7 Days Lemosho Route

Overview          

The Lemosho route starts off from the west, beginning with a long drive from Moshi to Londorossi Gate. From there, the first two days are spent trekking through the lush rainforest to Shira Plateau. This may be the most beautiful route to take, with breathtaking views on all sides of the mountain and if you wanted a more private experience with fewer climbers. This is one of the few routes where an armed ranger accompanies our groups, since there are still animals in the forest around the Lemosho Glades. We recommend minimum of 7 days but 8 days is preferable for better acclimatization and summit success.

A relatively new route up to the mountain and extremely beautiful. It’s our favourite routes because;-

It offers a great balance of high summit success rate, scenic views and Low traffic.

ITINERARY      

Arrive in Tanzania           

Arrive at the Kilimanjaro International Airport where you will meet with Boko Explorers representative, picked up there and transfer to hotel in Moshi town. Then you will meet your guide who will brief you on your upcoming trek and do an equipment check to make sure you have all the necessary mountain gear. Gear which is missing can be rented on this day.

Hotel: Bed & Breakfast

Overnight: At hotel in Moshi        

Day 1: Lemosho Gate (2385 m) to Mti Mkubwa Camp (2980 m)          

Approx. hiking time: 4 hours              

Distance covered: 7 km        

Habitat: Montane Forest          

Meal: breakfast, lunch and dinner included          

Your day starts early with a breakfast from the hotel, followed by a 2-hour drive from the hotel (910m) to Londorossi Park Gate (2100m). The guides and porters prepare and pack the supplies and your equipment at the park’s gate and registration. You will start trekking through the rainforest until completes this day by entering to our first camp where your tent is setup with your personal belongings inside. Overnight at Mti MkubwaCamp (2980m).            

Day 2:  Mti Mkubwa Camp (2810m) – Shira II Camp (3900m)          

Approx. hiking time: 7 hours              

Distance covered: 12 km          

Habitat: Heath and Moorland          

Meal: breakfast, lunch and dinner included          

Today is a long day because we will skip Shira I Camp and going directly to Shira II Camp. Around 7:00 am you will start to hike from Mti Mkubwa to the second camp through heath and Moorland zone, following the Shira ridge we enter vast high-altitude desert plateau where we get the first clear view of Mount Kilimanjaro. Overnight at Shira II Camp (3900 m).    

Day 3: Shira II Camp (3900m) to Barranco Camp (3900 m)          

Approx. hiking time: 6 hours              

Distance covered: 10 km

Habitat: alpine desert          

Meal: breakfast and lunch included          

The moorlands soon come to an end. The trek will take us into alpine desert up to lava tower (4600 m) before descending to Baranco Camp (3900 m). This descent to BarrancoCamp takes about 3 hours and offers great opportunities to take some beautiful photos of the Western Breach and Barranco wall. The campsite is situated in a valley below the Barranco wall which should provide you a memorable sunset while waiting for dinner and overnight at Barranco Camp (3900 m)             

Day 4: Barranco Camp (3900 m) to Karanga Camp (4000 m)        

Approx. hiking time: 4 hours          

Distance covered: 6 km          

Habitat: alpine desert          

Meal: breakfast, lunch and dinner included          

This is another favorite day whereby after breakfast you will leave the campsite, walk up the Baranco wall (4200m) that ends up at the fort of the Hein glacier. It will take you 4 hours to reach at Karanga Camp (4000m).        

Day 5: Karanga Camp (4000 m) to Barafu Camp (4640m)

Approx. hiking time: 3 hours          

Distance covered: 4 km

Habitat: alpine desert 

Meal: breakfast, lunch and dinner included          

After breakfast you will start hiking to Barafu Camp (4640 m) on the way you will have a good view of Kibo and Mawenzi peaks. After arriving at the campsite, we have lunch and a long rest waiting for longnight and day ahead. Dinner will be early and then try to get some sleep as we will begetting up around midnight to start climbing to the summit.

Day 6: Barafu Camp (4640 m) to UHURU PEAK (5895m) then down to Mweka Camp (3100 m)

Approx. hiking time: 14 hours

Distance covered: 17 km

Meal: breakfast, lunch and dinner included          

Today is the big day. We will wake up very early, at around 00:00, some light tea with cookies will be ready for you. We will climb scree for 4 to 5 hours but gain incredible height over a short distance. The view is spectacular. We should be on the crater rim at Stella point (5756   m) as the first rays of the sun hit us. Then it will take us 1-hour form Stella point to Uhuru peak (5895 m) were you take some photos for a few minutes before we start descending to Barafu Camp for lunch and some rest, and then walk down to Mweka Camp (3100 m) for dinner and overnight.                        

Day 7: Mweka Camp (3100m) to Mweka Gate (1630m)

Approx. hiking time: 3 hours

Distance covered: 10 km

Meal: breakfast, lunch and dinner included          

Walk down the Mweka montane forest to Mweka Gate for 3 hours, where we complete park formalities and receive certificates, which you can hang up with pride. The vehicle will be ready to drive you back to the hotel for warm shower at Moshi. It’s definitely time to celebrate!

Departure

Later in the evening or the next day you will be transferred to Kilimanjaro International Airport to board your home bound flight.

End of The Trip