The Lemosho Route is perhaps the most scenic Kilimanjaro route, from the first day to the last. The trail begins north of Shira, also on the western side of the mountain. But unlike the Shira Route, where for the first day you walk on a wide 4 WD road, Lemosho is a narrow wilderness trail right from the beginning, passing through pristine and remote rainforest with good chances of seeing wildlife. It then crosses the Shira Plateau before joining the Machame Route near the Lava Tower.
Luckily, despite its growing popularity, especially for second time Kilimanjaro climbers, Lemosho sees a very low number of people and truly offers and incredible adventure on the highest peak in Africa, and the highest free standing mountain in the world.
Maasai Wanderings is looking very much forward to providing you with a climb of a lifetime. No previous mountaineering experience is required for this trip.
DAY 1 - Arusha – Forest Camp - Hike: 4.1 km, 2350m-2790m, 3-4 hours
We depart after an early breakfast for transfer to Lemosho Gate, an arduous three-hour journey through the colonial grazing lands between Mt Meru and Mt Kilimanjaro. This area is now inhabited by Maasai families and has spectacular scenery. We complete formal registrations at Londorossi Gate before continuing onto the trailhead. We enjoy a packed lunch as the team inspects and co-ordinates luggages and then set off on our hike.
DAY 2 - Forest Camp – Shira One, Hike: 7.1 km, 2790m-3490m, 5-6 hours
We set out from camp this morning through magnificent forest areas to emerge onto Shira Plateau, the initial area where the volcanic activity of Kilimanjaro began. The scenery opens up to a more open savannah grassland and our view across to our goal on Kibo is superb. We will enjoy a packed lunch at a scenic point along the trail.
DAY 3 - Shira One – Moir Camp, Hike: 10.6 km , 3490m-4150m, 6-7 hours
Our focus today, begins after a hearty English style breakfast along with fresh fruits and breads and we begin to cross the plateau area, passing Shira Cathedral. The ‘cathedral’ area was an ancient sacrificial area for the Chagga tribe of Kilimanjaro and demonstrates the commitment the tribe had to the traditional god. We once again enjoy lunch enroute as we make our way across a sparsely vegetated habitat.
DAY 4 - Moir – Barranco, Hike: 8.8 km, 4150m-4635m-3955m, 7-8 hours
An excellent opportunity for acclimatisation today as we make our way up and over into the Barranco area – facing a more challenging hike with volcanic matter underfoot. It is an exciting day, taking in spectacular views once again as we near our summit departure point.
DAY 5- Barranco – Karanga Valley, Hike: 5 km, 3955m-4020m, 4-5 hours
Today’s hike takes us through some rugged and awesome terrain – especially after breakfast as we ascend the gruelling Wall of Barranco. As we reach the top, we are able to view over our footsteps so far, which is great motivation to continue on our trekking adventure. We enter Karanga Valley after lunch and set up camp away from the chilly winds that occur at this altitude.
DAY 6 - Karanga Valley – Barafu, Hike: 3.4 km, 4020m-4600m, 3-4 hours
Our departure from the sheltered cliffs of Karanga, we begin to reach the open volcanic flats towards Barafu. The landscape that now surrounds us is made up of lunar surrounds with the landscape beyond showing the peak of Kibo and above.
DAY 7 - Barafu – Summit - Mweka, Hike: 17.6km, 4600m-5895m-3075m, 14-16 hours
From midnight, we slowly make our way up the Crater wall and reach StellaPoint for a stunning sunrise over the African continent. We struggle at times catching our breath and with the volcanic scree underfoot but we are so close now and we look forward to reaching Uhuru. We are lucky enough to see the snows of Kilimanjaro, stunning glaciers and if we are lucky enough, an uninterrupted view across to Mt Meru and the surrounding plains. We only enjoy our triumph momentarily before we return down to Barafu and beyond to our last camp on Kilimanjaro.
DAY 8 - Mweka – Arusha, Hike: 8.8 km, 3075m-1645m , 2-3 hours
We enjoy a more leisurely morning and are able to take a final glimpse at Kibo peak before disappearing into the forest for our final descent the National Park gate at Mweka. We complete our signing out formalities and say good-bye to our team before embarking our awaiting vehicle for the return journey to Arusha.
