12 Days Kilimanjaro trekking and wildlife Safari

On this day you will arrive into Kilimanjaro International Airport where our operations Manager or our Kilimanjaro climbing experts will meet you outside the arrival’s hall and usher you into a waiting transfer car that is private for you and your travel companions. You will be transferred to a hotel in Moshi if you would fancy staying in the base town for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

After breakfast at your lodge at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro (the rooftop of Africa) you will be transferred to the Machame Park Gate which lies at; (5,870 ft./ 1,790 mt.). Here you will be dropped at the Park’s Machame Gate for registering with the park authority, then we’ll begin our climb through lower altitudes of the lush green forest. While trekking you will likely hear the sounds of many exotic birds in the thick canopy above you, and with a little luck even see the beautiful black & white colobus monkeys and the mischievous Sykes monkeys. As you hike along the knotted roots you will continue on to some heath land before we reach your first Mountain Camp where you will spend the night. Today you will have hiked 5-7 hours of walking, and the camp is just above the forest zone. The trek is not steep but quite a long walk as you may realize in this day. All meals included.

This is the third day at Tanzania but your second day on the Mountain. After a healthy breakfast today, your trek will be happening across the beautiful heath land and afro-alpine moorland and here you will have (on a clear day) some magnificent views of the Mount Kilimanjaro Peak. The trek begins up the steep track through a savannah of tall grasses, and trees of Giant Heather and Erica. You will on this day scramble around some large boulders during your trek as you enter the moorland zone, which is distinctively marked by Giant lobelia and senecia plants, with volcanic rocks draped with lichen beards, which serve to protect wild alpine flowers that grow at their bases. This day you will spend the night at Shira Camp along Machame Route which lies around (12,615 feet) having walked for some 4-5 hours on this day.

Dinner and Overnight at Shira Camp.

Breakfast at the camp and off we are on the go again! We are now drawing nearer to the peak, and on this day, we get closer to the Lava Tower. On this day the trek becomes a little bit more strenuous because the trail now steepens as we approach to the lava Tower; which is a magnificent 300-foot-tall volcanic plug which marks an exposed pass at around 15,000 feet.
This afternoon we descend the steep track into the floor of the Great Barranco Valley. Here you will reach Barranco Camp which is set on a col (flat area) which is enclosed on three sides with steep valley walls and the Kibo massif itself. The beautiful hanging glaciers glint and sparkle in the sunshine above (depending on the weather on this day), amidst the eerie landscape of some plants such as the giant groundsels (scientifically known as – Senecio Kilimanjaro), and the endemic Giant Lobelia trees. After a 5 to 6 hours ascent on this day you will arrive at today’s overnight stop at Barranco Camp which is set at around; (12,990 feet). All meals included.

Dinner and Overnight at Barranco Camp.

Breakfast at the Mountain Camp in the morning and then the day will begin with a descent into the Gorge, before we continue with climbing its eastern wall. Here you will be able to enjoy stunning views of Kilimanjaro’s ice fields, which is by no doubt an equatorial anomaly. We will then continue trekking up by following the lava ridge until we reach the Barafu camp our campsite for tonight. The temperature by this time and at thus far will have grown colder and the landscape’s vegetation sparser as you near Barafu Camp. The Barafu Camp is set on a small, exposed flat area on a ridge, and the camp acts as the base camp from which we will make the summit attempt starting from midnight later tonight. After an early dinner this evening you will relax early ready for midnight start. The Barafu Camp is set at (15,225 feet) and reaching here today you will have walked for about 6 to 7 hours. All meals included.

Dinner and Overnight at Barafu Camp.

This is the big day! Just after midnight we wake up and start on the ‘final assault’ of a challenging trek lasting about (12 to 17 hours of trekking). First, we begin trekking at around 12:00 or any time until 1.00 am (depending on physical ability – the guide will have assessed by now), passing between the Rebmann Glacier and Tarzel glaciers to the rim until reaching at The Stella Point one of the milestones points up the Mount Kilimanjaro. Here the temperatures range from just below freezing at midnight, to between 10 deg. F (approx. -12 deg. C) to –10 F. (approx. -23 deg. C) just before dawn at the summit (quite cold by African Standards). As dawn nears, we will reach the summit at Uhuru Peak, which is the highest point in Africa at 19,341 feet (approx. 5895 meters above sea level). Uhuru Peak will be the culmination of – and the reward for an approximately 6 -7 hours of strenuous upward hiking. After a quick session of celebrating your achievements and taking photos at the Peak we will descend back to the Barafu Camp where we started earlier. Here we rest for a while then continue with our descent down to Mweka Camp (10,105 feet, 3-4 hours of walking on the descent). This is a long but rewarding day. Drink a lot of water and listen to the guide’s advice at all times! All meals included.

Dinner and Overnight at Mweka Camp

Breakfast at the Mweka Camp on this last day of your trek then you will make your final descent to the Mweka Gate of Mt Kilimanjaro and Kilimanjaro National Park. This is a downhill walk that takes you about two to three hours. AT the Park Gate you will bid farewells to your Mount Kilimanjaro guide and porters, then a waiting car will take you to Arusha where you will relax ready for your Tanzania safari starting tomorrow, touring the Northern Tanzania Safari Circuit.

Breakfast at the lodge in Arusha then you will start your safari in Northern Tanzania by driving to Tarangire National Park one of the best parks in Northern Tanzania Safari Circuit. On arrival you will make a brief stop at the parks gate for paper work then proceed on your first game drive in the vast park now the 5th largest in Tanzania. Tarangire National Park is famous for the large elephant herds and enormous baobab trees but it is the Tarangire River that serves as the blood life for the park that draws many animals throughout the year making the park such an interesting wildlife area to visit. You will take a picnic lunch at one of the many Picnic sites inside the park then continue with game drives.

You expect to see many animals and birds in this park including elephants, lions, zebras, warthogs, impalas, gazelles, buffaloes, dikdiks, gerenuks, cheetahs, and even leopards with a little luck, among many others. Later in the afternoon you will take to Karatu where you will check in to the lodge

Breakfast at the tented lodge in Tarangire your safari will proceed with a drive to Serengeti National Park by driving across the Great Rift Valley (with beautiful view on the way), and traversing the Ngorongoro Conservation Area reaching the Serengeti by mid-day. After a brief stop at the Naabi Hill Gate; where you will register and probable have your picnic lunch, you will proceed with game drives in the interior of Serengeti National Park, exploring the Seronera Valley which is a famous wildlife rich area in the park. Continue with the game drives in the whole afternoon and check in a safari tented camp later in the afternoon by 6.00 Pm for dinner and overnight. You may have a chit-chat around the camp fire if you fancy that out of Africa feeling!

On this day it is possible to go for an early morning game drive (sunset game drive), if you wish then after breakfast you will spend the rest of the day exploring the endless plains of the Serengeti National Park. Serengeti draws its name from the Maasai word ‘Siringit’ which means endless plains or plains without end. This is the home for the Big Five and it is also here where the Great Wildebeests Migration herds spend most of the year (From October to August each year). Our safari guide will take you where the animals are concentrating within the reachable distances within the Serengeti. In case the herds are much further north, please allow an extra day to be able to explore the Serengeti more comfortably. Picnic Lunch will be taken at the Visitors Center which is a Resource Center for persons visiting the Serengeti National Park while on the safari in Tanzania. Later in the afternoon you will retire to your camp for relaxation around the campfire.

After exploring the Serengeti today, we leave early after breakfast and head to the Ngorongoro Crater. We will make brief stops at the Naabi Hill Gate for registration and then drive to the Crater rim where we will descend down the 600-Meter-high walls into the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater also referred as the 8th wonder of the world. You will spend the rest of the day at the Ngorongoro Crater doing game drives in this world-famous marvel which is also one of the UNESCO world heritage sites in Tanzania. Ngorongoro Crater is a small area (about 21 Kilometers across) acting like a natural zoo with plenty of animals and birds to see at very close range. With a little luck we can spot at the African Big Five namely; Elephants, Lions, Buffaloes, Leopards and the rare Black Rhinos. Later in the afternoon we will ascend up the Crater walls and check in at a lodge within the Conservation area or a at a lodge in Karatu nearby.

Breakfast at your lodge then you will have an option to go for a nature walk (guided by the rangers), along the Endoro Trail enjoying the nature and the scenery up to the elephant’s caves, at extra cost. You may also relax at your lodge until time to transfer back to Arusha tow where the safari ends.

You will then be transferred to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your flight back home or dropped at the Arusha domestic Airport for a flight to Zanzibar Island in case you are doing a combined Kilimanjaro climb, Safari and Zanzibar Beach.