Kiluwa Adventures is a new tour agent aiming at providing tailor made services of high quality to clients from various places around the world.
You will be picked up by the staff of Northland Tanzania Safaris from Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) and driven to your accommodation in Arusha. Participants will be given a short briefing for the climb the next day. Kits and the necessary equipment will be checked as well.
Day 2 – Kili trekking The National Park Gate lies at the edge of Marangu, a lovely village with many small coffee and banana plantations. After completing the entrance formalities, we climb up through virgin forest to reach the clearing containing Mandara Huts (2,700m.) The volcanic remains of Maundi Crater are nearby and make a good afternoon excursion. An alternative is to rest and enjoy the beautiful forest. There is a rich birdlife at the huts, and monkeys are often seen as well (3-5 hours walking). Dinner and overnight at Mandara Hut.
Hiking time: 6hours •Distance: Approximately 11.6 km •Habitat: Moorland From Mandara hut, the trail passes through a short stretch of forest, skirts the base of the Maundi Crater and then emerges into a transition from rain forest to moorland. It is well worth a short detour to scramble up the rim of the Maundi Crater for your first impressive view of the Kibo Crater. On a clear day, Kibo will glimmer in the distance, with sightings of majestic glaciers in the morning sun.
Horombo hut is a village of huts perched on a small plateau, with buildings similar to Mandara with a capacity of 120 climbers! Horombo is normally bustling with hikers, guides and porters, with an atmosphere of adventure and excitement. You will meet both ascending and descending hikers here. This extra day and night at Horombo is for additional acclimatization. A hike towards the Mawenzi hut, passing the Zebra Rocks on the way (about 3 hours up and 1,5 hours down) is strongly recommended.
Hiking time: 6hours •Distance: Approximately 9.6 km •Habitat: Alpine desert After breakfast, we continue our ascent into the Alpine desert habitat. From Horombo, there are two trails to the “Saddle” (which refers to the area located between the peaks of Mawenzi and Kibo). There is an upper route (right hand fork) and lower route (left hand fork) to choose from. The upper route should be very familiar, as you will have climbed most of it the previous day towards Mawenzi hut. This section is very stony and eroded.
Hiking time: 7 to 8 hours to reach Uhuru Peak | 6 to 8 hours to descend to Horombo Distance: Approximately 5.4km ascent and 15 km descent •Habitat: Stone scree and ice-capped summit You will rise around 23h20, and after some tea and biscuits you shuffle off into the night, and this is where the going really gets tough. The first section of the trail consists of a rocky path to the Hans Meyer Cave (5150m) and also offers a good resting spot. The path then zigzags up to Gillman’s point (5 681m), which is located on the crater rim. This section is very steep with a lot of stone scree, requiring great physical and mental effort. This is probably the most demanding section of the entire route. Do the Kili shuffle and move slowly.
Hiking time: 6 hours •Distance: Approximately 19.7 km After breakfast, you continue your descent (6 hours), passing the Mandara hut, down to the Marangu gate. At Marangu gate, you will receive your summit certificates. Those climbers who reached Gillman’s Point (5685m) are issued with green certificates and those who reached Uhuru Peak (5895m), receive gold certificates. You now drive back to Moshi/ Arusha for a long overdue hot shower, dinner and celebration.
Many hikers believe that the Marangu route is the easiest route to Uhuru peak since it is the only route that can be hiked in 5 days (making it the cheapest option)
The Lemosho Route is an unspoiled, remote, little-used, and beautiful way up to the Shira Plateau.
The Rongai Route is a scenically beautiful trail, longer and much gentler than other routes. Our itinerary provides valuable acclimatization.
This trip itinerary allows you to experience two of the most outstanding experiences Tanzania has to offer
Kiluwa Adventures is a new tour agent aiming at providing tailor made services of high quality to clients from various places around the world.