7 Days Trekking, Umbwe Route
- Destinations
- Umbwe Camp, Barranco, Karanga Camp, Barafu Camp, Summit and Mweka Gate
Umbwe route is a short, steep and direct route which based in the south and is said to be the most scenic and difficult one offered on Kilimanjaro. Main reason that Umbwe route considered to be very hard is its steepness in the first two days with extremely muddy. Although the traffic on this route is low. This route only recommended for experienced and well-trained climbers. Its short time of acclimatization.
Tour Day by Day
Day 1: Arusha
International Kilimanjaro airport pick up and transfer to the hotel in Arusha.
Day 2:
After breakfast, we pick you up from the hotel and drive in our 4X4 to Umbwe Gate. Our ascent will start from a trail above Umbwe Village. The surroundings will turn into a dense forest of rubber trees and giant fig trees and then they become narrow and steep as we climb the ridge between the Lonzo and Umbwe rivers till we reach the Umbwe Cave Camp. We will have dinner and overnight in the camp.
Altitude: 2850m
Hiking time: 5-6 hours
Day 3:
Today we will continue our ascent on the steep trail and soon we will enjoy the imperial view of Uhuru Peak. We head towards the Great Barranco Valley with its small waterfalls, surrounded by Giant Lobellia trees and a shiny view of glaciers above us. We will overnight at Barranco Camp.
Altitude: 3950m
Hiking time: 5-6 hours
Day 4:
After breakfast we will climb up the “Barranco Wall” and continue through the scree and ridges to the Karanga valley with views of Kibo glaciers and Mawenzi peak. We will overnight at Karanga Camp.
Altitude: 3963m
Hiking time: 3-4 hours
Day 5:
On the fourth day, we will continue our ascent to the trail that becomes more steep and less fertile. We will stop for a good rest and dinner at Barafu camp, on a crest of the mountain and prepare ourselves for the final ascent.
Altitude: 4600m
Hiking time: 3-4 hours
Day 6:
We will wake up at around midnight and after a light breakfast, we start our ascent to Uhuru peak. This part of the hike is carried out during the early morning before dawn so that the climbers reach Uhuru Peak in good time to appreciate the beautiful sunrise.
On our way up we pass by the Ratzel and Redman glaciers, and after 6 hours of climbing we will reach the edge of the crater between Stella point and Hans Meyer point. Only one hour of climbing left and we are on Uhuru Peak at 5895 m. “the roof of Africa”. We ll enjoy the sunrise view and then we will start descending.
We ll be back at Barafu Camp by noon to rest and enjoy a hot lunch and then we will continue our descent to Mweka Camp for our overnight stay.
Altitude: 5896m – 3100m
Hiking time: 13 hours
Day 7:
Our descent will be through a beautiful rainforest towards Mweka Gate. There, a certificate attesting your success in climbing Mount Kilimanjaro will be given to you. Our car will be waiting to take you back to your hotel to Arusha and reward you with a celebration dinner.
Altitude: 1980m
Hiking time: 3 hours