Marangu Route

Day 1
Depart Arusha/Moshi at 9:00 a.m. from your hotel to head to the Marangu Gate. Following a picnic lunch and registration, begin the mountain climb hiking through rain forest until you reach the Mandara Hut (9000ft/2750m) in about 3 – 4 hours. You have dinner and stay overnight at the hut.

Day 2
After breakfast, the trek continues for 5 to 6 hours, a short distance through the forest, then the ascending path winds through alpine meadow and open moorland. By mid-afternoon you will arrive at Horombo Hut (12335ft/3780) for dinner and overnight/

Day 3
After breakfast, you begin the climb passing through rugged landscape with giant lobelias and cactus with about 5 to 6 hours of hard trekking. Later afternoon arrive at Kibo Hut (15520ft/4730m) for dinner and overnight.

Day 4
After leaving for Kibo Hut between midnight and 1:00 a.m. you begin the final ascent to the peak navigating a “switchback” hiking trail. You typically reach Gilman’s Point (18655ft/5865m) at dawn to experience sunrise on the rim of the crater. It was about 5 hours of difficult trekking to get here. You proceed to the summit for Uhuru Peak at 1(9342 ft/5895m), which will take another 1 -2 hours. Upon descending, you will head to the Horombo Hut for dinner and overnight/

Day 5
After breakfast, you continue the descent to Marangu Gatewhich is a 5 to 7 hour hike. At the Marangu Park Gate, you are awarded a certificate for your successful conquest of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

IMPORTANT: To increase your odd of actually making it up the mountain, it’s very, very important to acclimatize. The question you have to ask yourself is this: You save some money but decrease your chances of making it to the top and have a higher chance of altitude sickness, or should you spend an extra day acclimatizing, pay a little extra, and actually watch the sunrise over Africa?

HOW DO YOU DO THIS?
You spend an extra day at Horombo hut for acclimatization. During the day, you have a short side trek to the foot of Mawenzi, then back to the hut for dinner and overnight.