RSVP: http://www.meetup.com/trekkup/events/231146761/ Welcome to the first TREKKUP Kilimanjaro hike!! Africa’s highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, lies just three degrees south of the equator and is permanently snow-capped. It offers one of the best opportunities in the world to climb a peak at high altitude without the need for technical climbing ability. The trek takes you through well-defined altitudinal vegetation zones, from semi-arid scrub to dense cloud forest. It is open to any normally fit and healthy person prepared for physical exertion and exercise. Walking approximately 60 kilometres, we start from Marangu Gate (1,860m) and gradually ascend, with night stops, to reach Gillman’s Point (5,680m) and finally Uhuru Peak (5,896m), the actual summit. To keep the budget of 5895 AED all incl. intact, we will fly to Kenya and cross Tanzanian border on a bus shuttle. Formalities are relatively easy, and so this makes our plan a triple whammy with 2 countries checked at once and obviously the highest point of Africa. To make it to the summit we expect you should have a reasonable fitness level and at least basic hiking experience. Rest assured, if you follow our instructions, you will be able to summit. Nothing technical here, the proper acclimatization, which Marangu Route makes easiest is a key to the summit. Moreover, accommodation here is huts, no need to play with tents everyday. Level: Moderate to hard, high altitude ahead. Activities: trekking Duration: Eid holidays + 5 days. You ll be back home on Thursday 14th. Accommodation & meals: huts and hotels. Meals included. Cost: 5895 AED with flights, 5000 AED without flights, only until June 3rd. Specifically excluded: visas cost, insurance. Requirement: Available for confirmed RSVPS. This is how we are going to do it: DAY 0 / July 7 Departure from Sharjah Shuttle bus to Arusha, border crossing, check in to hotel, rest and prepare for the hike, explore the city. DAY 1 / July 8 Marangu Gate (1980m) - Mandara hut (2700m) This morning we will drive for about 2 hours through Kilimanjaro semi-tropical foothills to Marangu (1,372m), situated on the south-eastern side of the mountain. There are usually some excellent views of the snow-capped peak. On arrival at Marangu gate, we will meet our team of guides and porters, pick up any last minute supplies for the trek, and head to the entrance of Mount Kilimanjaro National Park to register for the climb. From the cluster of buildings at the gate it is some four to five hours walk through patches of coffee plantation and dense rainforest to Mandara Hut. The forest teems with brightly-coloured bird life, colobus and other varieties of monkey. The flora includes numerous mosses, lichens and flowers, as well as delicate orchids. If the skies are clear you may have fine views over the town of Moshi lying at the edge of the plain far below. Mandara Hut is a collection of basic, A-frame mountain huts with bunk beds – quite adequate for your needs – where you inevitably meet up with fellow trekkers who are bent on the same goal. DAY 2 / July 9 Mandara hut (2700m) - Horombo hut (3720m) Our second day on the mountain starts with a steep climb through the last swathe of rainforest, though this soon gives way to rolling alpine meadow dotted with giant heather. Once we leave the forest canopy, Kilimanjaro’s twin peaks – snowcovered Kibo and rocky Mawenzi – lie directly ahead, dominating the skyline. Further on we cross a zone of open heath with stunted vegetation, before emerging onto bleak moorland. Today we gain roughly 1,000m in altitude, and our walk can take anything from five to seven hours – depending on the pace. Tonight we stay at Horombo Huts – another collection of buildings similar in style to those at Mandara – which offer shelter and basic accommodation to those on the mountain. DAY 3 / July 10 Horombo hut (3720m) - Kibo hut (4700m) The landscape becomes progressively more rocky and rugged as we leave the everlasting flowers and other bizarre alpine plants behind. Giant groundsels and lobelias appear in the sparse moorland. Today’s trail up to Kibo will again take anything between five and seven hours. Skirting Mawenzi Peak, we pass Last Water then cross a stark, almost lunar landscape onto “The Saddle”, a broad tundra desert between the two peaks of Mawenzi and Kibo. From here we start to get fantastic views of the upper reaches of the mountain before arriving at Kibo Hut (4,705m), a dry-stone-walled hut with dormitories and limited facilities. Tonight we prepare for tomorrow’s final assault – THE SUMMIT – re-packing to leave any non-essential items with the porters; need to summon all your energy to get to the summit so there’s absolutely no point in carrying anything you don’t need! An early night is imperative as we must make a midnight start in order to reach the summit in the morning before the cloud cover settles, and then have time to get back down to the hut. DAY 4 / July 11 SUMMIT ATTEMPT!! Kibo hut (4700m) - Uhuru Peak (5895m) - Horombo hut (3720m) This is a long and demanding day! We will wake up soon after midnight and start in darkness, traversing up a long scree slope by the light of our torches in the cold. At this time of day the scree is still frozen – which makes it easier to walk on! After roughly two hours we should reach Hans Meyer’s Cave – named after the German geologist who made the first successful ascent in 1889 – where he found the remains of a frozen leopard. The gradient gets steeper and three hours on (this is the hardest stretch of the ascent!) we should reach the crater rim at Johannes Notch. From here it’s a short scramble to Gillman’s Point (5,685m) in time for dawn. The reward is the dramatic spectacle of the sun rising over the ice fields and craggy peaks of Mawenzi – the profusion of colors and shapes make all the suffering seem worthwhile! It takes another couple of hours along the crater rim to reach Uhuru (Freedom) Peak (5,895m). Our descent (approx 3 hours) retraces the route back down past Kibo Hut to Horombo Hut for a well-deserved rest. DAY 5 / July 12 Horombo hut (3720m) - Marangu Gate (1980m) Further descent, return to a hotel in Arusha, where we will celebrate the challenge. After lunch, we will take a good rest, meals and overnight at hotel. DAY 6 / July 13 Extra buffer day in case of bad weather or acclimatization issues. If climb goes by plan, on this day we will explore the local culture and customs. DAY 7 / July 14 After breakfast, depart for optional safari, or shuttle to Nairobi and fly back home. CLIMATE: Mount Kilimanjaro is only three degrees south of the Equator so although the climate is technically ‘equatorial’, it is essentially tropical. The long dry season (Jun-Oct) is followed by short rains (Nov-Dec). During the short dry season (Jan-Mar) it can be very hot and humid. The ‘Long Rains’ fall Apr-May. On the mountains, temperatures rise and fall only slightly throughout the year but vary considerably between night and day. Temperatures gradually fall as altitude increases. Above 4,000m, daytime temperature is usually around 5C dropping well below freezing at night. July temperatures in Arusha (1390m) are 22/12 C. July-September are the driest months with average of 8mm rain monthly. See yah at Kilimanjaro!! x