With 5895 m altitude, Kilimanjaro is Africa´s highest mountain.  Surrounded by desert plains, the Kibo peak is easily identifiable by plane or from hundreds of kilometers away on the dusty roads of Kenya and Tanzania.  The mountain itself has a diameter of 40 to 60 km, and the change in altitude affords the hiker with a variety of terrain, from tropical banana plantations to sub-artic windy conditions of -20C at the top.   

Getting there  
The nearest city to Kilimanjaro is Moshi.  The town is full with eager guides and porters, and no doubt at some point you will be lead to the Kindoroko Inn where the ring leader deals out of a little office at the back of the building.  The full tour includes travel to & from the mountain, park fees, a guide, and additionally if requested porters and cooks.    

There are 2 main routes to Uhuru Peak - the well-travelled route, better known as the Coca Cola route which is up and back, and the round-trip called the Whiskey route which is a little more challenging.  The travel guides won´t mix coke with whiskey, so we opted for whiskey on the rocks!  

The trip from Moshi to Machame village takes about 40 minutes, and travels through banana plantations to the start of the trail.  
 

To prevent us from altitude sickness, we picked up some Glaupax, which is available without a prescription at the apothocary.   

The hike starts in a banana plantation, where it is so hot you probably wish you could hike naked! However, don´t be fooled into believing it was a mistake to pack warm clothes.  It is very windy and COLD at the top, which means goretex (including goretex gloves), headgear, and every piece of long johns you own are to your advantage to carry.  A headlamp for the night hike to the peak is also required. 

The only challenge to getting to the top of Kilimanjaro is the aclimatization to altitude. Otherwise, enjoy the scenery and take in the view at the top.   
 

Machame Village (1650 m) to Machame Hut (3000 m)  
Hiking time:  4.5 hours, including breaks to take in the scenery   
Altitude change: 1350 m  
Weather:  sunny and hot followed by afternoon rain showers   
  

The tour begins in a little village called Machame, where there is little else but a corner store.  The first 2 ½ km of the hike winds up through a banana plantation, where little children hiding amongst the trees call out “JAMBO!” and every so often run out and ask for a pen or for a piece of chocolate.  At the park gate, everybody is required to sign in and prove that they have a certified guide for the trip.  We had planned to finish the tour in 5 days, but even so were forced to pay for 6 days since according to the park official NOBODY does the trip in 5 days and if we wanted to pay for 5 days we better pack up and go do the Coca Cola (Marangu) route.  

After the park gate, the route goes up through a green and mossy forest, with plenty of mud and tree roots to hike over.  There are huge ferns and trees with diameters of up to 2m.  Per hour we gained about 300 m, in other words the hike was not at all steep.  At 2900m, the forest changes to small scrawny trees.  A few years earlier a forest fire had spread through the whole area and these little trees represented new growth.  Ten minutes from here is the camp site.  Piece of cake!  

There is full-time a park ranger at Machame Hut, to take care about natural disasters as well as to protect campers from theft.  From this campsite, you can see Mt. Meru in the distance.   
 

Machame Hut (3000 m) to Shira Hut (3830 m)  
Altitude change:  830 m  
Hiking time:  3 hours  
Weather:  clear in the morning, then foggy and cold   

What was to have been a 5 to 7 hour hike took just a little over 3 hours for us, with an increase in altitude from 3000m to 3830m.  The way was relatively steep but constant, save for the last 30 minutes at the top of the plateau to the camp.  It was cold, foggy and damp at the camp, however had the weather been better I would recommend to spend some time hiking over across the plateau here.  

All of the guides and porters do not carry with them tents. Instead, they sleep tightly together in a row, underneath some of the rock ledges by the camp.  It tends to make one feel guilty.

Shira Hut (3800 m) to Lava Tower (4655 m) to Arrow Glacier  (4900 m)  
Hiking time:  4 hours   
Altitude change: 1100 m   
Weather:  sunny, then cloudy and cold  

In the morning, our tent was completely covered with frost.  We had breakfast and hit the trail quickly. The previous day, we had been in fog.  This morning, we could see the top of Kili in the distance.  At this altitude, there is only tall grass and rocks.  A few hours into the hike, there is only rock.  After crossing through a valley, a fork leads to Lava Tower left, and to Barafu right.  We hiked left. Lava Tower is exactly that - in fact, all of the sand and stone is black and red.  Lava Tower is at 4655m, and since it was still early and we were all feeling good, we continued on to Arrow Glacier another 245m higher in altitude.  

Arrow Glacier is a very messy place, most likely since it is the last camping spot before the peak and most people leave in the middle of the night to get to the peak for sunrise.  Every unturned stone has toilet paper underneath it.  The wind at this point is incredible.  

TRIP TIP:  Be sure to collect enough water before the next day´s hike!  You need to drink lots with the changes in altitude and there is no water available until beyond Barafu campsite!!  
 

Arrow Glacier (4900 m) to Uhuru Peak (5895 m) to just past Barafu (Wild camp, 3900 m)  
Hiking time:  8.5 hours   
Altitude change: up 1000 m, down 2000 m   
Weather: moonlight and cold, sunny on top and on the descend   

We slept for a few hours, and got up just after midnight.  After putting on every piece of clothing possible, packing up camp and having a quick breakfast, we head for the hardest part of the tour (1.30 a.m.).  The trail goes directly up from the campsite.  Our “guide” (misnomer extreme!) lead us up a section of scree, and up through large boulders.  No headgear was required, since a full moon in the clear sky lit the whole way.  Going at a slow but constant pace, we gained 600m altitude in about 2 hours.  At the top of the breach we took a short but necessary break.  

Once over the breach, it is possible to see Uhuru Peak.  At first, our guide wanted to lead us directly over a glacier, but finally we opted to go around it.  Lucky for us!  We saw the most amazing 20m high ice tower, with the moon lighting up the right side of the tower, and the sun lighting up the left side!  We crossed over a field of lava sand, and then made a 200m ascent to Uhuru Peak.   

The view from Uhuru Peak certainly is something at sunrise.  Only a few days before we had been on Mount Meru 80km away looking over at Kili, and now we were looking back across the valley to Meru. Looking down the other direction, one can see the crater of the volcano.  If we ever go again, we will include a hike to the crater.  In hindsight, it was a mistake to not go to the edge.    

The peak gets quite busy, with people coming from both directions,  where whiskey does mix with coke, and everybody celebrates a good hike!  

The descent down towards Stella Point is easy over rock.  At Stella Point, a sharp right down a sandy slope is a quick and easy way to reach Barafu campsite.  Every few hundred meters, we had to stop to peel off another layer of clothing.  We hiked one hour beyond Barafu and set up camp.  

TRIP TIP:  At this camp, our guides wanted to be paid their tip.  Do not pay until you are right out of the park, otherwise there is the risk that they take off without you!  
 

Wild camp (3900 m) to Mweka Gate (1700 m)  
Hiking time:  3 hours   
Altitude change: down 2200 m   
Weather:  sunny and humid   

The last day of our hike took us back through rocks, vegetation and a rain forest to the park gate. The path through the forest is very muddy and slippery, and no doubt in rainy weather one could slide all the way down to the bottom of the mountain! At the end, we all received a certificate to prove we had completed the trip.  

Since our pick-up was scheduled for one day later, we set up camp at the park gate, and walked to Mweka, which is a group of stores in the middle of a 80m clearing in the middle of a banana plantation. We spent the day relaxing and enjoying icy cold Kilimanjaro beer.  Delicious!