Umbwe 7 Days
Day 1: Moshi to Umbwe Gate to Umbwe Camp
Elevation(m): 915m/1387m to 1,800 m 2,800 m
Elevation(ft): 3,000 ft/4921ft to 5,905 ft to 9,190 ft
Distance: 8 km
Hiking Time: 5-7 hours
Habitat: Montane Forest
After breakfast at your hotel, we drive for one hour to Umbwe Village (1,490 m/4,890 ft) for registration. You start your ascent at the small Umbwe Gate just above the village and follow a gentle winding vehicle track for an hour to a signboard that announces the small steep Umbwe trail. The introduction is over, and you now climb up for several hours through a dense forest of rubber trees and giant fig trees. In places, you must scamper up steep sections of roots and rock. The Umbwe Camp is in the forest, and there are some caves nearby. You will be greeted here with a graciously served hot meal.
Day 2: Umbwe Camp to Barranco Camp
Elevation(m): 2,800 m to 3,900 m
Elevation(ft): 9,190 ft to 2,800 ft
Distance: 8 km
Hiking Time: 4-5 hours
Habitat: Semi-Desert
After breakfast, you will climb steeply through thinning forest glades to Giant Erica, Heather, and drier air. You continue up a ridge that drops steeply on both sides and hopefully, the clouds will part to reward you with a view of Uhuru Peak looming overhead. After lunch, you enter a zone of giant groundsels (Seneci Kilimanjaro) that seem to guard the heights, and this garden is one of Kilimanjaro’s special treasures.
Day 3: Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp
Elevation (m): 3,900 m to 4,200 m
Elevation (ft):12,800 ft to 13,780 ft
Distance: 7 km,
Hiking time: 4 hours
Habitat: Alpine Desert
After breakfast, we continue up a steep ridge to the great Barranco Wall. Then you climb this imposing obstacle, which turns out to be easier than it looks. Topping out just below the Heim Glacier, you can now appreciate just how beautiful Kilimanjaro is. With Kibo’s glaciers soaring overhead, you descend into the lush Karanga Valley to the Karanga Valley campsite. From the camp, you can look east and see the jagged peaks of Mawenzi jutting into the African sky. After a hot lunch at the camp, your afternoon is at leisure for resting or exploring.
Day 4: Karanga Camp
Elevation (m): 3,900 m to 4,200 m
Elevation (ft):12,800 ft to 13,780 ft
Hiking time: 1-2 hours
Habitat: Alpine Desert
This day gives your body a chance to acclimatize. You will take a short leisurely hike through the surrounding area, exercising your lungs and muscles in the thin air, and returning to Karanga Camp for rest.
Day 5: Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp
Elevation (m): 4,200 m to 4,550 m
Elevation (ft): 13,780 ft to 14,930 ft
Distance: 13 km,
Hiking Time: 8 hours
Habitat: Alpine Desert
In the morning, you hike east over intervening ridges and valleys to join the Mweka Route, which will be your descent route. Turn left toward the mountain and hike up the ridge through the sparse landscape for another hour to the Barafu Hut where you will receive a hot lunch. The last water on the route is in the Karanga Valley; there is no water at Barafu Camp, even though Barafu is the Swahili word for “ice.” The famous snows of Kilimanjaro are far above Barafu Camp near the summit of the mountain. Your tent will be pitched on a narrow, stony, wind-swept ridge, so make sure that you familiarize yourself with the terrain before dark to avoid any accidents. Prepare your equipment and warm clothing for your summit climb, and drink a lot of fluids. After an early dinner, go to bed for a few hours of precious sleep.
Day 6: Summit Day! Barafu Camp to Uhuru Peak to Mweka Camp
Elevation(m): 4,550 m to 5,895 m to 3,100 m
Elevation(ft): 14,930 ft to 19,340 ft to 10,170 ft
Distance: 7 km up, 23 km down
Hiking Time: 8 hours up, 7-8 hours down
Habitat: Scree and seasonal snow
You will rise around 11:30 PM, and after some steaming tea and biscuits, you shuffle off into the night. Your 6-hour climb northwest up through heavy scree between the Rebmann and Ratzel glaciers to Stella Point on the crater rim is the most challenging part of the route for most climbers. At Stella Point (5,685 m/18,650 ft) you stop for a short rest and a chance to see a supremely sanguine sunrise. At Stella Point, you join the top part of the Marangu Route but do not stop here too long, as it will be extremely difficult to start again due to cold and fatigue. Depending on the season and recent storms, you may encounter snow on your remaining hike along the rim to Uhuru Peak. On the summit, you can enjoy your accomplishments and know that you are creating a day that you will remember for the rest of your life. After your 3-hour descent from the summit back to Barafu Camp, you will have a well-earned but short rest, collect your gear, and hike down a rock and scree path into the moorland and eventually into the forest to Mweka Camp (3,100 m/10,170 ft). This camp is in the upper forest, so you can expect mist or rain in the late afternoon.
Day 7: Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp
Day 7: Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate to Moshi Elevation(m): 3,100 m to 1,980m to890m/1387m
Elevation(ft): 10,170 ft to 6,500m to 2,920 ft/4921ft
Distance: 15 km
Hiking Time: 3 hours
Habitat: Forest
After a well-deserved breakfast, it is a short, scenic, 3- hour hike back to the park gate. At Mweka Gate, you can sign your name and add details in a register. This is also where successful climbers receive their summit certificates. Climbers who reached Stella Point are issued green certificates and those who reached Uhuru Peak receive gold certificates. From the Mweka Gate, you will continue down to the Mweka Village, possibly a muddy, 3 km, 1-hour hike if the road is too muddy for vehicles.