in the UK or elsewhere
Cost: £3295 per person


2024 Dates

17 February – 26 February
16 March – 25 March
18 May – 27 May
16 June – 25 June
22 July – 31 July
1 August – 10 August (full)
12 August – 21 August
21 October – 30 October
24 November – 3 December
29 December – 8 January 2025
 
Please note that if you are a group of 6 or more we can organise a private expedition for you at any date you wish. We tend to avoid April because of the rains. However, if you don’t mind a bit of rain and want a quiet mountain, this would be a good time to go there!

Introduction

Kilimanjaro the ‘White mountain’. At 5895m (19,341 ft) high, this dormant volcano is the highest free-standing mountain in the world. The adventure up Kilimanjaro is an exploration- not merely a climb but one that allows you to live and connect to nature. It is the highest mountain on earth whose summit is accessible to any committed walker without requiring technical skills, experience or mountaineering equipment.

Although Kilimanjaro lies only three degrees south of the equator, you will encounter varieties of vegetation ranging from forest, heather, moorland and alpine desert to snow and ice.

Kili Hepworth Adventures

 

Summary

Many people consider the Lemosho route to be the most scenic route up the mountain. It also gives you the best opportunity to get to the summit, because it offers a longer acclimatisation process than other routes.

The route starts to the west of Kilimanjaro at the Londorossi Gate, about a two hour drive from Arusha. From the gate, the first two days are spent trekking up through the rain forest where you may well see Colobus and Blue monkeys to the Shira Ridge.

The route then crosses the entire Shira Plateau from west to east. This relatively flat section, at just below 4000m, offers an excellent opportunity to acclimatise and affords fabulous views of the mountain from different perspectives.

The Lemosho route is relatively quiet until it joins the Machame route close to Lava Tower, where it then traverses underneath Kilimanjaro’s Southern Ice Field on the Southern Circuit before summiting from Barafu High Camp. We then use the Mweka route for our descent before returning to Arusha .

In Arusha you have the option of staying for the last night in Tanzania at our hotel base or returning on the overnight flight back to the UK. We can also arrange a safari for you which could be one or more days depending on when you want to return to the UK.

Outline Itinerary

  • Day 1: Meet Kilimanjaro International airport and transfer to our base in Arusha
  • Day 2: Enter park via Londrossi gate, camp Mti Mkubwa
  • Day 3: Shira Camp 1
  • Day 4: Moir Hut
  • Day 5: Barranco Camp
  • Day 6: Karanga Camp
  • Day 7: Barafu Camp
  • Day 8: Summit and descent to Mweka Camp
  • Day 9: Exit park via Mweka gate and return to Arusha
  • Day 10: Transfer to Kilimanjaro International airport and departure

Kilimanjaro Itinerary

We will meet you at Kilimanjaro International Airport and transfer you by bus to your hotel in Arusha. There is usually quite a queue to get through the border control. Whichever line you choose inevitably it will be the slow one! Don’t worry, eventually everyone will be processed and you can look forward to a drink, swim and shower at our hotel.
After breakfast we load up the bus and transfer to Londorossi (2250 m), passing between the slopes of Kilimanjaro and the horseshoe-shaped volcanic crater of Mt. Meru. After completing the necessary registration formalities, we drive on for a short distance through farmland and plantations to reach the Lemosho road-head. The last 5 km of the road to the park gate is of poor quality, particularly after rain, and the drive there should be considered part of the adventure! We often have our lunch in the glades before starting to walk. It is an easy day of walking up a small path through beautiful and lush forest, this area has a variety of game including colobus monkeys and buffalo. We camp at Mti Mkubwa Camp (2821m). Approximately 3-4 hours walking.
The trail starts out in the lush rich montane forest before ascending into the moorland zone of giant heather. The trail climbs steadily with views across the plains opening out as we reach the rim of the Shira Plateau. There is a tangible sense of wilderness especially if the afternoon mists come in. We camp in the centre of the plateau at Shira One (3610 m). Approximately 5-6 hours walking.
A day to help acclimatisation and to explore the grassy moorland and the volcanic rock formations of the plateau. We walk to the summit of Shira Cathedral, a huge buttress of rock surrounded by steep spires and pinnacles. The views from our camp near Moir Hut (4200m) of Mt. Meru floating on the clouds are simply unforgettable. The afternoon is free to relax. Approximately 4 hours walking.
A morning of gentle ascent and panoramic views, we will be walking on lava ridges beneath the glaciers of the Western Breach. After a hot lunch near the Lava Tower junction (4550m), we descend to the bottom of the Great Barranco valley to the camp site (3983m), sheltered by towering cliffs and with extensive views of the plains far below. Approximately 6 hours walking.
An early (and often chilly) start. A short steep climb up the famed Barranco Wall leads us to an undulating trail on the south-eastern flank of Kibo, with superb vistas of the southern icefields. The terrain changes to volcanic scree, with pockets of lush vegetation in sheltered hollows, and a powerful sense of mountain wilderness. Our next camp is at Karanga (4040m) a short distance away. The valley floor has the last water point on the approach to Barafu and we camp on the higher sides of the valley with views towards the glaciers of the southern icefields. Approximately 4-5 hours walking.
The trail follows a path on compacted scree with wide views ahead including the Barafu Ridge where our camp lies. The trail climbs unrelentingly to reach the Upper Barafu campsite (4800m) for lunch. The remainder of the day is spent resting in preparation for the final ascent and includes a very early night. Approximately 4 hours walking.
We will start our ascent by torchlight around midnight so that we can be up on the crater rim by sunrise. As we start from the Upper Barafu Campsite, it is much easier to steadily zigzag our way up to Stella Point (5735m), in about five hours. We will rest there for a short time to enjoy the sunrise over Mawenzi. From here we will continue along the crater rim to Uhuru Peak (5,895m), passing close to the spectacular glaciers and ice cliffs that still occupy most of the summit area. The descent to Barafu is surprisingly fast. After some celebratory refreshments we continue to descend to reach our final campsite (1900m) at Mweka camp. This is an extremely long and hard day with between 11 and 15 hours of walking at high altitude. However, by the end of the day we have lungs full of oxygen and the memories of the most amazing sunrise ever.
This day is a sustained descent on a well-constructed path through lovely tropical forest alive with birdsong and boasting lush undergrowth with considerable botanical interest. Our route winds down to the national park gate at Mweka (1650m); and on through coffee and banana farms to Mweka village. The shower, the beer, and the swimming pool are tantalisingly close! Before we leave the park we will tip our crew who have supported us along the journey and return by bus to Arusha. Approximately 4 hours walking.
The morning can be spent resting in the hotel garden by the pool or exploring Arusha for souvenirs for those on flights. Those not flying back to UK with the group will leave us in Arusha.

Why choose to do your expedition with us?

There are lots of providers offering the opportunity to climb to the summit of Africa. These are some of the reasons we think we offer a better experience than most of the other providers on the mountain:

  • Included in our price is a training weekend in the UK. It gives us a chance to get to know you, and vice versa. It also gives us an opportunity to talk about the expedition, training you may need to do, the acclimatisation process and kit you will need on the mountain.
  • Jeremy has personally known and worked with his team out in Arusha for over 15 years. There are really good relationships between the crew in Tanzania and us here in the UK.
  • We look after our crew in Tanzania. We provide our guides with excellent kit (RAB) so they are able to better look after you. They will have been fed very well during the expedition and should any of the local team be sick on the mountain, we will make sure they are looked after and receive the appropriate medical care.
  • We make sure our porters are properly paid and do not carry too much up the mountain. As a result, they may well pop back down the mountain from our next camp to help carry your bag for you if you’d like!
  • We offer a very high client : guide ratio on the mountain to help look after you as we get to the summit.

What’s included in the price of this trip:

People often ask why it is so expensive to climb Kilimanjaro. The main reason is that well over 50% of the cost of the expedition made up of park and peak fees. However, your money does see its way back into the local economy and so is actually benefiting the locals. In addition to the park fees we look after you very well on the mountain. There will be approximately four crew supporting each client on the trek!


The following are included in your expedition:

  • Arrival and departure from Kilimanjaro International Airport- we will meet you at the airport and take you to our hotel base in Arusha
  • Pre & post climb accommodation in Arusha on a bed and breakfast basis based on 2 people sharing
  • All accommodation on the mountain (Mountain Hardware Trango tents)
  • Transport to the trail head and back to Arusha after the climb
  • A fully supported camping trek which includes your personal tent, a group toilet tent, kitchen tent, dining tent with table and chairs
  • Emergency equipment such as medical oxygen and emergency evacuation services
  • 3 meals per day on the mountain
  • Professional guiding and support team including porters, chef and kitchen staff
  • All fees (park entrance, camping and rescue)

The cost excludes

  • International flights
  • Visa fees to get into Tanzania
  • Evening Meals at either end of the trek
  • Any expenses of personal nature such as bar bills, laundry or telephone
  • Travel and medical insurance: you need to make sure you have sufficient medical insurance to cover you for trekking up to 6000m
  • Rescue costs incurred if you need to be evacuated and transferred to a different location (this is usually included in your travel/ medical insurance)
  • Tips for your mountain crew https://kiliporters.org/get-involved/tipping-recommendations/
    Allow approximately $300 per person
  • NB a Single person supplement £200, that’s a single room in the hotel and single tent occupancy on the mountain
  • Optional trips and tours whilst you are in Tanzania

What’s Next?

Please do contact us and have a chat about the expedition. Then please complete a booking form which will give you details about how to transfer your deposit payment.
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