10 Days Kilimanjaro Climb and wildlife Safari

Description

Day 1: Drive from Arusha to Machame Gate

Your 1O Days Kilimanjaro and Safaris begins by departing from your Hotel at 08:30 am for the 6 Days Machame route and you’ll pass the Machame village where your hike starts. From the park entrance gate Machame, you will walk for about 2 to 3 hours through a dense forest of fig and rubber trees, begonia flowers, and other tropical vegetation. A stop for picnic lunch will be made halfway to this evening’s campsite. As you continue your ascent, you will find that the tropical forest has given way to tall grasses and giant heather.

You will be walking on a ridge, to the left of which is the Semira stream, and on the right, the Weru Weru. Depending on the pace of the climbers, arrival at Machame Camp is normally between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM. Your camp is set up near some old metal huts, which were once used for shelter; this initial stage of the climb is tranquil and relatively easy. There is no point in rushing to get to the camp, as there is little to do there. Our Nature Travel Tanzania Guides tend to recommend a slow ascent, even at this point, for gradual acclimatization. Do not try to keep up with your porters, who will usually bind ahead. Instead, take time to admire the beauty of the rainforest.

Day 2: Kilimanjaro Climb Machame Camp – Shira Camp.

Climbing Kilimanjaro on this and subsequent mornings, a wake-up call is at around 6:00 AM. You will be greeted with a steaming cup of tea or coffee, and weather permitting, by a fabulous view of Uhuru peak. Today’s trek takes you up a steep track through a savannah of tall grasses, volcanic rock, and bearded heather. You will encounter giant groundsels as you hike through a ghostly landscape of volcanic lava, caves, and foamy streams, Lunch will be taken just below the Shira Plateau, about three to four hours from Shira Camp. The hike to the next campsite takes approximately six hours and you should arrive between 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM. Most climbers tend to pace themselves, walking slowly and resting about every half-hour.

Day 3: Shira Camp – Barranco Camp.

On this day your 6 Days, Machame proceeds by Trek Kilimanjaro the entire Shira Plateau greets you this morning with sweeping vistas across to Meru and the Shira Needles. A steady walk takes you up to the pass at Lava Tower (15,000 ft), where you stop to have lunch. Crossing the Bastains stream, you will begin to descend towards Barranco Camp. The descent takes you along an immense canyon called Grand Barranco. Along the way, you will see numerous waterfalls, which are fed, by streams coming from the mountain, converging here to form the Umbwe River. Your camp is set at almost the same altitude as the night before. Today’s trek lasts for about six hours and arrival at camp is between 4:30 PM and 5:30 PM.

Day 4:Climb Kilimanjaro Barranco Camp – Barafu Camp.

Climb Kilimanjaro this morning you begin your hike to Barafu Camp via Karanga Camp, which is at the same altitude as Barranco Camp, you will encounter a bit of a climb at Barranco Cliff and spend the rest of the trek climbing up and down the slopes of the mountain most of the way to camp. The climbing is not considered difficult and you should arrive in time for lunch (approximately 1:00 PM) having trekked for about four hours, in the afternoon you have to hike in the Karanga Valley where giant senecios and lobelia grow; then continue with the scenic climb to Barafu which is mostly on a moraine with a view of Mawenzi peak towering majestically to the right, and overhead, Kibo peak seemingly just out of reach. The alpine desert terrain encountered at this point is mostly a mineral environment with few lichens and mosses. Climbers arrive at Barafu Camp at around 3:30 PM. Climbers who choose to ascend the peak will go to bed very early that night, as the next day is the longest one.

Day 5: Barafu Camp – Mweka Camp.

You’ll be awakened at midnight and after a light breakfast start climbing at around 1:00 AM. It is at this stage that the climb becomes much more difficult. Here, very few will not be suffering from altitude sickness in some form or another; and climbers should carry as little as possible on this portion of the climb. Temperatures will range from -4° to 5° Fahrenheit. Making your way up a path that is flanked by the Ratzel and Rebman glaciers, you will climb for about six hours before reaching the edge of the crater, between Stella and Hans Meyer points.

Another hour of climbing brings you to the summit. Uhuru stands at 19,340 feet and is the highest point on the continent of Africa. The track around the edge of the crater is rocky and icy. Concentrate on your feet, and follow your guide very closely for this portion of the journey, the descent is no easier than the ascent. You will reach Kibo Hut after about three hours (around 11:30 AM). Climbers will be given the opportunity to rest and have some refreshments before continuing on to Mweka Camp for the night. Arriving at camp at around 5:00 PM, you will have trekked a total of thirteen hours today.

Day 6: Kilimanjaro Trekking Mweka Camp to Arusha.

6 Days Kilimanjaro Trekking Machame on the final day of the journey, climbers descend from Mweka camp to the base. The descent to the gate will take approximately 4 hours and climbers usually arrive before noon. Upon arrival at the gate, climbers will be rewarded with certificates attesting to their success at climbing Kilimanjaro and driving back to the Hotel in Arusha.

Day 7: Arusha – Tarangire National Park

After early breakfast you will be driven from Arusha to Tarangire National park (Home of Giants) for a game drive, here you will see a sizable amount of elephants, zebras, migrating wildebeest, baboons, huge baobab trees, buffalos, lions, leopards, cheetahs, antelopes, and different other wild animals, keep enjoying the game viewing until evening then drive to the camp for your dinner and overnight.

Day 8: Tarangire – Lake Manyara

After breakfast we are going to drive to the nearby park, the Lake Manyara National Park, located northwest of Tarangire, passing through the various villages of Mto wa Mbu and stopping for lunch along the way. You may explore the attractive Lake Manyara Park on a day game drive, enjoying the stunning scenery and spotting wildlife. Lake Manyara National Park lies within the Great Rift valley, along the bottom of the steep Rift Valley escarpment, incorporating shallow soda lake and woodland areas.

Lake Manyara is also known for the massive number of flamingos with different species furthermore as is the park where you will be able to find tree-climbing lions and a sizeable elephant population.

Day 9: Lake Manyara – Ngorongoro Conservation Area

After breakfast, we’ll descend to the crater walls to sightsee this diverse wilderness area combined with Africa’s wildlife. During a game drive inside Ngorongoro Crater, you would possibly be lucky to see all the Big Five wild animals similarly enough Black rhinos are found at Ngorongoro Crater. It’s considered one of the most effective places to capture the endangered black rhino on film.

We will have a bush lunch inside the crater while enjoying the spectacular view of the Ngorongoro landscape, then we head to our next overnight safari campsite near the village of Mto wa Mbu.

Day 10: Mto wa Mbu – Arusha

On the final day of our 4 Days Tanzania Camping Safari, you’ll have a late breakfast before leaving the crater highlands and returning to Arusha where this affordable safari started. Around the afternoon, anytime depending on your flight back schedule a driver will drive you back to the airport for a flight back home. This marks the end of  your 1O Days Kilimanjaro and Safaris