Day 1: Arrive at KIA and transfer to Arusha City
After you arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), you will be met by Maasai Wanderlust representative and be transferred to Arusha City. In the evening there will be a briefing with our chief guide, who will also make sure you are ready to begin the climb.
Day 2: Marangu Gate- Mandara Hut (1879m- 2720m)
This morning after breakfast, pack your climbing gear into the Land Rovers and drive for 45 minutes to the Marangu Gate on the eastern side of Kilimanjaro, register with the national park. Begin hiking head through dense rainforest to the trailhead. Be on the lookout for rare black and white Collobus monkeys swinging in the canopy. During heavy rainy season, lower elevations tend to be wet and muddy, we recommend you to bring your gaiters and trekking poles. After a hearty lunch, and reach the Mandara Huts at late afternoon. If you may start to feel the effects of altitude here, so it is strongly recommended you heed the following instructions from this point on:-
At night you may experience discomfort associated with acclimatization to the high altitude: because of a reduction in your waking breathing pattern, your body gets less oxygen than during the day. Taking altitude into account, you may therefore start feeling sick and have a headache. Pay attention to your own body and tell your guide if you start feeling any symptoms of altitude sickness.
Day 3: Mandara Huts- Horombo Huts (2,720m- 3,720m)
Out of the Mandara hut, you’ll hike up through the heather and heath-like shrubs grow in this area as well as gorse-like bushes, attractive grasses and flowers. Stop half way for lunch and you will arrive at Horombo hut at late afternoon. Several hours after lunch you will have to complete an acclimatization hike in the direction of Kibo Hut with a 200-meter gain in altitude, and then hike back down to Horombo Hut where dinner will be prepared for you. The acclimatization hike is an easy trek with a slight gain in altitude done in order to speed up the acclimatization process. You should take the acclimatization hikes very seriously. They help increase your chances of successfully summiting Kilimanjaro and save you from the consequences of altitude sickness.
Acclimatization hike:-
Day 4: Acclimatization Day at Horombo Hut(3,720 m — 4,500 m)
The day is spent here to rest and acclimatize to the high altitude and reduce chances of sickness. If you have energy, you can visit Zebra Rocks, so called of the vertical stripes caused by rain flow, which is 1.5 km away.Below the huts are the cul-de-sac lava tunnels with interesting glassy walls. After lunch, you have the opportunity to walk around the surrounding area, take pictures of Mawenzi Volcano or just sleep before the upcoming trekking to Kibo Hut. The acclimatization hike is an easy trek with a slight gain in altitude done in order to speed up the acclimatization process. You should take the acclimatization hikes very seriously. They help increase your chances of successfully summiting Kilimanjaro and save you from the consequences of altitude sickness. Acclimatization hike:-
Day 5: Horombo Huts- Kibo Huts (3,720 m- 4,703 m)
After breakfast, trek to your next Hut. It takes about 2 hours walk to get out of the heather land and reach the gravel desert of the saddle between Mawenzi and Kibo. Cross the alpine desert with intense radiation, high evaporation, and daily fluctuations in temperature; nights can be below 0˚C and in the day time as high as 40˚C in direct sun. Under these harsh conditions only the hardiest lichens, moss, tussock grass and bright yellow daisy-like flowers alongside the trail can exist. After a little lunch break cross the large saddle on the way to Kibo Hut. It is about 2-3 hours to Kibo Hut of which only the last hour is steep climb. You’ll explore the volcanic towers, rocky overhangs, and large boulder formations as you acclimatize. Rest up in preparation for tomorrow’s thrilling summit bid.
Day 6: Kibo Hut- Uhuru Peak- Horombo Hut (4,720- 5,895 m- 3,720 m)
Wake up around midnight and have breakfast before you start hiking up Pole, Pole (Slowly, slowly) with headlamps or flashlights into the night on the steepest and demanding part of the Kilimanjaro. If you are lucky enough, the moonlight will light your steps up on the northwest through the most challenging heavy loose scree and boulders trails all the way to Stella point. At this point, you will have a short rest and welcome a new dawn with amazing and stunning sunrise. Begin your focused trek to the summit, reaching Uhuru Peak- the highest point in Africa and the world’s highest freestanding peak where you create memories of lifetime. Enjoy free time to celebrate your success with your fellow trekkers, and snap stunning once in a lifetime photos before descending to Kibo Hut. At the camp, have lunch and a little rest. Then, pack your belongings then descend to Horombo Hut by crossing saddle.
Day 7: Horombo Hut- Marangu Gate(3,720m- 1,879m) – Arusha City
Wake up and have an early breakfast as usual, then pack your belonging and descent to Mandara hut. At Mandara, you will have lunch before you continue descending through the most beautiful cloudy, foggy and lush moorland forests to Marangu Gate. Lastly, we will present you with your commemorative certificates. After tipping and saying welfare to your mountain crew, you will be transferred back to Arusha City.
Day 8: Arusha City- Tarangire National Park
After a buffet breakfast, drive to Tarangire for full day game drive. En-route capture incredible photos of Maasai people grazing their herds on the savannah plains. On your game drive, you may spot vast herds of elephants, migratory wildebeest, zebra, impala and many more. Baobab trees are the landmark of Tarangire national park and it is said that God deliberately planted upside down so that you could see the root not the branches. Sight sausage trees found along the water courses and acacia trees that frame a picture for you at sunset.
Day 9: Lake Manyara -Serengeti National Park
Depart Lake Mnayara for the Serengeti National park with a picnic lunch. Serengeti offers the most scintillating game-viewing in Africa such as great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, big cats (lion, leopard and cheetah), thousands upon thousands eland, topi, kongoni, impala and grant gazelle binds the Serengeti’s ecosystem much as it has done for the past two million years. Over 500 bird species ranging from the out-sized ostrich and bizarre secretary bird of the open grassland to the black eagles that soar effortlessly above the sky. Later in the afternoon, you may experience one of the blazing Serengeti sunsets, with silhouetted acacia trees and the call of the wild close at hand.
Day 10 : Full Day Exploration at Serengeti National Park
After breakfast,depart for the morning game drive at the Serengeti National. Before mid day, transfer to the lodge for hot lunch at leisure. Embark for an afternoon game drive in the search for the “Big 5” – lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino. Famed for its annual migration, Serengeti offers the most scintillating game-viewing in Africa such as great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, big cats (lion, leopard and cheetah), thousands upon thousands eland, topi, kongoni, impala and grant gazelle binds the Serengeti’s ecosystem much as it has done for the past two million years. Later in the afternoon, you may experience one of the blazing Serengeti sunsets, with silhouetted acacia trees and the call of the wild close at hand.
Day 11: Serengeti National Park -Ngorongoro Crater -Arusha City
After having a hearty breakfast, you descend down into the Ngorongoro Crater. At nearly 2300m, the mornings are brisk and low cloud sometimes covers the area. As you drive down the descend road, the black dots below becomes discernable shapes, with the crater becoming ever more beautiful and irresistible. With over 30,000 animals across all species, the Ngorongoro Crater can be regarded as a “Garden of Eden”. The 100 sq km caldera also has the highest density of lions anywhere in Africa. Also, Zebra and wildebeest mix on the crater floor along with lions, buffalos, elephants, rare rhino, hyenas, gazelles, cheetah, antelopes, hippos, various types of jackal, greater and lesser flamingo and many other species. By lunch time you will arrive at the lake side, where you will be offered lunchboxes, after which the safari will continue, ending in a few hours with a transfer to Arusha City.
Day 12: Departure
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