6 Days Umbwe Route Kilimanjaro

6 Days Umbwe Route Kilimanjaro: Tour overview

6 Days Umbwe Route Kilimanjaro. Climb Kilimanjaro via the Umbwe routes is one of the most difficult ways to climb it. It’s also a quiet, beautiful route. Join one of our certified guides and trek to the top together. This route is fairly steep and includes some scrambling.

Doing it over seven days helps us to acclimatize a bit better. However, if you don’t have much experience hiking or acclimatizing quickly, this is not the hike for you. If you do have the experience, this is pretty epic. There are much fewer people on this trail so you’ll get to experience solitude and peace on your way to the summit.

On average we’ll spend around six hours per day of intense trekking. Then, on summit day you’ll start at around midnight and be on your feet for around 14 hours both ascending and descending. The scenery is otherworldly and beautiful. You’ll get to see large glaciers and volcanoes shooting up into the clouds.

The plant life is pretty good too. Expect to see the beautiful moss-covered trees of Kilimanjaro’s cloud forest and giant Senecio and Lobelias. Enjoy Kili Ltd offers Umbwe as 6 days or seven days private climb. The seven-day variation adds an acclimatization day on day three at Barranco Camp.

Itinerary

Kilimanjaro Airport – Moshi

On your arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport, one of our welcoming transfer drivers will take you to your accommodation for the night, the Keys Hotel in Moshi Town. Rest in the afternoon or relax at the pool. Our operations team will meet you to check all your equipment and to give you a thorough briefing of what to expect on your trek.

Dinner

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Day 1 Moshi – Umbwe Gate (1640 m) – Umbwe Cave Camp (2930 m)

In the morning after breakfast, our driver will pick you up at your lodge and take you to the Kilimanjaro National Park. At the gate, your mountain guide will take care of the registration process and once everything is packed, you can begin your adventure. The trail will start as a wide forest road but then gets narrower as it climbs through the rainforest. You will walk on a mountain ridge between the Lonzo and Umbwe rivers before reaching Umbwe Cave Camp (2930 m) after about 5 to 6 hours of strenuous walking. At the campsite, you can rest and enjoy some snacks while dinner is being prepared. You might be lucky enough to see the reflective eyes of a wild cat or monkeys jumping through the trees.

Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner

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Day 2 Umbwe Cave Camp (2930 m) – Barranco Camp (3960 m)

Today the first section of the trail will be steeper than on the first day. You’ll start with several muddy slopes which make the ascent more difficult. As you climb higher you will enter the heather and moorland zone of the mountain, characterized by Erica tree heathers that grow up to 3 or 4 meters. You will continue on the ridge with views into the Umbwe Valley until you reach a vertical rock wall called Rope Rock. This is the steepest wall on any of this mountain’s routes. Your guide will take your daypack and assist you to get up this rocky passage. Afterward, the gradient of the trail will ease out as you make your way to the picturesque Barranco Camp, your resting place for the night. Enjoy amazing views of Kibo and the Great Barranco Wall.

Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner

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Day 3 Barranco Camp (3960 m) – Karanga Camp (4035 m)

After an early breakfast, you will begin your day by tackling the famous Barranco Wall. From time to time you might need your hands to hold on tight but there are no real climbing passages, and the ascent is easier than it looks. Once you’ve tackled the wall, the trial will proceed in an undulating fashion towards Karanga Camp. There are great views of the southern glaciers of Kibo. Karanga Camp is situated less than 100 meters higher than your previous camp. After about 3 to 4 hours you will arrive at the camp and you can spend most of the afternoon relaxing or take further an acclimatization trip towards Barafu Camp before returning back to Karanga Camp for the night.

Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner

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Day 4 Karanga Camp (4035 m) – Barafu Camp (4640 m)

Your destination for today, Barafu Camp at 4640 meters, should be reached after about 3 to 4 hours. For most of the route, you’ll be trekking through the barren and striking afro-alpine desert. This will be your last stop before the summit night. So try and get an afternoon siesta before dinner is served. After a final briefing from your guide, you’re advised to get straight back into your sleeping bag as you will be woken up again around midnight to begin the summit climb.

Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner

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Day 5 Barafu Camp (4640 m) – Uhuru Peak (5895 m) – Mweka Camp (3080 m)

Finally, your time has come – you will slowly make your way towards the summit after a hot drink and some biscuits for fuel at the camp. Today’s strenuous trek will take around 5 to 7 hours until you reach Stella Point, the crater rim of Kibo. You can have a short rest here while the sun’s first rays light up a breathtaking view of the surrounding landscapes. From here the path flattens out for the final stretch to Uhuru Peak, which takes about an hour, towering above anywhere else on the African continent at 5895 meters. Standing on the `Roof of Africa’ will be a truly special moment as you watch the sunrise lighting up the mountain’s iconic glaciers. Shortly, you will move back to Stella Point and start your descent to Barafu Camp. After a couple of hours, you can rest at the camp and enjoy a well-deserved meal. Your camp for tonight will be in sight after another descent of around 3 hours. Exhausted from the past few days’ achievements, you should have a good night’s sleep at Mweka Camp.

Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner

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Day 6 Mweka Camp (3080 m) – Mweka Gate (1630 m) – Moshi

This morning you’ll be treated to the traditional farewell ceremony with your mountain crew before you start your final descent to Mweka Gate. This stretch should take about 2 to 3 hours and leads you back through Kilimanjaro’s beautiful rainforest sections. Our driver will be waiting for you at the gate to take you back to your lodge in Moshi. Here you may just relax or enjoy a swim in the pool and reflect on the unforgettable experience of the past days.

Breakfast; Dinner 

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Moshi – Kilimanjaro Airport

After breakfast, you will be taken back to the Kilimanjaro Airport. From here you can fly home or continue to Zanzibar. Alternatively, you can join a safari in Tanzania.

Breakfast

Price includes:

• Trekking tour according to the itinerary
• Accommodation in tents and hotels as indicated in the itinerary
• Professional English-speaking guide
• Personal porter
• Meals as indicated in the itinerary
• Drinking water
• Transfers as indicated in the itinerary
• Camping equipment – tents, sleeping mattress and camping furniture
• Portable toilet and toilet tent
• National park fees
• Rescue fees

Price excludes:

• Flights (international and domestic)
• Meals not indicated in the itinerary
• Beverages other than water (alcohol and soft drinks)
• Visa, tips, personal expenses, travel insurance
• Sleeping bag (can be rented, please ask us at the time of the booking)