6 Days Umbwe Route

The notorious Umbwe Route is our the toughest route to climb the summit of Kilimanjaro. If you’re an experienced, bold climber you’ll relish challenging yourself on the unforgiving but uncrowded and beautiful terrain. You’ll enjoy breathtaking sights that few travelers see.
You’ll experience the raw, primitive beauty of sun bleached rocky outcrops and balance along knife-edge ridges with water-carved ravines swooping giddily below. You’ll clamber upon the gnarled tree roots of ancient rainforest trails, traverse ice fields shimmering like frosted diamonds in the African sun, and sleep under sweeping star-filled skies. 

Itinerary

Day 0: Moshi 815m/670ft
Booked into your hotel in Moshi or Arusha for overnight and briefing from your guide.

DAY 1: UMBWE GATE – UMBWE CAVE CAMP
-Distance: 11km/7miles,
-Hiking Time: 5-7hours,
-Eleven:5,249 ft – 9,514 ft
-Vegetation: Rain Forest
The climb starts from Umbwe Gate, where the path follows a ridge between two deep valleys up through the dense montane forest. The camp is perched between huge trees and thick undergrowth. There is no water available at this campsite, so we must carry from the gate all the water needed for drinking, food preparation and cleaning.

DAY 2: UMBWE CAVE CAMP – BARANCO CAMP
-Distance: 6km/4miles,
-Hiking Time: 4-5hours,
-Eleven:9,514 ft – 13,044 ft
-Vegetation: Heath
The path gets steeper on this section, as you get out of the forest along the Umbwe ridge the route descends slightly to the Barranco camp situated in the valley. In this camp you will meet with other trekkers from Machame route and Lemosho route. The camp will be so busy due to the joining with other three famous route.

DAY 3: BARANCO CAMP – KARANGA CAMP
-Distance: 5km/3miles,
-Hiking Time: 4-5hours,
-Eleven:13,044 ft – 13,106 ft
-Vegetation: Alpine Desert
Our day starts by descending into the start of the Great Barranco, a huge ravine. We then exit steeply, up the Great Barranco Wall, which divides us from the southeastern slopes of Kibo. It’s a climb over rock, not technical but long and tiring. Passing underneath the Heim and Kersten glaciers, we head towards the Karanga valley. From here we have a steep climb up from Karanga valley to our night’s camp at Karanga camp, set at 3963m. For those feeling strong we will go for a mid-afternoon acclimatization trek up to around 4200m before descending back to camp for the night.

DAY 4: KARANGA CAMP – BARAFU CAMP
-Distance: 4km/2miles,
-Hiking Time: 4-5hours,
-Eleven:13,106 ft to 15,331 ft
-Vegetation: Alpine Desert
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.

DAY 5: BARAFU CAMP – UHURU – MWEKA CAMP
-Distance: 5km/3miles and 7km/4mile
-Hiking Time: 6-8 hours and 2-4 hours
-Eleven: 15,331 ft to 19,341ft and 12,434 ft
-Vegetation: Arctic to Heath
We start off at around midnight and walk steeply upwards to the summit glaciers. We will be climbing scree for 4 to 5 hours but gain incredible height over a short distance. The views are spectacular. We should be on the crater rim at Stella Point (5739m) as the first rays of the sun hit us. Spectacular ice cliffs within the crater surround us and the views to jagged Mawenzi peak and beyond are breathtaking. Another hour’s walking takes us to the summit, Uhuru Peak (5895m). We begin our descent by returning to Stella Point and then descending on scree slope and track back to Barafu Camp for breakfast, before finally heading down to Mweka Camp for a long well-earned rest.

DAY 6: MWEKA CAMP – MWEKA GATE
-Distance: 12km/7miles,
A gentle trek takes us down through the rainforest to Mweka Gate, where we complete park formalities and receive certificates, which you can hang up with pride! We are then met by our vehicles and return to the hotel in Moshi, where you can treat yourself to a welcome shower then celebrate with cold drinks. Overnight at your arranged Hotel