Kilimanjaro Hike with a nine day ‘Highlights of Tanzania’ Safari Tour

ITINERARY ‘SAFARI & KILIMANJARO HIKE’

The perfect safari trip for those who want to combines a six day Kilimanjaro Hike with a nine day ‘Highlights of Tanzania’ Safari Tour. Either of these tours can also be booked as individual components – get inspired!

The hike leads through a beautiful landscape that changes dramatically every day. The route, which is covered in six days, is a physical challenge and especailly the last two days require mental and physical strength due to the high altitude and the short overnight recovery time before the summit attempt. There are no huts on this route; accommodation is in mountain tents and food is provided in dining tents.

After achieving this ernourmos task and having reached the summit of Kilimanjaro, it is time to sit back and relax in a comfortable Safari car and explore tha amazing wildlife of Tanzania

Highlights

Detailed Itinerary

Route Safari plus Kili Hike

After arrival, or a first night near Kilimanjaro, you start your adventurous climb up the highest mountain of Africa.

Today, the hike passes through the mist into the forest on a 4 x 4 trail for about an hour. The track ends and the trail continues through the dripping green forest. Hikers will likely hear the many exotic birds in the treetops above them, and many will even see black and white colobus monkeys and Sykes monkeys.

The hike is about 20 km, although not very steep, and it takes 5 to 7 hours to reach the first camp, Machame camp is located slightly above the forest, in the heather zone at ~ 3 000 m above sea level.

Start the day with a steaming cup of coffee or tea and get ready for a steeper trail today.

As the clouds clear, you have a beautiful view of the Western Breach and the glaciers that mark the summit of Uhuru Peak. You climb around large boulders as you enter the moorland landscape, characterised by bizarre lobelia and senecio plants, as well as volcanic rocks covered in lichen beards that shelter wild alpine flowers growing at their feet.

After descending through a small valley and crossing a stream and then climbing up the Shira ridge, you will reach your camp after a total of 4 to 5 hours of trekking.

Today the hike takes us up up up…

The hike goes steadily uphill over long ridge lines of the high desert for about 4 hours until about lunch time at about 4,420 m (14,500 ft.). After lunch, the hike continues to Lava Tower and in the afternoon, descends the steep trail into the Great Barranco Valley. Hanging glaciers glisten in the sun, amidst an eerie landscape with plants such as the Kilimanjari giant clover (Senecio Kilimanjari) and the unique, endemic giant lobelia. Today the trek takes 6 to 7 hours.

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Start today with a scramble up the steep Barranco wall.

Today the hike keeps taking you steadily uphill. Towards the afternoon, the temperatures become colder and the landscape more barren.

This is base camp, and from here you will make your summit attempt at midnight. Gather your strength and rest before this thrilling climb!

Wake up to this momentous day, at one minute past midnight.

Just after midnight the 12-17 hours of trekking begins, with temparaturs ranging from freezing to -23*C

The winding path with its endless serpentines takes shape and form in the shadow of the Ratzel and Rebmann glaciers at dawn, and behind you the towers of Mawenzi stand out in the red light of the sun under the clouds.  After about 6 hours of hiking, you reach the edge of the crater at Stella Point at an altitude of 5,790 metres, the end of the steep trail. From here it is a gentle 1-hour climb to Uhuru Peak. You made it!!

After a short time to celebrate on the summit, the descend back to Barafu Camp, to rest and then regain your strength, for the further descent to Mweka Camp for the night, begins.

Get your climbing certificates!

Today you continue on the final descend, back to Mweka Gate where you will have a lunch ‘back on the ground’ and receive your certificates.

From here you can end your trip and transfer back to Kilimanjaro Airport. Or you continue your adventure with a Safari through Tanzania

Relax and rewind from an amazing adventure.

After a good night’s rest in a proper bed, Find your way through the huge herds of elephants and enjoy the view among the majestic baobab tress at Tarangire National Park.

At around 2,600 km², this National Park is one of the five largest parks in Tanzania and provides enough food for its inhabitants all year round. It is home to rare species such as the gerenuk, lesser kudu and oryx and the largest wildlife population outside the Serengeti ecosystem.

Visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site and find ‘The Big 5’

The little town of Karatu offers a variety of activities including browsing the bustling marketplace, sampling beer at a local brewery, or visiting a traditional homestead.

Around the Ngorongoro crater, ‘The Big Five’ are just waiting to be discovered by you.
Enjoy a picnic lunch around midday before you leave the crater. Meet the Maasai warriors and take a short walk with them to one of the nearby ‘kopjes’. The sunset over the beautiful landscape is spectacular and definitely a moment not to be missed!

Together with a Maasai guide and a ranger, you embark on an exciting hike.

Today, you come very close to wild animals such as giraffes and dik diks and learn first-hand how the Maasai live and how they interact with nature.

On the northern edge of the Ngorongoro Crater, the Olduvai Gorge, which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, plunges around 100 metres into the depths. The human fossils discovered here, which are among the oldest in the world and have earned the gorge the nickname ‘Cradle of Humankind’, are breathtaking. You set off from the camp and discover the different layers of rock in the gorge step by step. Deep in the gorge you will come across a small river, which is dry for most of the year.

Today, the Serengeti is calling!

Very early in the morning you set off towards this legendary national park. On the way there, you may be lucky enough to encounter giraffes or even big cats. Once in the park, your game drive begins. Enjoy the drive through the national park until lunchtime, when the picnic calls.

The Serengeti is undoubtedly the most famous national park in the world and stretches over 14,000 km². Here you will encounter the world’s largest concentration of big cats such as cheetahs, lions and leopards.

Get moving with an early morning game and bush walk.

Together with a local guide and an armed ranger, you leave the lodge on foot to observe the wildlife of this area from a different angle. The guide will point out the various plants and small animals that often remain hidden when travelling in a safari vehicle.

In the evening you set off for an exciting night safari, moving quietly across the plaines in an electrical safari vehicle. With a bit of luck you may encounter owls, bushbabies and even the nocturnal big cats.

Time to say good bye to this beautiful adventure!

You will fly back to Arusha and be transferred to Kilimanjaro Airport. Time for a good bye lunch and then off to the journey back home.