12 Days Mount Kilimanjaro Climb and Tanzania Safari

On arrival at Moshi Airport, you will be received by your safari guide/ driver who will brief you about this exciting Mount Kilimanjaro Climb and Wildlife Safari. He will then transfer you to Aishi Machame Hotel found in Moshi town where you will relax, dine and spend the night as you prepare for the mountain trek which will begin the following day.

Meal Plan: Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation Option:  Chanya Lodge.

Today very early in the morning, you will have an early breakfast at the Hotel and then be transferred to the park headquarters where you will meet your mountain trek guides, be assigned porters and have all your equipment and luggage organized. The guides will assist in carrying most of your luggage, climbing equipment and tents. Once at the park headquarters, you will be briefed and then begin the trail walking along a winding trail through the rain-forest to the ridge. Because the trail is muddy and very slippery, we recommend that you use trekking poles and gaiters. You will proceed to the Machame Camp where you will have your meal and spend the night

Route Plan: Machame Gate to Machame Camp

Elevation: 5,400 feet to 9,400 feet

Distance Covered: 11 kilometers

Hiking Time: 5 to 7 hours

Habitat Moved: Rain Forest.

After an early breakfast, you will leave the rainforest and ascend crossing through a small valley. The trail will lead you along a steep rocky edge that is covered with heather, and you will follow it all the way to the end of this ridge. You will then head westwards to a river gorge where the Shira campsite is located, and there you will rest, have your evening meal and take your night’s rest.

Route Plan: Machame Camp to Shira Camp

Elevation: 9,400 feet to 12,500 feet

Distance Covered: 5 kilometers

Hiking Time: 4 to 6 hours

Habitat Moved: Moorland.

Starting at the Shira Plateau you will ascend eastwards to the ridge, and go through the junction that heads to the Kibo peak. As you advance you will change directions and move south eastwards to the Lava Tower also known as ‘Shark’s Tooth’ a very impressive rock formation. Not long after there, you will reach another junction, and this takes you to the Arrow Glacier which stands at an elevation of 16,000 feet. You will make the final descent of the day to an altitude of 13,000 feet where you will find the Barranco camp where you will have your evening meal spend the night. Although you complete this day at an almost similar elevation as you began, this day is very important to help acclimatize your body as the summit day draws nearer.

Route Plan: Shira Camp to Lava Tower to Barranco Camp

Elevation: 12,500 feet to 13,000 feet

Distance: 10 kilometer

Hiking Time: 6 to 8 hours

Habitat Moved: Semi Desert.

You will have breakfast at the Barranco Camp and then follow the trail along a steep ridge which will pass the Barranco Wall. This Kilimanjaro trail will take you all the way to the Karanga campsite found in the valley. Today’s hike is very short to offer your body ample time to acclimatize.

Route Plan: Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp

Elevation: 13,000 feet to 13,100 feet

Distance: 5 kilometers

Hiking Time: 4 to 5 hours

Habitat Moved: Alpine Desert.

An early breakfast will be taken at the Karanga camp, and then you will follow the trail to the junction heading to the Mweka trail before finally reaching the Barafu camp. This is where the southern circuit which offers various views of the mountain summit ends. You will camp here, rest, have your night meal and get an early sleep as you prepare to make it to the summit the following day. At this point you can actually see the Kibo Peak as well as the Mawenzi peak.

Route Plan: Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp

Elevation: 13,100ft to 15,300ft

Distance: 4 kilometers

Hiking Time: 4 to 5 hours

Habitat Moved: Alpine Desert.

You will begin this day’s hike to the summit very early between mid-night and 2:00am. You will hike between the Ratzel glacier and the Rebmann glacier, head North West and ascend across the thick gravel to Stella Point at an elevation of 18,600 feet found on the rim of the crater. This section of the trail is the most challenging both physically and mentally.

Once at Stella Point, you will have a brief rest and if the weather is good, you will be able to see the most breathtaking sunrise. From this point you will ascend for about an hour traversing the snow covered terrain all the way to the Uhuru peak. The Uhuru summit which stands at a height of 19,341 feet (5,895 meters) is the highest point on Mountain Kilimanjaro and it is considered as the Rooftop of Africa. Actually climbers who are faster will be able to see the sunrise at the Uhuru summit.

After spending some time at the summit resting and taking some photographs, you will begin the descent to the Mweka camp which will be the final destination for the day, making a stopover for lunch at the Barafu camp. During the descent, you will use your trekking poles and gaiters to traverse the loose gravel. The Mweka camp is located on the upper side of the forest, so expect some rainfall or mist in the late afternoon. You will have your evening meal before having your night’s rest.

Route Plan: Barafu Camp to Uhuru Summit to Mweka Camp

Elevation: 15,300 feet to 19,345 feet (and descent to 10,000 feet)

Distance: 5 kilometers ascent (and 12 kilometers descent)

Hiking Time: 7 to 8 hours ascent (and 4 to 6 hours descent)

Habitat Moved: Arctic / rain-forest.

This is the final day of this 7 Days’ hike on Mt. Kilimanjaro. After your breakfast at Mweka Camp, you will descend to the Mweka- Park Gate where you will be awarded your summit certificates. As you descend along the lower part of the forest trail towards the button of the mountain, you will realize that the terrain is very muddy as slippery. So once again, you will use your trekking poles together with the gaiters. You will continue to walk for approximately one hour until you make it to Mweka gate.

Your driver will be waiting for you at Mweka gate, and he will transfer you to a hotel in Arusha town where you will, freshen up and rest after several days of the hike.

Route Plan: Mweka Camp to Arusha town

Elevation: 10,000 feet to 5,400 feet

Distance Moved: 10 kilometers

Hiking Time: 3 to 4 hours

Habitat Moved: Rain Forest

Meal Plan: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Accommodation: Tulia Hotel & Spa.

Following an early breakfast at the hotel in Arusha you will be met by our representative who will drive you to the renowned Serengeti National Park, driving through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. After the seven (7) hours’ drive, you will finally arrive into the Serengeti and spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the Seronera area where you will see some of the animals living within this amazing national park.

Later you will proceed to your accommodation where you will check in, freshen up, rest and afterwards have diner.

Overnight at Tukaone Serengeti Camp

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

Today is dedicated to exploring the vast endless plains of the Serengeti Park. You will have breakfast very early in the morning and set out on an early game drive with well packed lunch boxes. During the game drives you will explore various circuits within the park among which is the River Sogore Circuit which circles through the endless plains all the way to the southern sector of the Seronera River. This river attracts a very large number of animals especially in the dry season which congregate to drink water. You will later proceed to the visitor’s center which has a gift shop where you can purchase some Souvenirs, obtain a lot of resourceful information about the park and even enjoy your lunch. The center has great views of wildlife.

Later on in the afternoon you will set out for another game drive to search for more animals within this park. Some of the animals you will see today include: lions, topi, Thompson’s gazelles, cheetahs, elands, giraffes, impalas, zebras and so many others.

Today you will also have an option of having a Hot Air Balloon Safari in the morning.

In the evening you will return to your lodge for dinner and the overnight.

Overnight at Tukaone Serengeti Camp

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

Very early in the morning you will take breakfast then depart for the Ngorongoro Crater Area.

You will make a stop at Naabi Hills Gate for registration and another stop at the Seneto Crater viewpoint for some great views and take some pictures if you wish, then descend to the Ngorongoro Crater floor for game drives.

After lunch at your Ngorongoro accommodation, you will descend to the floor of the crater.It is approximated that there are more than 3,000 wild animals living on the crater floor among which are: large zebra herds, warthogs, the mysterious leopards, wildebeests, huge African elephants, jackals, elands, hyenas, buffaloes, cheetahs, lions as well as hippos. You will also visit the large but shallow Lake Magadi which is an alkaline lake that offers habitat to hippos and a large flock of flamingoes.

You will later return to your overnight accommodation to freshen up and have dinner.

Overnight at Marera Valley Lodge.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

You will have an early breakfast, and depending on your time of departure, descend to the Lake Manyara National park at the floor of Great Rift Valley. Lake Manyara National park is famous for it’s legendary tree climbing lions and flocks of flamingoes. The park is however home to alot of animals and birds, among them herds of elephants, zebras, impalas, gazelles, giraffes, hippos, dik diks and many more. You wll do a last game drive before returning to Arusha town where the safari ends. Depending on your from where you will be transferred to the airport for your departure flight. This will be the end of our 12 day Tanzania Kilimanjaro Climb and Wildlife Safari.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.