Kilimanjaro Shira Route (7 Days)

From $2050

Duration

7 days

Tour Type

Max People

Min Age

Tour Details

The Shira route is practically identical to the Lemosho route. Whereas Lemosho Route starts at the Glades (rain forest zone), the Shira Route bypasses Londorossi gate and begins further north and higher up at the Shira or Morrum Gate (heath zone).
Shira route starts at 3,560 meters/ 11,679 ft amsl and is therefore not ideal for trekkers who have little or no experience of high altitude trekking. On the first day hikers trek from Shira Gate to Simba Camp which is at a very similar altitude, allowing climbers to acclimatise before joining the Lemosho route on day two at Shira Camp 2.
Like the Lemosho, Shira route joins Machame route at Shira Camp and thus, shares some of the Machame route credits. The route can be done in a minimum of 6 days but to reduce risks of acute mountain sickness and exhaustion, 7 days trek is highly recommended on Lemosho route.

Highlights

less traffic at day one
Excellent success rates over 85%
Varied terrain
Panoramic views
Beautiful scenery

Tour Map

LET'S Trip

TOGETHER

Tour plan

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Day 1 Arrive in Tanzania (at Kilimanjaro Int'l Airport (JRO)

You will be picked up from the Airport (JRO) and transferred to your hotel in Moshi.

Pre tour Briefing & Equipment Check:

You will meet your mountain guide (and office Rep) followed by your pre Tour briefing and Equipment check. This day, our team will be answering any question about your upcoming adventure to make sure everyone is ready to go! Dinner & Overnight at your hotel, HB

Day 2 Londorossi Gate – Morrum gate/ Shira Camp 1

Wake up early followed by breakfast. Get into your vehicle ready to transfer to the Londorossi gate to register with Kilimanjaro National Park and then proceed with our transfer to Morrum Gate (11,679ft) where our trek will begin. Set out at a leisurely pace to reach our first campsite Shira Camp 1 (11,480ft) by mid-afternoon.

Elevation: 11,679ft to 11,480ft
Approx. Trekking distance/ Time: 3.5 km/ 2 hr

Day 3 Shira Camp 1 – Shira Camp 2

Our trek will start on the heather and moorland zone; what can be seen around are thousands of black lava rocks and dead roots and tree stumps of Erica treesremains after being destroyed by the year 2000 forest fire! Our today’s trek takes us into a breathtaking Shira Plateau, where we will be rewarded with great views of the mountain and if we look back, we see the magnificent views of Mount Meru rising above the skies. Night Camp: Shira Camp 2 (12,795 ft).

Elevation: 11,480ft to 12,795ft
Approx. Trekking distance/ Time: 8 km/ 4 hr

Day 4 Shira Camp 2 – Barranco Camp

Our day starts with trekking over high moorland with the scenery now changing the whole character of our challenge. We trek steadily uphill to the Lava Tower, where we stop for lunch around noon. From the Lava Tower we start our descent for about 2 hours to our camp at Barranco. Today is good for acclimatisation, as we climb up to 4,600m and sleep at 3,950m – the golden altitude rule is, “walk high, sleep low”. Night Camp: Barranco Camp (12,992 ft)

Elevation: 12,795 ft to 12,992 ft
Approx. Trekking distance/ Time: 10 km/ 6-7 hr

Day 5 Barranco Camp – Karanga Camp

Following breakfast, we set off to conquer what the locals call ‘breakfast wall’ – the Great Barranco Wall! It is a scramble using our hands and feet, (not technical like rock climbing) but certainly adds to our adventure. Once we take in our achievements at the top, we will be able to witness stunning views across the mountain towards the Barranco Valley and will be able to spot our previous night’s campsite. We continue undulating through the green valley until we reach our camp at Karanga Valley. Night Camp: Karanga Camp (13,944 ft)

Elevation: 12,992 ft to 13,994 ft
Approx. Trekking distance/ Time: 6 km/ 3-4 hr

Day 6 Karanga Camp – Barafu Camp

We push on with our challenge and start with a short, but steep ascent across the barren landscape but will be rewarded with breathtaking views of the Decken Glaciers. We will be keeping our pace to a slow rhythm as we need to conserve as much energy as we can for the summit attempt later this evening. We reach our camp then it’s an early dinner before getting our heads down, as we will be woken at 11pm for our summit attempt! Night Camp: Barafu camp (15,223 ft)

Elevation: 13,994 ft to 15,223 ft
Trekking Distance/ Time: 4km/ 3-4 hr

Day 7 Barafu Camp – Uhuru Peak & Then Back to Mweka Camp

We aim to leave camp at 12am using our head torches to light the way. The next 4 hours are spent trekking to Stella Point (5,750m) over scree and rock, where we will be rewarded with magnificent and spectacular views of the ice cliffs which surround us, and the majestic views to the Mawenzi Peaks – trekking just does not get any better than this! We now make regular rest stops every 15 minutes or so, to aid our chances of reaching Uhuru Peak at 19,341 ft. We push on to the summit with the sun rising over the stunning Mawenzi Peaks and aim to reach the summit by about 6 or 7 am. We start our long descent via Stella Point and back to Barafu Camp, where we will enjoy some lunch and a good rest. Our descent then continues down to Millennium or Mweka Camp (3,730m) – today is a very long, emotional day, but at the same time, so memorable and exhilarating. Night Camp: *Mweka Camp (3,080m/ 10,105ft).

Elevation: 15,223 ft to 19,341 ft & then descend to 10,105 ft
Trekking Distance/ Time: 19 km/ 12-14 hr

Day 8 Mweka Camp – Mweka Gate – Moshi

Our final descent starts with a nice breakfast followed by tipping ceremony; then we continue trekking for about 4 hours to make the 1,880 meters descent back to Mweka gate (5,512 ft). Lunch will be served either at Mweka gate or at your hotel in Moshi. We take the vehicle transfer back to our Lodge in Moshi for a well-deserved hot shower or cool soak in the pool! This evening, we meet as a group to contemplate our achievements with a Great Dinner at your Lodge.

Elevation: 10,105 ft to 5,512 ft
Trekking Distance/ Time: 10 km/ 4 hr

Day 9 Departure day/ Day to begin your Safari or Zanzibar extension

Depart (just after breakfast) for your Safari extension
Alternatively; After breakfast there may be some free time to relax at the lodge or go shopping in Moshi and then leave your hotel for your transfer to the airport to catch your departure flight

Conservation Fees, Camping fees & Rescue fees
All government taxes
Camping equipment: =>Terra Nova/ Vaude/Northland mountain tents, =>Vaude double layer Sleeping mats/ Trek & Hide Foam mattress

Airport transfers – JRO to Moshi, 2 ways
Transport to and from the Kilimanjaro National Park
Guide, assistant guides, porters Meals + mountain chef while on the mountain

Water throughout the trek
Hotel Accommodation: =>2 Nights in the Hotel – i.e. Pre & Post climb hotel accommodation in Moshi; on half board basis

VHF ICOM Radio Communication
Portable Oxygen tank (1.8L canister).
Pulse Oximeter – for monitoring your body performance while on the high altitude
Fair wages paid to our mountain crew (porters, cook and guides) as part of our responsibility to the Community and Fair Treatmentof our mountain Crew – our practices conform with our partners in responsible travel including Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP), Kilimanjaro National Park (KINAPA), Kilimanjaro Porters Association (KPA) as well as Kilimanjaro Association of Tour Operators (KIATO)

Sleeping bag
Snacks, personal hygiene kit and personal medication
Extra acclimatization day – An extra day can be added while on the mountain and each extra day costs extra US$ 220 per person and this amount will be paid at our main office after the climb.
Water purification tabs
Portable manual flush toilet (except for the Marangu route) – available for hire for extra $150 per toilet tent
Personal mountain clothing & trekking gear – some of the kit is available for hire in Moshi
Flights and Tanzania entry visa
Health requirements (Yellow Fever vaccination is recommended depending on your flight route on entering Tanzania; vaccination for Meningitis & Hepatitis A optional)
Optional Travel and medical insurance is but highly recommended

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Testmonial

What Our Clients Say About Us

Nour

2023-06-19

The most Joyful & Strategic Team This team is absolutely incredible. Apart from the 10/10 strategy and organisation they will go above and beyond to provide something money cannot buy. This team is about personalising every part of the journey to the needs of the group. They do everything with joy and their desire to share colorful experiences is genuine and evident. I cannot show enough gratitude for how much they made my time in Zanzibar special, they deserve all the flowers and more. I will definitely be coming back and if a trip to the east coast of Africa is on your list then this team is a MUST ! Asahnte Sana to Abel & the team and inshallah we meet again for another adventure !

dr_nikki_biggs

2023-06-19

Phenomenal Abel and his team looked after a group of us cycling around Zanzibar last week, raising money for HIPZ - Health Improvement Project Zanzibar. The whole team were incredible - personable, encouraging, consistently going above and beyond to make the experience the absolute trip of a lifetime. There were so many working parts to getting all 22 of us around the island safely whilst coordinating the safety, catering and support teams. Abel - you were incredible, thank you!

Krzysztof F

2020-03-01

Fantastic private safari in all North Tanzania parks We have arranged private safari with Trek&Hide Adventures. We visited all parks in North Region, totally within nine days. We have very much enjoyed our adventures on safari and would like to specially thank our driver Tuma for his efforts of finding us all interesting animals. He was very effective and very brave while driving, but we felt that our safety was his first target. Tuma's knowledge on animals and their habits was deep and he explained us all secrets of their life. He shown us as well very interesting facts from everydays life of Masai tribe and other ones, living in various areas. It was very nice to us getting familiar with Tuma and spending time together not only during game drives, but as well during dinners eaten together in Ang'ata lodges. We discussed on this day achievements and plans on the next day, or just were joking. We recommend Trek & Hide adventures for effective, nice, interesting and enjoyable safari.

Tina S

2020-01-07

Excellent professional Safari Planners with lots of attention to detail and insider knowledge We travelled as a group of friends (2 mothers, 3 teenagers) two weeks over Christmas 2019 with Trek & Hide Adventures. Abel, one of the owners of Trek & Hide developed a fabulous 6 day Safari agenda (incl 4 national parks, Tarangire, Serengeti, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater) complemented by 5 days R&R on Zanzibar. Due to T&H´s fabulous hotel contacts, Abel was able to secure excellent lodges for us despite such short notice booking during holiday high season! Way to go! Being in the incoming travel industry in Germany myself I especially appreciated Abel´s professionalism and always immediate response to our inquiries from the onset in the planning phase. The Safari was organized flawlessly with lots of attention to detail, everything was taken care of and anticipated ahead of time. We travelled the many stops without any delays or issues along the way. Overnights, optional lunch boxes, special needs at the lodges were all managed smoothly by T&H office. Abel was in touch with our driver on a daily basis to anticipate changes we made along the way, which afforded utmost flexibility even for last minute changes in the daily agenda Our driver Joseph was amazing! Not only was he very professional, always kind and a true pleasure to be with, he was also extremely knowledgeable and experienced in regards to the wild life. He took us off the beaten tracks of the other jeeps, which afforded that we were able to experience many animals including all the big 5 within a short distance from our car! Joseph knew the behavior of the animals, anticipated their movements and made us linger when other jeeps just made a quick stop and kept going. This way we were able to witness 3 lions in action hunting a zebra starting out just 3 meters from us, had elephants almost putting their trunk into our car, had cheetas come so close they touched our jeep, among many more once in a lifetime experiences. Joseph was THE BEST!! He offered so much insight and interesting facts along with his great humor that even our teenagers stayed on board for the full 6 days, not even unpacking their mobile phones even once during Safari!! Having such an experienced driver-guide we felt totally safe and well taken care of throughout our travels through the wild life! Abel also organized all airport transfers, airport hotels and touring in Zanzibar for us. Again all ran smoothly. At Abel´s recommendation we also scheduled a fascinating spice tour, as well as an interesting tour of historic Stonetown once in Zanzibar. The local guide there was also very knowledgeable and professional. All in all it was an exceptional visit, Trek & Hide showed us the best Tansania and Zanzibar have to offer. Thank you so very much, we will come again for sure! Tina, Owner, Culture Trip Germany

Camper727358

2019-09-27

Amazing company to climb Kilimanjaro with Abel and his team were super helpful in putting together a very well planned trip for a group of 18 people (not easy). We took the Lemosho 7 day route in August, it was a really beautiful and surprisingly not crowded at all, especially the first 3 days. Our guide (Masada) and his team were truly amazing, their experience on managing schedules, gear, altitude sickness, etc was remarkable. The food was delicious, toilets clean, and everything set up by the time we got to camp. They kept the group always in a positive mood and honestly were really fun to hang out with. Highly recommended if you're looking to climb Kili!

Katrina

2019-02-17

Brilliant trip! Could not recommend Trek & Hide Adventures highly enough. Abel and his team are supremely professional, personable and excellent at what they do. We had an amazing safari incorporating Ngorongoro and the Serengeti, and then climbed Mount Meru. The trip was seamlessly organised, the food prepared by our own assigned cook was delicious, our driver was knowledgeable and patient... A trip of a lifetime! Thank you Abel and you team- I’d give 6 stars if I could!

Nomad38

2019-02-14

Great company, recently established - organised a fantastic tailored safari and hike for us Trek and Hide was only established recently but its management team is very experienced and we highly recommend it. Abel organised a superb trip for us that included 4 days (3 nights) safari to watch the migration in Ndutu, travel through the Serengeti and into the Ngorongoro Crater in an ideal Toyoto Landcruiser. The driver/guide and chef were both fantastic, and the trip was tailored to our interests and budget. We loved camping - including on the Ngorongoro crater rim, and watching the sunset and sunrise. We followed the safari with a climb up Mt Meru, and once more Abel had lined up a superb guide and good porters and we were able to keep the same chef. In addition he arranged for us to stay in a very nice hotel (the Mt Meru View Lodge), where one of our family stayed whilst the others climbed the mountain. We think that Abel and Trek and Hide are excellent and totally sussed out what would be ideal for us. [NB category is family with adult children - not on list below]

simoncNYC

2019-02-11

Fantastic company and unforgettable memories! Abel planned a wonderful adventure for my friends and I. The trek of Mt. Kilimanjaro was very organized and we didn't have to worry about anything except climbing. We also had a 3 day safari after the climb and that was magical. Everyone was professional and took good care of us. Abel is communicative and works with you to make sure you have everything you need. He even helped organize a surprise birthday celebration! I will definitely work with Abel and his team again for future visits to Tanzania!

Sherry R

2019-02-08

Professional and helpful Thanks to Abel and his crew from Trek & Hide Adventures I were able to climb Mount Meru! Not only did he organize my trip very last minute and was flexible and professional, but his crew was really helpful, friendly and caring during the whole 3-day-trip. And the food was really amazing: fresh, warm and delicious. I can really recommend his tour agency. As for the mountain climbing itself: I would only recommend the 3-day-hike if you are trained and know how your body reacts to high altitude. If you only have three days, you walk from the first hut to saddle hut (4hours) and continue to the summit and back to saddle hut. (10hours). Yet, is worth the climb because of the very beautiful nature, the possibility to see lots of animals and the amazing views! Thanks a lot again, Abel!

KAW

2019-01-20

Trek & Hide gave us an experience of a lifetime! Abel and his team took phenomenal care of my group as we climbed Kilimanjaro and had a 3 day safari. Our guides, drivers, porters and team were incredible, caring people that made our journey more than just a vacation. I couldn't recommend this company more for planning Kili climbs or intimate safari adventures in Tanzania. They handled everything - accommodations, food and even provided invaluable support when we had some unexpected changes in travel.