8 DAYS LEMOSHO ROUTE

The Lemosho route is one of the unique route because of its low traffic, beautiful scenery and a high summit success rate. The Lemosho route starts off from the west, beginning with a long drive from Moshi to Londorossi Gate. From there, the first two days are spent trekking through the lush rainforest to Shira Plateau. 8 days is preferable for better acclimatization and summit success. The Lemosho route joins the Machame route at Shira 2 Camp and then follows the same route through the southern circuit and descending at Mweka Gate.  

1^st day londros gate-mti mkubwa

Londorossi Gate to Mti Mkubwa (2650 m/8692 ft.) Hike time: 3hrs Elevation Change: + 650 M+2132 Estimation distance: 10 km Final Elevation: 2650 m/8694 ft. After a 2 1/2 hour drive from Arusha drive to  the Londorossi Gate. Day 1 is fairly easy with a 3/4 hour climb to Mti Mkubwa Camp.  

2^nd day mti mkubwa-shira one

Mti Mkubwa (2650 m/8692 ft.) to Shira One Camp (3609 m/11841 ft.) Hike time: 5 – 6 hrs. Elevation change: + 950 M/+3116 Estimation distance: 12 km Final Elevation: 3609 m/11841 ft. A few hours walk will see the end of the forest and the beginning of a climb through heather forest to the edge of the Shira Caldera. Destination is the scenic Shira One Camp.

3^rd day shira one-shira two

Shira One Camp (3,609 m/11,841 ft.) to Shira Two Camp (3,849 m/12,628 ft.) Hike time: 5 – 6 hrs. Elevation change: + 240 M/+787 ft. Elevation distance: 5 km Final elevation: 3849 m/12,628 ft. Today is spent on a gentle hike across the Shira Plateau with possible side trips to Shira Cathedral. Camp is at the first high camp of Shira Two. NOTE: From Shira Two Camp the trail links with Machame Route.

4^th day shira two-baranco

Shira Two Camp (3,849 m/12,628 ft.) to Barranco Hut (3,948 m/12,956 ft.) Hike time: 5 hrs. Elevation change: +100 M/+328 ft. Estimated distance: 6 km Final elevation: 3948 m/12,956 ft. The real work of climbing Kilimanjaro begins here. Today the main feature is a slow climb to Lava Camp followed by a descent to the beautiful Barranco Camp. This is the Climb-High-Sleep-Low principal of altitude adjustment.  

5^th day baranco hut-Karanga valley

Barranco Hut (3,900 m/12,800 ft.) to Karanga Valley (3,963 m/13,000 ft) Hike time: 3.5 hrs. Elevation change: +100 m/+328 ft. Estimated distance: 4km/2.5 miles Final elevation: 3,963 m/13,000 ft After a climb of the Great Barranco Wall we continue around the southern circuit train until we reach another scenic location of Karanga Camp.

6^th day Karanga valley-barafu hut

Karanga Valley (3,963 m/13,000 ft.) to Barafu Hut (4,600 m/15,091 ft.) Hike time: 3.5 hrs. Elevation change: +600 m/+1,968 ft. Estimated distance: 4km/2.5 miles Final elevation: 4,600 m/15,091 ft. The trail from Karanga to Barafu reaches the bleak high desert of Kilimanjaro. Barafu Camp is a basic camp geared towards the business of reaching the summit.

7^th day barafu hut-uhuru summit-mweka camp

Barafu Camp (4,600m/15,091 ft.) to the Summit (5,896 m/19,343 ft.) and then to Mweka Camp (3,100 m/10,170 ft.) Summit time: 7 hrs. Elevation change: +1,300 m/+4,265 ft. Estimated distance: 5km/3.2 miles Final elevation: 5,896 m/19,343 ft. Descent time: 5 hrs. Elevation change: -2,800 m/-9,186 ft. Estimated distance: 12km/7.5 miles Final elevation: 3,100 m, 10,170 ft. This is a midnight ‘Alpine Summit’ to make sure we reach the summit by dawn, in time to return to Mweka Camp for the sake of improved.

8^th day, mweka camp-mweka gate

Mweka Hut (3,100 m/10,170 ft.) to Mweka Gate (1,828 m/6,000 ft) Descent time: 3hrs Elevation change: -1,250 m/-4,101 ft. Estimated distance: 10km/6.21 Final elevation: 1,828 m/6,000 ft. Today is a short walk towards Mweka Gate and pickup. It is a short day with arrival at the Gate. Checkout and return to Arusha