- 10 Days
Kilimanjaro Trekking Combined With Ngorongoro Safari:
Day 1: Arrival - Moshi
- On arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport, met and assisted. Transfer to
Keys Annex Hotel in Moshi for leisure sorting climbing gear in
readiness for the next day's trek. Overnight at Mountain Village
Serena on bed and breakfast.
Day 2: Machame Gate (1490m) - Machame
camp (2980m
Hiking time: 7 hours | Distance: About 18 km's | Habitat: Montane
forest
Your day starts early with a briefing, followed by breakfast and a
45-minute drive from Moshi (910m) to the Machame village (1490m).
The guides and porters prepare and pack the supplies and your
equipment in the village. You will receive a lunch pack and you can
also buy mineral water in the village. Depending on the condition of
the road, it is possible to drive from the village to the Machame
gate, but if not, the muddy 3 km walk will take about 1 hour to
complete. After registering at the gate office, you start your
ascent and enter the rain forest almost immediately. There is a
strong possibility of rain in the forest, which will transform the
trail into a very soggy, muddy and slippery experience. You will
have a welcome lunch stop about half way and will reach the Machame
camping area in the late afternoon.
Your porters (arriving at the camp site long before you) will have
erected your tent on your arrival. In the evening the porters will
boil drinking and washing water and the cook will prepare dinner,
before you retire to your tent for the night. Night temperatures can
already drop to freezing point at this campsite, B,L,D.
Day 3: Machame camp (2980m) - Shira
camp (3840m)
Hiking time: 6 hours | Distance: About 9 km's | Habitat: Moorland
You rise early at Machame camp and after breakfast you climb an hour
or so to the top of the forest and then for 2 hours at a gentler
gradient through the moorland zone. After a short lunch and rest,
you continue up a rocky ridge onto the Shira plateau. By now you
will be able to see in an easterly direction, the Western Breach
with its stunning glaciers. You are now due west of Kibo and after a
short hike you will reach the Shira campsite at 3 840m. The porters
will boil drinking and washing water, before serving dinner. The
night at this exposed camp will even be colder than the previous
night, with temperatures dropping to well below freezing, B,L,D.
Day 4: Shira (3840m) - Lava Tower
(4630m)-Barranco camp (3950m)
Hiking time: 7 hours | Distance: About 15 km's | Habitat: Semi
desert
The route now turns east into a semi desert and rocky landscape
surrounding Lava Tower , where you reach an altitude of 4630m after
about a 5 hours walk. Lunch is served in a designated area before
ascending the rocky scree path to Lava Tower (4630m). Definitely,
the toughest day so far. It is normally around this point, where for
the first time, some climbers will start to feel symptoms of
breathlessness, irritability and headaches. After lunch you descent
again by almost 680m to the Barranco camping area and after reaching
the high altitude of 4600m at Lava Tower , the true acclimatisation
benefit of this day becomes clear. This descent to Barranco camp
takes about 2 hours and offers great opportunities to take some
beautiful photographs of the Western Breach and Breach Wall. The
camp is situated in a valley below the Breach and Great Barranco
Wall, which should provide you with a memorable sunset while you
wait for the preparation of your dinner, B,L,D.
Day 5: Barranco camp (3950m) - Barafu
camp (4550m)
Hiking time: 7 hours | Distance: About 13 km's | Habitat: Alpine
desert
After spending a night at the Great Barranco Wall (a very imposing
sight at first), you make your way up this awesome looking obstacle,
which in the end normally turns out easier than what you
anticipated. Topping out just below the Heim Glacier, you now
appreciate just how beautiful Kilimanjaro really is. The route then
heads down through the Karanga Valley over intervening ridges and
valleys, and then joins up with the Mweka route. This is the
preferred route down from the summit, so remember it. Turn left up
the ridge and after another hour or so, you reach Barafu Hut.
The last water stop on the route is the Karranga Valley , as there
is no water at Barafu camp. Barafu is the Swahili word for "ice" and
it is a bleak and inhospitable camping area to spend the night.
Totally exposed to the ever-present gales the tents are pitched on a
narrow, stony, and dangerous ridge. Make sure that you familiarise
yourself with the terrain before dark to avoid any accidents. The
summit is now a further 1345m up and you will make the final ascent
the same night. Prepare your equipment, ski stick and thermal
clothing for your summit attempt. This should include the
replacement of your headlamp and camera batteries and make sure you
have a spare set available as well. To prevent freezing it will be
wise to carry your water in a thermal flask. Go to bed at round
about 19h00 and try to get some precious rest and sleep, B,L,D.
Day 6: SUMMIT ATTEMPT, Barafu camp
(4550m) - Uhuru Peak (5895m)-Mweka (3100m)
Hiking time: 8 hours to reach Uhuru Peak | 7/8 hours to descend to
Mweka | Distance: About 7 km's ascent - 23 km's descent | Habitat:
Stone scree and ice-capped summit
You will rise around 23h30, and after some tea and biscuits you
shuffle off into the night. You will head in a northwesterly
direction and ascend through heavy scree towards Stella Point on the
crater rim. This 6-hour walk to Stella point is for many climbers,
mentally and physically the most challenging on the route. At Stella
Point (5685m) you will stop for a short rest and will be rewarded
with the most magnificent sunrise you are ever likely to see
(weather permitting).
From Stella Point you will normally encounter snow all the way on
your 2-hour ascent to Uhuru Peak . The time you will spend on the
summit will depend on the weather conditions. Do not stop here for
too long, as it will be extremely difficult to start again due to
cold and fatigue. Enjoy your accomplishment and a day to remember
for the rest of your life. The walk back to Barafu from the summit,
takes about 3 hours. Here you will have a well earned but short rest
and collect the rest of your gear, before heading down to Mweka hut
(3100m). The route is not difficult and will take you down the rock
and scree path into the moorland and eventually into the forest. The
camp is situated in the upper forest and mist or rain can be
expected in the late afternoon. Dinner and washing water will be
prepared, B,L,D.
Day 7: Mweka camp (3100m) - Mweka Gate
(1980m)
Hiking time: 3 hours | Distance: About 15 km's | Habitat: Forest
After an early and well-deserved breakfast, it is a short 3-hour and
scenic hike back to the Park gate. At Mweka gate you sign your name
and details in a register. This is also where successful climbers
receive their summit certificates. Those climbers who reached Stella
Point (5685m) are issued with green certificates and those who
reached Uhuru Peak (5895m) receive gold certificates.
From the Mweka Gate you will continue down into the Mweka village,
normally a muddy 3 km (1 hour) hike. In the Mweka village you will
be served a delicious hot lunch!! You now drive to Arusha for a
long over due hot shower, dinner and celebrations!! Overnight at
Impala Hotel, B,L.
Day 8: Arusha - Ngorongoro Crater
Distance: 190 km (4 hrs) After breakfast, drive to Ngorongoro Crater
Conservation Area crossing on the way the small villages of Mto Wam
Boo and Karatu. Dinner & overnight at Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge, B,L,D
The main feature of the Ngorongoro Crater Area (NCA) is the
Ngorongoro Crater, which is the world's largest unbroken, unflooded
volcanic caldera. The Crater, which formed when a giant volcano
exploded and collapsed on itself some two to three million years
ago, is 610m deep and the floor is 260km² (102 square
miles).Estimates of the height of the original volcano range from
fifteen to nineteen thousand feet high. A population of
approximately 25,000 large animals, largely ungulates along with,
(reputedly), the highest density of mammalian predators in Africa,
lives in the crater. These include black rhinoceros, which have
declined from about 108 in 1964-66 to between 11-14 in 1995, and
hippopotamus which are very uncommon in the area. There also are
many other ungulates: wildebeest (7,000 estimated in 1994), zebra
(4,000), eland, Grant's and Thomson's gazelles (3,000).
The crater has the densest known population of lions, numbering 62
in 2001. On the crater rim are leopard, elephant numbering 42 in
1987 but only 29 in 1992, mountain reedbuck, and buffalo (4,000 in
1994).
However, since the 1980s the crater's wildebeest population has
fallen by a quarter to about 19,000 and the numbers of eland and
Thomson’s gazelle also have declined while buffalos increased
greatly, probably due to the long prevention of fire which favors
high fibrous grasses over shorter less fibrous types.
In summer enormous numbers of Serengeti migrants pass through the
plains of the reserve, including 1.7 million wildebeest, 260,000
zebra, and 470,000 gazelles. Waterbuck occur mainly near Lerai
Forest; servals occur widely in the crater and on the plains to the
west. Common in the reserve are lions, hartebeest, spotted hyenas
and jackals. Cheetahs, although common in the reserve, are scarce in
the crater itself. Wild dog has recently disappeared from the crater
and may have declined elsewhere in the Conservation Area as well.
Day 9: Ngorongoro Crater
Breakfast and departure for a full day of game viewing on the crater
floor of one of Africa's true wonders of nature, home of rhino,
elephant and lion coexisting with a large variety of antelopes.
Picnic lunch. Dinner & overnight at the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge, B,L,D.
Day 10: Ngorongoro Crater - Arusha -
Departure
After breakfast, drive back to Arusha for lunch. Later transfer to
Kilimanjaro Airport for your flight out, B,L.
Tour Price:
US$ 2,500 per person sharing. Single
room supplement: US$ 235
The above price is inclusive of:
-Guarantee price & guarantee departure upon confirmation
-Transfer from/to Kilimanjaro Airport
-Transfer to and from the base of the mountain
-Machame route trek
-Full board accommodation whilst on the trek.
-Meal plan as detailed: B=Breakfast, L=Lunch and D=Dinner
-Accommodations at Mountain Village for 2 nights on bed and
breakfast
-Full accommodation in camps on the mountain as per the itinerary
-All park entrance fees to include government taxes
-Service of an English speaking professional Mountain guide on the
mountain, porters and skilled cook
-Treated water on the trek
-2 night of full board accommodation in double/twin room on safari
at Ngorongoro Crater
-Service of an English speaking professional driver/guide
-Ground transport on safari in a comfortable 4x4 safari landcruiser
-Complementary bottled water on safari
-Crater tour services (Game drive and crater fees)
-Chemical toilet on the mountain
-Group maximum of 12 climbers for personalised service
Excluded:
-Laundry, tips, sleeping bags (thermal ones which can withstand upto
-10 degrees celcius), beverages/drinks and climbing gears
-Emergency Oxygen, available on request at $200 per group (MUST BE
REQUESTED IN ADVANCE)
-International flights and taxes
-Traveler’s insurance and medical evacuation insurance
-Passports and visas
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-Items of a personal nature and any other extras not detailed in the
above itinerary
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