Umbwe Route Day 1 Umbwe Gate to Umbwe Camp 9,700ft 5 hours The majority of the hike on this first day is through the Montaine Forest. Lush vegetation with very old trees and lilts of ferns and mosses mark this as an area that gets reliable rain year round. The forest abounds with wildlife; small bushbuck & duikers as well as monkeys. There is also rich and varied bird life. The first three hours or so is on gently rising land before steepening for the last two hours. The camp for the night is in a small clearing on the trail. Day 2 Umbwe Camp to Barranco Camp 13,000ft 4 hours Shortly after starting the hike the forest gradually gives away to the giant heath. The trail has been following a ridge for some time and as it ascends through the heath land the ridge narrows and sharpens, finally becoming knife edge with steep drops on each side. As the height of the heath reduces there are stunning views of both Kilimanjaro’s southern flank and across the Mount Meru some 50 miles away. Wildlife changes with the vegetation, jackals may be heard barking and the huge Lammergeyer seen circling overhead. The camp is overlooking the Barranco Valley with views up towards Arrow Glacier. Day 3 Barranco Camp to Barafu Camp 15,800ft 4 hours The days starts through the unique Barranco valley with its lush vegetation and giant senisios. As the valley steepens we strike off up a scree ramp on the breakfast wall. The vegetation is left behind as we move through old weather rock and alongside old lava runs. We drop into the Karanga valley and then back out for our final push up to the Barafu camp. Day 4 Day Hike – Barafu Camp 15,800ft 3 hours This day is a chance to acclimatize and rest before the push to the summit. During the day we will take a hike up the Mweka Route to familiarize ourselves with it and if necessary kick steps in the snow. This hike will also help with our acclimatization. Day 5 Barafu Camp to the Summit - Mweka Camp 10,500ft 9 hours Leaving at midnight we will wind our way up the Mweka non-technical climbing route, for about six hours to the crater rim. We climb high to the crater rim where we have excellent views of the the crater plateau and glacier below. We climb the last 300ft to the true "Uhuru" summit. Having enjoyed the view we begin the long descent to Barafu Hut then on down to Mweka Camp for the night. Day 6 Descend to National Park Gate It takes about 3 to 3 1/2 hours to make the 4,500 foot descent to the gate and pick-up. Here we will have our lunch, say goodbye to our mountain staff and return to our hotel in Moshi.