8 days Lemosho Kilimanjaro Christmas summit Tour | BURIGI CHATO SAFARIS CO LTD

If you’re reading this, you’re probably interested in climbing Kilimanjaro on the Lemosho Route. The Lemosho Route is widely considered to be the best route on Mount Kilimanjaro. Not too long ago, there were only two main routes used to climb Kilimanjaro – the Marangu (Coca Cola) route and the Machame (Whiskey) route.

But as Tanzania’s tourism industry flourished, the Kilimanjaro park authority created more trails to African’s highest peak to distribute climbers to more areas of the park. This reduced bottlenecks at certain points and also made for a more pleasant experience by limiting crowds.
Additionally, these latter trails were more thoughtfully designed to improve acclimatization for the climber by incorporating longer distances, longer times on the mountain, and shorter elevation gains. Lemosho, a relatively new route, falls into this category.

Itinerary

Day 1: DAY 1: Lemosho Gate to Big Tree Gate(19th-December)

Stop At: Kilimanjaro National Park, Kilimanjaro National Park, Kilimanjaro Region

You will be picked up at your hotel at around 08:00 am and transferred to the Lemosho gate located on the western side of Kilimanjaro. After the registration process, you will still start our climb steadily through the forests of the Lemosho glades to reach Big Tree camp where you will be spending the night.

Distance covered: 7km
Time to be used: 4 hours
Meals: Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation: Big Tree Camp
Duration: 4 hours

Meals included:
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: overnight at Big Tree Camp

Day 2: DAY 2: Big Tree Camp to Shira Camp(20th-December)

Stop At: Kilimanjaro National Park, Kilimanjaro National Park, Kilimanjaro Region
Today you will cover a lot of ground as you trek across a plateau of grassy moorland and heather scattered with volcanic rock formations. We will trek through Shira 1 Camp from where there are often views of Kibo Peak floating on the clouds as we head towards our destination which is Shira 2. We gain a reasonable amount of altitude as we head towards Shira 1 and parts of the route are fairly steep. As you proceed towards Shira 2 you will get the chance to view the Northern Ice fields from the western side of the mountain with some unusual views of Kibo. Our steady climb across the moorland of the Shira Plateau will help with acclimatization and we enjoy great panoramic views.

Distance Covered: 16.5kms
Time to be used: 9 - 11 hours
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodation: Shira Campsite
Duration: 11 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight at Shira Campsite

Day 3: DAY 3: Shira Campsite(21st-December)

Stop At: Kilimanjaro National Park, Kilimanjaro National Park, Kilimanjaro Region
Today you will have very moderate walk across the plateau which leads you to Shira Camp two on moorland meadows by a stream. Although variety walks are available on the plateau just to make this an excellent acclimatization day.

Distance Covered: 10km
Time to be used: 7 hrs
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodation: Shira Camp
Duration: 7 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight at Shira campsite

Day 4: DAY 4 : Shira Campsite to Lava Tower(22nd-December)

Stop At: Kilimanjaro National Park, Kilimanjaro National Park, Kilimanjaro Region
You will have breakfast and precede hiking east up to a steeping path above the vegetation toward Kilimanjaro's looming mass. After several hours of walking now commerce, you’re a walk through a rocky landscape to reach the prominent landmark called Lava Tower at 4,630 m/15,190 ft. This chunky remnant of Kilimanjaro's earlier volcanic activity is several hundred feet high, and the trail passes right below it. After a lunch stop near Lava Tower, descend for 2 hours below the lower cliffs of the Western Breach and Breach Wall to Barranco Camp at 3,950 m/12,960 ft. There are plentiful photo opportunities on this hike, especially if the walls are festooned with ice. Barranco Camp is in a valley below the Breach and Great Barranco Walls, which should provide you with a memorable sunset while you wait for your dinner.

Distance Covered: 5.5 km
Time to be used: 5 hrs
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodation: Barranco Camp
Duration: 5 hours

Meals included:
• Lunch
• Dinner
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight at Barranco Camp

Day 5: DAY 5: Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp(23rd-December)

Stop At: Kilimanjaro National Park, Kilimanjaro National Park, Kilimanjaro Region
After a good night’s rest and breakfast, we set off on our walk to Barafu camp at 4640m. The climb will take us across desolate scree slopes with no vegetation around us at all. It’s a tough steep walk made more difficult by the altitude. On arriving at camp we eat and spend the afternoon resting as we prepare for a long night and day ahead. It is important to keep hydrated and warm. We have an early dinner and then try to get some sleep as we will be getting up at between 11pm and 12pm to start the climb to the summit.

Distance Covered: 3km
Time to be used: 3 hours
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodation: Barafu Camp
Duration: 3 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Dinner
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Overnight at Barafu Camp

Day 6: DAY 6: Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp(24th-December)

Stop At: Kilimanjaro National Park, Kilimanjaro National Park, Kilimanjaro Region
This morning you will hike east over intervening ridges and valley to join the Mweka Route, which will be your descent route. Turn left toward the mountain and hike up the ridge through a sparse landscape for another hour to Barafu Hut where you will receive a hot lunch. The last water point on this route is Karanga Valley as 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 valued sleep.

Distance Covered: 13.4km
Time to be used: 12- 15 Hrs
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodation: Millenium Campsite
Duration: 15 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Dinner
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Overnight at Millenium Campsite

Day 7: DAY 7: Barafu Camp - Summit - Mweka Camp(25th-December)

Stop At: Kilimanjaro National Park, Kilimanjaro National Park, Kilimanjaro Region
You will be up around 11:30 PM, and after some hot tea and biscuits you will drag your feet off into the night. 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 exhaustion. Depending on the time of year and current storms you may stumble upon snow on your remaining hike along the rim to Uhuru Peak.

Distance Covered: 12.5km
Time to be used: 6.5 hrs
Duration: 6 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: overnight at Mweka Camp

Day 8: DAY 8: Mweka Campsite to Mweka Gate to Moshi(26th-December)

Stop At: Kilimanjaro National Park, Kilimanjaro National Park, Kilimanjaro Region
After a well deserved breakfast it is a short scenic 3-hours hike back to the park gate, please note no tips is given on the way until all your gears and the rest of the crew have reached the gate safely, but do remember to tip your staff at the gate, At Mweka Gate you will sign your name and add details in a register. This is also where successful climbers normally receive their summit certificates and can be followed by a bottle of champagne. Climbers who reached Stella Point are issued green certificates and those who reached Uhuru Peak receive gold certificates. From Mweka Gate you will continue down to Mweka Village 3 km where you will be served a delicious hot lunch after which you are driven back to Moshi.

Distance Covered: 12.5km
Time to be used: 7 hrs
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Duration: 7 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight at the Hotel In Moshi or Arusha