6 days Kilimanjaro Marangu Route Climbing up to Uhuru Peak will give you a chance to reach the highest mountain in Africa, which is found in Tanzania and lies just 3 degrees south of the equator. Its permanent snow is very astonishing. Kilimanjaro offers one of the greatest opportunities in the world to climb the peak of high altitude with no need of technical climbing skills.
The trek will take you over well-defined altitudinal vegetation zones, from semi-arid scrub to dense forest. It is open to any ordinarily fit and healthy person who is prepared to put in some energy to climb to the summit. Walking distance is approximately 60 kilometers’ starting from Marangu Gate at 1,860 m and slowly but surely, ascend is always on the day and stop at night to reach Gillman’s Point 5,680 m and as a final point climb to Uhuru Peak 5,895 m, the real summit.
NB: Day of arrival: Pick up from Kilimanjaro Airport to Moshi town at the hotel where you will overnight. (BB)
Detailed itinerary for 6 Days Kilimanjaro Marangu Route (Mount Kilimanjaro climbing to Uhuru Peak)
Day 1: Transfer to MARANGU GATE and start climbing to MANDARA HUT
You will be picked up from the hotel and a drive to Marangu Gate. Follow as you drive towards the gate. You will be enjoying excellent views of the mountain, and you will meet your team of guides and porters at the gate. While in the forest, you could see bright-colored birds, colobus monkeys, and other species of monkeys, as well as mosses, lichens, flowers, and delicate orchids. If the skies are clear, you can see the town of Moshi lying at the edge of the plain further down. Once registrations are finished, you will start ascending and leave the park buildings. The walk is 4-5 hours through areas of coffee plantations and thick rainforest to Mandara Hut for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Climb from MANDARA HUT to HOROMBO HUT 3,720 m.
The second day on the mountain starts just after breakfast with a steep climb through the last swathe of rainforest, though this soon gives way to a rolling alpine meadow dotted with giant heather. Once you leave the forest sunshade, Kilimanjaro’s two peaks—snow covered by Kibo and rocky Mawenzi—lie straight ahead, overlooking the skyline. Further on you cross a zone of open moorland with diminutive vegetation; today you gain roughly 1,000 m altitudes; the walk can take five to seven hours depending on your pace but always POLE POLE. Tonight, for dinner and overstay at Horombo Huts.
Day 3: HOROMBO HUT
A day here provides an opportunity for you to acclimatize step by step to the altitude. Information shows that an acclimatization day effectively doubles the chance of succession to reach the summit, thus the time is well spent! The day is not precisely wasted as there are several walks you can take just in the locality of the hut, but we will take the most famous walk that most people take for acclimatization, which leads you to the base of Mawenzi Peak, the dramatic eastern summit of Kilimanjaro. The walk takes 4-5 hours a round trip and will go till an altitude of 4,600 m, then you will return back to Horombo Hut for dinner and overnight. This walk will put you in good shape later on.
Day 4: Climb from HOROMBO HUT to KIBO HUT
The scenery turns out to be rockier and rougher as you leave behind Kibo, everlasting flowers and other bizarre alpine plants. Massive groundsels and lobelias appear in the sparse moorland. The trail up to Kibo will take between five and seven hours. Skirting Mawenzi Peak as you pass the Last Water Point, then you cross a stark, almost lunar landscape to the Saddle, which is a wide tundra desert between the two peaks of Mawenzi and Kibo. Here you will start getting fantastic views of the upper ranges of the mountain before arriving at Kibo Hut (4,705 m), a dry-stone-walled hut with dorms and limited facilities. Tonight, you prepare for tomorrow’s final assault.
THE SUMMIT—re-packing to leave any non-essential items with the porters; you need to summon all your energy to get to the summit, so there’s absolutely no point in carrying anything you don’t need! An early night is imperative, as you must make a midnight start in order to reach the summit in the morning before the cloud cover settles, and then have time to get back down to the hut. Overnight stay at Kibo Hut for 1 night (breakfast, lunch, and dinner).
Day 5: Camping at UHURU PEAK
This is a long and demanding day! The guides wake you soon after midnight, and you start out in the darkness, zigzagging up a long scree slope by the light of your torch in the extreme cold. At this time of day, the snow is still frozen, which makes it easier to walk on! After roughly two hours, you should reach Hans Meyer’s Cave, named after the German geologist who made the first successful ascent in 1889, where he found the remains of a frozen leopard.
The gradient gets steeper and three hours on (this is the hardest stretch of the climb!) You should reach the canyon rim at Johanne’s Notch. From here it’s a short scramble to Gillman’s Point (5,685 m) in time for dawn. Your reward is the dramatic spectacle of the sun rising over the ice fields and craggy peaks of Mawenzi—the profusion of colors and shapes makes all the suffering seem worthwhile!
For those who still have the energy and drive, it takes another couple of hours along the crater rim to reach Uhuru (Freedom) Peak (5,896 m). Your descent (approx. 3 hours) retraces the route back down past Kibo Hut to Horombo Hut for a well-deserved rest. Overnight stay at Horombo Hut for 1 night (breakfast, lunch, and dinner).
Day 6: Transfer Back to Moshi
The pace quickens as you continue your triumphant way back down across the alpine meadow and past Mandara Hut through the rainforest to Marangu Gate, where you board the vehicle for the journey back to Moshi. Day of departure: Transfer to the Kilimanjaro Airport.
6 days Mount Kilimanjaro Marangu route Hiking Includes
- Park fees
- Huts fees
- rescue fees
- 18% VAT on tour fees and services
- Transportation to and from the mountain gate
- Professional mountain guides, cooks, and porters
- 3 meals daily while on the mountain
- Filtered water throughout the trek.
- Fair wages for the mountain crew as approved by the Kilimanjaro National Park Authority (KINAPA), Kilimanjaro Association of Tour Operators (KIATO)
- Pickup and dropoff at Kilimanjaro Airport
- Accommodation before and after the Kilimanjaro crane or Key’s Lodge (BB)
However, the 6 day Mount Kilimanjaro-Marangu route hike excludes
- Flights
- Travel Insurance
- Visa and passport fees
- Tips to mountain crew
- Items of a personal nature
- Laundry Services
- A doctor for the group
- Alcoholic beverages
- A portable flush toilet with a toilet tent is extra ($100 per toilet + toilet tent).
