Departing from Moshi a 1-hour drive will take you through the Village of Marangu to the Kilimanjaro National Park Gate. We will wait for our permits to be issued while watching the hustle and bustle of operations as many crews prepare for the journey ahead Enjoy the beautiful rainforest scenery and windy trails while your guide tells you about the local flora and fauna and natural wildlife. At these lower elevations, the trail can be muddy and quite slippery. We highly recommend gaiters and trekking poles here.

After a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast, we emerge from the rain forest and continue on an ascending path, through the heathland, looking for giant lobelias and groundsels. Continue up into open moorlands where small shrubs are the main vegetation. Stop halfway for lunch, to enjoy amazing views of Mawenzi. Arrive at the Horombo Huts late afternoon beneath the spectacular Kibo Summit viewpoint. Temperatures begin to drop.

You can spend a full day and a second night at Horombo Huts. On this day, you can either rest at the huts or take a stroll up to the Mawenzi base camp then return to the Horombo Huts. This extra day will help your acclimatization, and further your understanding of the mountain's weather and altitude. After your pause, you will continue up to the Kibo Huts on your fourth day for your midnight start to the summit.

On day 3, you will walk through varied and strikingly picturesque landscapes. To begin, you will continue across the heath as it slowly turns into the parched, desolate highlands between Mawenzi and Kibo. The scenery here is littered with huge and small volcanic rocks, acting as a testament to the volcanic activity of years past. The final stretch to the Kibo Huts is very steep and physically challenging.

As you awake around midnight, there is just enough time for a small meal before you begin your nightly hike. Many hikers consider the difficult terrain, scattered with loose rocks, to be the most difficult part of the climb. The goal is to reach Gilma’s point by dawn. This is to make sure that you can make it to Uhuru, the highest point of Kibo, shortly after sunrise. There will be a quick stop at Gilman’s Point to experience the glorious view. Afterward, you will continue along the edge of the crater to Uhuru; this is the last part of the ascent and features a steady incline. Depending on when you take your journey, you may face snow on the final stretch of the path to Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa, and every top point of Kilimanjaro. As you reach the peak, at an altitude of 5895, you can congratulate yourself as you experience the astounding view and get a picture in front of Uhuru Peak.

Now that it is time to start back toward the Kibo huts, you will find that this part goes by incredibly quickly. At the Kibo huts, you will stop relaxing and enjoy a much-needed lunch before moving along to the Horombo huts, where you will enjoy a well-deserved full night’s rest.

We make the final descent through the rainforest to the Marangu gate. We will have lunch and say farewell to our mountain crew. Afterwards, we will leave Mount Kilimanjaro and drive back to Moshi for a much-needed shower and a commemorative dinner.