Climb The Roof of Africa - 7 Days Shira Route

Shira Route starts at 3,600 meters and is therefore not ideal for trekkers who have little or no experience of high altitude trekking.

The Shira Route is practically identical to the Lemosho Route. In fact, Shira was the original route before Lemosho was created to improve the route start point. Whereas Lemosho Route starts at the Londorossi Gates, the Shira Route bypasses this and begins further north and higher up at the Shira Gate.

On the first day hikers trek from Shira Gate to Simba Camp which is at a very similar altitude, allowing trekkers to acclimatise before joining the Lemosho Route on day two at Shira Camp 2.

The high starting point is however a major negative for this route and some trekkers experience altitude sickness from day one as their bodies haven’t had enough time to acclimatise.

After Shira Camp 2 the route joins the Machame Route via Lava Tower, and then descends to the Barranco Camp via the Southern Circuit (see map below). Like the Machame, Umbwe and Lemosho Route, ascent to Uhuru Peak is made via Barafu Camp and up the southern slopes of Kibo.

Descent is via the Mweka Route.

Day 0: arrival to Tanzania.

You will be picked up at the Kilimanjaro international airport and transferred to your hotel in moshi town, you will meet your guide who will brief you on your upcoming trek and do an equipment check to make sure you have all the necessary mountain gear. The missing gear can be rented on this day .
Meals: no lunch & dinner included.

Day 1: Moshi (915 m/3,000 ft) to Shira Gate (1,830 m/6,000 ft) to Shira Camp 2 (3,840 m/12,600 ft) 18 km, 5-7 hours Montane Forest

After breakfast and a briefing from your guide, leave Moshi and drive for several hours to the Shira Gate on the western side of Kilimanjaro, register with the national park. Begin hiking, and enter the rainforest immediately. Your walk through the rainforest is on a winding muddy trail up a ridge. At these lower elevations, it can be wet and muddy, so gaiters and trekking poles will help. Stop halfway for lunch, and reach the Shira Camp in the afternoon. Unpack, rest, and have some tea or coffee. Dinner is served during the early evening at 7 PM.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included.

Day 2: Shira Camp 2 (3,840 m/12,600 ft) to Lava Tower (4,630 m/15,190 ft) to Barranco Camp (3,950 m/12,960 ft) 15 km, 7 hours Semi-Desert

After breakfast, you will hike east up a steepening path above the highest vegetation toward Kilimanjaro's looming mass. After several hours, you walk through a rocky landscape to reach the prominent landmark called Lava Tower at 4,630 m/15,190 ft. This chunky remnant of Kilimanjaro's earlier volcanic activity is several hundred feet high, and the trail passes right below it. For extra credit, the sure-footed can scramble to the top of the tower. After a lunch stop near Lava Tower, descend for 2 hours below the lower cliffs of the Western Breach and Breach Wall to Barranco Camp at 3,950 m/12,960 ft. There are numerous photo opportunities on this hike, especially if the walls are festooned with ice. Barranco Camp is in a valley below the Breach and Great Barranco Walls, which should provide you with a memorable sunset while you wait for your dinner. On this day, be careful to notice any signs of altitude sickness.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included.

Day 3: Barranco Camp (3,900 m/12,800 ft) Extra Day for Acclimatization

Adding this day will ease your effort, and amplify your acclimatization.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included.

Day 4: Barranco Camp (3,900 m/12,800 ft) to Karanga Camp (4,200 m/13,780 ft) 7 km, 4 hours Alpine Desert

After breakfast, we continue up a steep ridge to the great Barranco Wall, then you climb this imposing obstacle, which turns out to be easier than it looks. Topping out just below the Heim Glacier, you can now appreciate just how beautiful Kilimanjaro really is. With Kibo's glaciers soaring overhead, you descend into the lush Karanga Valley to the Karanga Valley campsite. From the camp, you can look east and see the jagged peaks of Mawenzi jutting into the African sky. After a hot lunch in camp, your afternoon is at leisure for resting or exploring. After two long days, this short day is very important for your acclimatization, since your summit push is about to start.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included.

Day 5: Karanga Camp (4,200 m/13,780 ft) to Barafu Camp (4,550 m/14,930 ft) 13 km, 8 hours Alpine Desert

In the morning, you hike east over intervening ridges and valleys to join the Mweka Route, which will be your descent route. Turn left toward the mountain and hike up the ridge through a sparse landscape for another hour to the Barafu Hut where you will receive a hot lunch. The last water on the route is in the Karanga Valley; there is no water at Barafu Camp, even though Barafu is the Swahili word for ice. The famous snows of Kilimanjaro are far above Barafu Camp near the summit of the mountain. Your tent will be pitched on a narrow, stony, wind-swept ridge, so make sure that you familiarize yourself with the terrain before dark to avoid any accidents. Prepare your equipment and warm clothing for your summit climb, and drink a lot of fluids. After an early dinner, go to bed for a few hours of precious sleep.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included.

Day 6: Summit Day! Barafu Camp (4,550 m/14,930 ft) to Uhuru Peak (5,895 m/19,340 ft) to Mweka Camp (3,100 m/10,170 ft) 7 km up, 23 km down 8 hours up, 7-8 hours down Scree and seasonal snow

You will rise around 11:30 PM, and after some steaming tea and biscuits, you shuffle off into the night. Your 6-hour climb northwest up through heavy scree between the Rebmann and Ratzel glaciers to Stella Point on the crater rim is the most challenging part of the route for most climbers. At Stella Point (5,685 m/18,650 ft) you stop for a short rest and a chance to see a supremely sanguine sunrise. At Stella Point you join the top part of the Marangu Route, but do not stop here too long, as it will be extremely difficult to start again due to cold and fatigue. Depending on the season and recent storms, you may encounter snow on your remaining hike along the rim to Uhuru Peak. On the summit, you can enjoy your accomplishment and know that you are creating a day that you will remember for the rest of your life. After your 3-hour descent from the summit back to Barafu Camp, you will have a well-earned but short rest, collect your gear, and hike down a rock and scree path into the moorland and eventually into the forest to Mweka Camp (3,100 m/10,170 ft). This camp is in the upper forest, so you can expect mist or rain in the late afternoon. Dinner, and washing water will be prepared, and the camp office sells drinking water, soft drinks, chocolates, and beer!
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included.

Day 7: Mweka Camp (3,100 m/10,170 ft) to Mweka Gate (1,980 m/6,500 ft) to Moshi (890 m/2,920 ft) 15 km, 3 hours Forest

After a well-deserved breakfast, it is a short, scenic, 3-hour hike back to the park gate. Don't give your porters any tips until you and all your gear have reached the gate safely, but do remember to tip your staff at the gate. At Mweka Gate, you can sign your name and add details in a register. This is also where successful climbers receive their summit certificates. Climbers who reached Stella Point are issued green certificates and those who reached Uhuru Peak receive gold certificates. From the Mweka Gate, you will continue down to the Mweka Village, possibly a muddy, 3 km, 1 hour hike if the road is too muddy for vehicles. In the Mweka Village you will be served a delicious hot lunch after which you are driven back to Moshi for an overdue hot shower and comfortable night at your hotel in Moshi.

Remember to tip your guides, cooks, and porters, since you will be leaving them here. A vehicle will take you back to your hotel in Moshi, where it is definitely time for celebration!
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch. Dinner Not Included.

* The climb cost includes

• - Private transport to and from Kilimanjaro International Airport to your accommodation in Moshi town.
• - Park entry fees.
• - Accommodation in wooden cabins on the mountain.
• - Camping fees.
• - 18% VAT on tour fees and services.
• - 4 season mountain tents.
• - Double layered sleeping mats.
• - Friendly and professional mountain guides, cook and porter.
• - 3 hot meals daily while on the mountain.
• - Enough treated and filtered drinking water throughout the trek.
• - Hot water for washing.
• - Fair wages for mountain crew as approved by the Kilimanjaro national park and Kilimanjaro association tour operator.
• - Government taxes.
• - Portable oxygen tanks and ox-meter.
• - Emergence first aid kit.

* Not includes

• - Lunches, dinners and drinks at your hotel before and after climb.
• - Travel insurance.
• - Flights.
• - Laundry [available in hotel]
• - Personal items at toiletries.
• - Tips for guides, porters and cook.
• - Portable flush toilet tents are available for extra charges $ 70 for entire trek.


• * Tips on Mount Kilimanjaro are recommended for group sharing as following:
• * guide $20-25/guide/day
• * cook $15-20/day
• * Porter $10/porter/day

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