8 days · Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro — Lemosho Route, 8 Days
The route we recommend most often. Eight days on Lemosho gives the best acclimatisation profile on the mountain and, with it, the highest chance of standing on Uhuru Peak.
Is this trip for you?
Trip type
Private expedition
Your own guides, cook and porters, on your own dates. We do not merge you into someone else's group, which means the pace is set by your party and nobody else's summit night.
Ages
10 and over
Kilimanjaro National Park sets a minimum age of ten. Beyond that we go on how you answer our health questions rather than on your age, and we may ask for a doctor's note first.
Fitness
Good general fitness
No technical climbing and no ropes on any route we run. What it asks for is five to eight hours of walking a day for a week, and one very long night. Three months of hill walking beforehand is worth more than any gym programme.
Group size: Private party, with guides, a cook and porters sized to it
Day by day.
-
1
Londorossi Gate to Big Tree Camp
Picked up from your hotel around 08:00 and driven round to Londorossi Gate on the western side of the mountain. After registration we climb steadily through the forests of the Lemosho Glades to Big Tree Camp at 2,780 m.
- Altitude
- Londorossi Gate 2,385 m → Big Tree Camp 2,780 m
- Distance
- 7 km / 4.3 mi
- Walking
- 4 hours
- Habitat
- Rainforest
- Meals
- Lunch and dinner
-
2
Big Tree Camp to Shira 1
Across a plateau of grassy moorland and heather scattered with volcanic rock, with Kibo often floating above the cloud ahead of us. We gain a fair amount of height and parts of the route are steep. Shira 1 Camp sits at 3,500 m.
- Altitude
- Big Tree Camp 2,780 m → Shira 1 3,500 m
- Distance
- 8.5 km / 5.3 mi
- Walking
- 7 hours
- Habitat
- Rainforest into moorland
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
3
Shira 1 to Shira 2
A steady climb across the moorland of the Shira Plateau, with the Northern Icefields in view from the western side and some unusual angles on Kibo. An acclimatisation walk in the afternoon, then back to Shira 2 at 3,900 m for the night.
- Altitude
- Shira 1 3,500 m → Shira 2 3,900 m
- Distance
- 8.9 km / 5.5 mi
- Walking
- 5 hours
- Habitat
- Shira Plateau moorland
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
4
Shira 2 to Barranco, via the Lava Tower
An ascent into upland desert along the lava ridges beneath the Western Breach to the Lava Tower at 4,640 m, the high point of the day and where we eat lunch. A steep descent in the afternoon into the Great Barranco valley at 3,960 m, sheltered by cliffs with the plains laid out below.
- Altitude
- Shira 2 3,900 m → Lava Tower 4,640 m → Barranco 3,960 m
- Distance
- 10 km / 6.2 mi
- Walking
- 7 hours
- Habitat
- Upland desert, then giant senecio
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
5
Barranco to Karanga
Down into the Great Barranco, then steeply up the Barranco Wall — a climb over rock, not technical but long and tiring. Under the Heim and Kersten glaciers, across the Karanga valley and up to Karanga Camp at 3,963 m. An optional afternoon walk to about 4,200 m for anyone feeling strong.
- Altitude
- Barranco 3,960 m → Karanga 3,963 m
- Distance
- 5.5 km / 3.4 mi
- Walking
- 5 hours
- Habitat
- Alpine desert
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
6
Karanga to Barafu
Across desolate scree with no vegetation at all to Barafu Camp at 4,640 m. Short, but the altitude makes it hard work. We eat early and try to sleep, because the summit start is between 23:00 and midnight.
- Altitude
- Karanga 3,963 m → Barafu 4,640 m
- Distance
- 3 km / 1.9 mi
- Walking
- 3 hours
- Habitat
- Scree and alpine desert
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
7
Summit day, then Mweka Camp
Away around midnight, climbing scree for four to five hours to the crater rim at Stella Point, 5,739 m, as the first light hits. Another hour along the rim to Uhuru Peak at 5,895 m. Back down to Barafu for breakfast, then on to Mweka Camp at 3,100 m.
- Altitude
- Barafu 4,640 m → Uhuru Peak 5,895 m → Mweka Camp 3,100 m
- Distance
- 18 km / 11.2 mi
- Walking
- 13 to 15 hours
- Habitat
- Arctic summit zone, then moorland
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
8
Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate
A gentle walk down through the rainforest to Mweka Gate at 1,630 m, park formalities and your certificate, then the drive back to the hotel and a shower you will have earned.
- Altitude
- Mweka Camp 3,100 m → Mweka Gate 1,630 m
- Distance
- 9.1 km / 5.7 mi
- Walking
- 3 hours
- Habitat
- Rainforest
- Meals
- Breakfast
Where you sleep.
On the mountain
Three-season mountain tents, sleeping mats, and a mess tent with a table and chairs. Three meals a day cooked on the mountain, and filtered water throughout. Marangu is the exception: it uses the park's huts throughout.
Before and after
Bed and breakfast in Moshi the night before the climb and the night you come down, with hot water, laundry and somewhere to leave the luggage you are not carrying up.
Upgrades
A portable flush toilet with its own tent is US$70 per toilet and tent for the climb, and is the upgrade most parties are glad they took. Single tents and a walk-in tent with a camp bed are available on request, as is an extra night in Moshi at either end, which most climbers who fly in the same day end up wishing they had booked. We also hire out clothing, mountain kit and sleeping bags - though we would rather you brought your own boots.
We book against availability for your dates rather than naming a property we may not be able to get you into. Your written quotation names every lodge and camp before you pay anything.
What is included
- Park fees and camping fees
- 18% VAT on tour fees and services
- Three-season mountain tents
- Transport to and from the mountain gate
- Professional mountain guides, a cook and porters
- Three meals a day on the mountain
- Filtered water throughout the trek
- Accommodation before and after the trek
- Fair wages for the mountain crew, at the rates set by Kilimanjaro National Park (KINAPA) and the Kilimanjaro Association of Tour Operators (KIATO)
- Private airport transfers both ways
Not included
- Flights
- Visa fees
- Travel insurance
- Sleeping bag
- Tips for the mountain crew
- Items of a personal nature
- Alcoholic and soft drinks
- Laundry services
- A doctor travelling with the group
- A portable flush toilet with its own tent, which is US$70 per toilet and tent
When to go.
January to mid-March — warm and clear
The warmest climbing window, with clear mornings and a good chance of snow on the summit cone. Busy, but less so than the northern-hemisphere summer.
June to October — cold, dry and busy
The most reliable weather of the year and the highest traffic on the mountain. Nights are the coldest, which is what a proper sleeping bag is for.
Late March to May, and November
The rainy months. We do run climbs then, on the northern and western routes that sit in the mountain's rain shadow, but you should expect wet forest days and we will say so plainly before you book.
Questions about this trip.
Why do you recommend this route above the others?
Acclimatisation. Eight days on Lemosho gives your body the longest time between the trailhead and summit night of anything we run, and it includes the climb-high-sleep-low day at the Lava Tower. Everything else on the mountain is a trade-off against that.
What is the difference between the seven and eight-day version?
One night, spent between Shira 1 and Shira 2 instead of walking the whole plateau in a day. It is the cheapest extra day on the mountain and the one that does the most for your chances.
Do I need technical climbing experience?
No. There is no rope, no ice axe and no exposure beyond the Barranco Wall, which is a scramble with hands rather than a climb. What it asks for is walking fitness and a tolerance for altitude.
How cold does summit night get?
Between −10 and −20°C at the crater rim before dawn, colder in wind. That is what the down jacket, the four-season sleeping bag and the two pairs of gloves on the kit list are for.
What happens if I cannot continue?
You come down, with a guide, immediately. Every climb carries emergency oxygen, a pulse oximeter and a stretcher, and we check you twice a day. Descent is the only reliable treatment for altitude sickness and we never bargain with it.
On this route
Where you will be.
Compare
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Kilimanjaro — Machame Route, 6 Days
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Plan it with us
Make this itinerary yours.
Add days, drop a park, change the pace. This is a starting point, not a fixed departure.