Also know as Coca-cola Route. It is the most popular route and the only with mountain huts. Hiking is along the most direct path to the summit and it has stunning scenery of forests, alpine meadows, over rocky ravines and lunar landscapes to the summit.
Route Overview
Arrival in Moshi, Kilimanjaro
You will be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel in Moshi for your overnight.
DAY 1: MOSHI (915 M/3,000 FT) TO MARANGU GATE (1,830 M/6,000 FT) TO MANDARA HUTS (2,740 M/9,000 FT)
7 km
4-5 hours
Montane Forest
After breakfast and a briefing from your guide, leave Moshi at 8 a.m, drive for 45 minutes to the Marangu Gate on the eastern side of Kilimanjaro. Upon arrival at the gate you will register at the national park, and begin hiking at 10:30 a.m. In the rainforest, look for towering Eucalyptus trees, bird life, and colobus monkeys. At these lower elevations, it can be wet and muddy, so gaiters and trekking poles will help. Shorts and T-shirts should be sufficient, but keep your rain gear and warmer clothing handy. Stop halfway for picnic lunch, and reach the Mandara Huts at 2 or 3 p.m. Unpack, rest, and have some tea or coffee. A 15 minute side trip to Maundy Crater is a good way to see the surroundings including Northern Tanzania and Kenya if the sky isn’t shy. Dinner is served during the early evening at 7 p.m.
4-5 hours
Montane Forest
After breakfast and a briefing from your guide, leave Moshi at 8 a.m, drive for 45 minutes to the Marangu Gate on the eastern side of Kilimanjaro. Upon arrival at the gate you will register at the national park, and begin hiking at 10:30 a.m. In the rainforest, look for towering Eucalyptus trees, bird life, and colobus monkeys. At these lower elevations, it can be wet and muddy, so gaiters and trekking poles will help. Shorts and T-shirts should be sufficient, but keep your rain gear and warmer clothing handy. Stop halfway for picnic lunch, and reach the Mandara Huts at 2 or 3 p.m. Unpack, rest, and have some tea or coffee. A 15 minute side trip to Maundy Crater is a good way to see the surroundings including Northern Tanzania and Kenya if the sky isn’t shy. Dinner is served during the early evening at 7 p.m.
DAY 2: MANDARA HUTS (2,740 M/9,000 FT) TO HOROMBO HUTS (3,690 M/12,100 FT)
11 km
6-8 hours
Heath Land
In the morning after breakfast follows a hike for an hour through rainforest glades, then an ascending path through heath land where you can look for giant lobelias and groundsels. Continue up into open moorlands where small shrubs are the main vegetation. Stop halfway for lunch, where you can enjoy amazing views of Mawenzi. Arrive at the Horombo Huts by 3 p.m, where you can see Kibo’s summit. Rest, unpack, and prepare for dinner. You may start to feel the effects of altitude here, and to aid your acclimatization, you can choose to spend an extra day resting at Horombo.
6-8 hours
Heath Land
In the morning after breakfast follows a hike for an hour through rainforest glades, then an ascending path through heath land where you can look for giant lobelias and groundsels. Continue up into open moorlands where small shrubs are the main vegetation. Stop halfway for lunch, where you can enjoy amazing views of Mawenzi. Arrive at the Horombo Huts by 3 p.m, where you can see Kibo’s summit. Rest, unpack, and prepare for dinner. You may start to feel the effects of altitude here, and to aid your acclimatization, you can choose to spend an extra day resting at Horombo.
DAY 3: HOROMBO HUTS (3,690 M/12,100 FT) TO KIBO HUTS (4,695 M/15,400 FT)
10 km
6-8 hours
Alpine Desert
In the morning after breakfast you will hike to Kibo Hut. The first part of the days hike climbs through the dwindling heath land that blends into a moonscape as you enter the sweeping saddle connecting Mawenzi and Kibo. When you stop for lunch, and later when you cross this surprisingly large saddle, you can examine the summit climb up Kibo that you will be starting in just a few hours.
6-8 hours
Alpine Desert
In the morning after breakfast you will hike to Kibo Hut. The first part of the days hike climbs through the dwindling heath land that blends into a moonscape as you enter the sweeping saddle connecting Mawenzi and Kibo. When you stop for lunch, and later when you cross this surprisingly large saddle, you can examine the summit climb up Kibo that you will be starting in just a few hours.
DAY 4: SUMMIT DAY! KIBO HUTS (4,695 M/15,400 FT) TO UHURU PEAK (5,895 M/19,340 FT) TO HOROMBO HUTS (3,690 M/12,100 FT)
4 km up, 14 km down
10-15 hours
Alpine Desert
Wake at midnight to a light breakfast, and then prepare for your summit ascent. The goal is to climb before dawn so that you can reach Uhuru Peak shortly after sunrise. Leave at 1 a.m, switchback up steep scree or possibly snow, and reach Gilmans Point on the crater rim at 5,861 m/18,640 ft. Here, views of the fabled crater and its icecaps greet you. Another an hour of hiking along the crater rim near the celebrated snows takes you to Kilimanjaro true summit, Uhuru Peak, by 7 a.m. This is Africas highest point, and you would have to travel more than 3,000 miles toward the Himalayas to find a higher peak! Be sure to have your picture taken at the summit to show your friends. After your summit stay, descend back to the Kibo Huts, have lunch, rest, collect your things, and re cross the saddle to the Horombo Huts. Eat dinner and get some well-deserved sleep! You do the beginning of this climb in the dark with headlamps or flashlights. It will be very cold until you start descending, so you will need all of your warm layers. This is, by far, the most difficult part of the trek. Slowly slowly, or, pole pole, and an optimistic altitude will get you there!
10-15 hours
Alpine Desert
Wake at midnight to a light breakfast, and then prepare for your summit ascent. The goal is to climb before dawn so that you can reach Uhuru Peak shortly after sunrise. Leave at 1 a.m, switchback up steep scree or possibly snow, and reach Gilmans Point on the crater rim at 5,861 m/18,640 ft. Here, views of the fabled crater and its icecaps greet you. Another an hour of hiking along the crater rim near the celebrated snows takes you to Kilimanjaro true summit, Uhuru Peak, by 7 a.m. This is Africas highest point, and you would have to travel more than 3,000 miles toward the Himalayas to find a higher peak! Be sure to have your picture taken at the summit to show your friends. After your summit stay, descend back to the Kibo Huts, have lunch, rest, collect your things, and re cross the saddle to the Horombo Huts. Eat dinner and get some well-deserved sleep! You do the beginning of this climb in the dark with headlamps or flashlights. It will be very cold until you start descending, so you will need all of your warm layers. This is, by far, the most difficult part of the trek. Slowly slowly, or, pole pole, and an optimistic altitude will get you there!
DAY 5: HOROMBO HUTS (3,690 M/12,100 FT) TO MARANGU GATE (1,830 M/6,000 FT) TO MOSHI (890 M/2,920 FT)
18 km
5-7 hours
In the morning after breakfast you will pack you stuff and descend through the moorland to the Mandara Huts. Have lunch there then continue your triumphant recessional down through lush forest to the park gate, which you should reach around 2 or 3 p.m. Remember to tip your guides, cooks, and porters, since you will be leaving them here. A vehicle will take you back to your hotel in Moshi, where it is definitely time for celebration!
5-7 hours
In the morning after breakfast you will pack you stuff and descend through the moorland to the Mandara Huts. Have lunch there then continue your triumphant recessional down through lush forest to the park gate, which you should reach around 2 or 3 p.m. Remember to tip your guides, cooks, and porters, since you will be leaving them here. A vehicle will take you back to your hotel in Moshi, where it is definitely time for celebration!
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