Kilimanjaro 5 Days 5 Nights Via Marangu Route
Overview
See the Wild, Feel the Heights, and Love the Coast
SAFARI INTRODUCTION & BRIEF
| Route | Marangu route 5 Days Itinerary |
|---|---|
| Duration | 5 Days 4 Nights |
| Best time Trek | All year round |
| Days | Destination | Accommodation | Basis | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day-1 | Arusha – Marangu Gate | Mandara Hut | HB | 1 Night |
| Day-2 | Mandara Hut – Horombo Hut | Horombo Hut | FB | 1 Night |
| Day-3 | Horombo Hut – Kibo Hut | Kibo Hut | FB | 1 Night |
| Day-4 | Kibo Hut – Uhuru Peak – Horombo Hut | Horombo Hut | FB | 1 Night |
| Day-5 | Horombo Hut – Marangu Gate | Gold Crest Hotel | FB | 1 Night |
ITINERARY
Day 0: Arrival in Arusha
On arrival at Kilimanjaro international airport JRO/Arusha airport meet our representative & drive to Planet Lodge in Arusha. Late our safari manager will come for detailed safari briefing & then leave you to enjoy lodge facilities before diner & overnight.
meals Plan
Overnight
DAY 1: ARUSHA (1400 M) – MARANGU GATE (1,980 M) – MANDARA HUT (2,700 M)
Vegetation type: Montane Forest & moorland
After breakfast at your lodge in Arusha, we pick you up and drive be Marangu gate. It will take you about 2.5 to 3 hrs of driving along chagga villages, and farms of sweet potatoes, cassava, beans, maize & through coffee & banana plantation. On arrival at the gate you will sign in at the park office and your guide will work on park formalities. The actual number of potters to support you will depend on things to be carried but from the office we will weigh all the luggage and have a rough idea of the number of porters. According to park rules & regulation each potter should carry not more than 20 kg, you will carry your lunch box, drinking water, some clothes and all you're valuable. Potters are hiking first so once they carry any of your things you will meet them at the camp.
Today, your Kilimanjaro climb Marangu route 6 days starts by trekking up to Mandara hut (2700 m). You will hike through beautiful landscape of the mountain forest & along little streams and waterfalls. Kisamboni picnic area, the place for lunch, can be reached after 1.5 hrs walk from the park gate. From Kisamboni, another 1.5 hrs will be needed to reach Mandara hut (2700 m). The vegetation type at the campsite is of low alpine zone and moorland, with shrub and trees accompanied with lots of lichens.
Mandara hut is placed at a clear forest with wooden A-shaped frames and here is where your first night on Kilimanjaro Mountain will be spent. Mandara huts has a capacity of 60 people sleeping in bunks, each hut having 6-8 sleeping bunks. Water around this area is from the spring and can be used for cooking, drinking & flushing toilets. At the camp you will have hot water to wash, coffee or tea with snacks before changing the clothes that you have been hiking with & put on dry clothes — on the mountain we say stay warm all the time. This procedure will be carried out in almost all camps.
You can have a short walk to the Maundi Crater where you can enjoy good weather and possibly great views of Mawenzi peak. Blue monkeys and black and white colobus monkeys can be spotted around this place.
Meals Plan
Overnight
DAY 2: MANDARA HUT (2,700 M) – HOROMBO HUT (3,720 M)
Vegetation Type: Moorland Zone
After light breakfast, your second hiking day on Kilimanjaro Mt. Marangu route starts. This day you will hike along the last patches of the montane forest, past the other side of Maundi crater, and soon you will reach the moorland vegetation zone.
The area is dominated by beautiful plants like Lobelia Deckenii and lovely Dendrosenecio Kilimanjari. With good weather conditions, you can have a stunning view of both Kibo and Mawenzi peaks. Later you will arrive at Horombo huts, and if you wish, you can bathe with hot water before dinner, followed by sleeping in a luxurious bed.
Horombo huts can accommodate 120 people all sleeping in beds, and it is like a small village — the only huts on Kilimanjaro with beds. You have one day here for relaxing and acclimatization — be prepared, as nights here tend to be crazy cold.
Meals Plan
Overnight
DAY 3: HOROMBO HUT (3,720 M) – KIBO HUT (4,700 M)
Vegetation Type: Alpine Desert
Your hiking day will start after breakfast. Saddle, the area in-between Mawenzi and Kibo, can be reached in two different routes: through the upper route which is eroded and stony, or by taking the lower route which is easier and most recommended, where you can pass near the water point at (4200 m) — the last in this route.
We will fill your bottles with enough drinking water, as this will be the last water point before reaching Horombo huts again. Otherwise, you can buy mineral water or soft drinks at Kibo huts. If you wish, you can take a short break at this last water point and perhaps sit at the picnic site for lunch.
You will reach Kibo huts at (4700 m) after 2 walking hours. Kibo hut is at the barren Alpine desert, with only grasses and everlasting flowers. Kibo huts are built with stone blocks and have 60 bunk beds and platform toilets. Upon reaching the camp, same procedures will follow as per previous days.
Meals Plan
Overnight
DAY 4: SUMMIT ATTEMPT: KIBO HUT (4,700 M) – UHURU PEAK 5,895 M – BACK TO HOROMBO HUT (3,720 M)
| Hiking Time | 8 hours to Uhuru Peak, 6 hours to Horombo hut |
|---|---|
| Distance approx | 6 km ascent 21 Km descent |
| Vegetation Type | Stone Scree / Ice-cap summit |
This is the final part of your Mt. Kilimanjaro climbing on the Marangu route, and you will start at midnight. On this day, after an early dinner, your guide will give you a detailed briefing on how you can successfully get to the summit, including what to pack, what to wear, and other important information. You will then prepare all needed gear before going to sleep, as the starting hours will be around midnight, depending on your pace.
Things to be prepared for this attempt include thermal clothing, ski stick, thermal flask for water, hand warmers, batteries, and a headlamp, among others. Your guide will point them out during the briefing.
Since your guide has been observing your pace on previous days, he will schedule the starting time, which will likely be at 23:00 or 23:30. You may have some tea and biscuits before starting. You will then face a challenging part of your Kilimanjaro climb at the beginning, which is a rough and rocky path.
On the way, you will pass Williams Point (5,000 m), Hans Meyer Cave (5,150 m), and Gillman's Point (5,681 m) positioned on the crater's rim. To reach Hans Meyer Cave from Kibo hut, you will spend almost two and a half hours. Gilman's Point is placed just a short distance from Hans Meyer Cave; it is about an hour to get there.
From Gilman's Point, you will possibly need not less than 1 hour and a half to reach the summit. The rest of your climb all the way up to Uhuru Peak will be covered with snow, and the walking will be along the rim of the crater. Stella Point (5,752 m) will be passed on the way, and this is the point where other Kilimanjaro routes reach the rim.
Mt. Kilimanjaro climbing tours continue, and at this point, you are about to reach the summit, though it can be a great challenge. Once there, weather conditions and how you feel will determine the time to be spent at the summit enjoying & taking pictures, but it will not be much longer at this altitude before starting your descent back to Kibo hut (4,700 m) for a lunch break.
After lunch, you will stretch further down to Horombo hut (3,720 m) — it will take not less than 3 hours to get there. At the camp, the same procedures of hot water to wash & so forth will take place. Later, you will be served dinner and spend a night in the luxurious beds.
Meals Plan
Overnight
DAY 5: HOROMBO HUT (3,720 M) – MARANGU GATE AT 1,980 M – DRIVE TO MOSHI/ARUSHA
Vegetation Type: Low Alpine Zone, Moorland, and Montane Forest
You will have breakfast at Horombo hut before starting your last day down from Kilimanjaro. Hot lunch will be served at Mandara hut (2,700 m), followed by a little rest before continuing your descent hopefully, the path is familiar as you passed here on your first day.
Reaching Marangu gate, you will provide some details to the register on where you have reached. The certificate for reaching Gilman's Point is green in color, while the gold certificate (big diploma) is awarded for reaching Uhuru Peak, the actual summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. This will be the time for celebration singing & dancing followed by the tips session, starting with the porters, then the cook, and lastly, the guides.
After receiving your certificates, you will be served a hot lunch, then drive back to Arusha and to Gold Crest Hotel for long overdue showers and more celebrations before dinner & overnight rest.
Meals Plan
Accommodation
Congratulation you are among the heroes who have successfully Climbed Mt Kilimanjaro Marangu route in 5 days.
THIS TOUR INCLUDES
THIS TOUR EXCLUDES
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