5 Days Kilimanjaro Marangu Route Trekking
brief overview The Kilimanjaro Marangu route is often called the tourist route or Coca-Cola route and is both the easiest and the shortest way to the Uhuru summit. It is also the oldest of the routes. The majority of all climbers choose this route because it is mostly easy walking on a well maintained path.
Unfortunately, this route also holds the sad record of the most aborted Kilimanjaro summit attempts. Mostly this is due to bad preparation and overestimation of one’s own abilities. If you show the necessary respect for the route, you will be rewarded with a varied ascent. The Marangu Option has fewer vantage points, as you walk for a long time through high vegetation. On the other hand, it has the unique advantage of offering small mountain huts with toilets along the way – especially recommended during the rainy season. This route is usually completed in five or six days.
Day 1: Arrival in Arusha / Moshi
Transfer from Kilimanjaro airport or Arusha bus terminal (e.g. from Nairobi) to your accommodation in Moshi or Arusha.
Day 2: Arusha – Marangu Gate (1,860 m) – Mandara hut (2,700 m)
altitude Δ: 900 m, distance: approx. 6 km, time required: approx. 4 hours
After breakfast at your accommodation you will be taken to the Kilimanjaro National Park Gate. After you have completed the formalities, you will register in the mountaineering book. Now your Kilimanjaro ascent begins; you enter the Kilimanjaro National Park and are greeted by a dense rainforest. If you hike in silence, you will have a good chance to spot some colobus monkeys in the dense vegetation. After 4 hours you will reach your destination for the day, the Mandara Hut. After a well-deserved break you can optionally visit the Maundi Crater, which offers a great view under cloudless skies. Dinner and overnight stay at the Mandara Hut.
Day 3: Mandara Hut (2,700 m) – Horombo Hut (3,700 m)
altitude Δ: 1,000 m, distance: approx. 11 km, time required: approx. 5-7 hours
Today you start the day early with a freshly prepared breakfast. Shortly after leaving Mandara Hut you will reach the tree line. Here alpine moorland and the heath zone dominate the landscape. After about 6 hours your daily hiking is completed and you will reach the Horombo Hut. From here you have a fantastic view of the two peaks Mawenzi and Kibo. Dinner and overnight stay in the Horombo hut.
Day 4: Horombo Hut (3,700 m) – Kibo Hut (4,700 m)
altitude Δ: 1,000 m, distance: approx. 10 km, time required: approx. 5-7 hours
Today your long hike will take you past the last water point. You will finally reach a desert-like plateau with almost no vegetation that connects the two peaks Kibo and Mawenzi. When you have reached your daily destination Kibo Hut after 6 hours, get ready for a short night. Your summit attempt starts very early around midnight. Dinner and overnight stay at the Kibo Hut.
Day 5: Kibo Hut (4,700 m) – Uhuru Peak (5,895 m) – Horombo Hut (3,700 m)
altitude Δ: 2,200 m, distance: approx. 23 km, time required: approx. 12-14 hours
Around midnight the summit ascent begins: from Kibo Hut via Gillmans Point (5,685 m) to Uhuru Peak (5,895 m), then back to Horombo Hut. You normally start your summit attempt between midnight and 2.00 am, so you can watch the sunrise at Gillman’s Point. The steep trail leads you first to Hans Meyer Cave and finally to the crater rim with a magnificent view of the glaciers. At Gilman’s Point (5,681 m) you will gather your strength for the final summit push. You will pass Stella Point and the Ratzel and Rebmann Glaciers on your way to the highest point in Africa, Uhuru Peak (5,895 m). Hongera (congratulations in Kiswahili) for a successful Kilimanjaro ascent! The descent is the same way and on your return to Kibo Hut a warm meal awaits you. After a short rest you will start the last part of today’s long stage, the way back to Horombo Hut. Dinner and overnight stay at Horombo Hut.
Day 6: Horombo Hut (3,700 m) – Marangu Gate (1,860 m) – Arusha / Moshi
Height Δ : 1,900 m, distance: approx. 17 km, time required: approx. 5-7 hours
Your last day takes you back through the heath and moorland zone to the Mandara Hut, where a warm lunch awaits you. Soon you are back in the lush tropical rainforest and after about 6 to 7 hours of hiking you are back at Marangu Gate. After saying goodbye to your team, our driver will return to your preferred accommodation.
Day 7: Arusha / Moshi
After breakfast transfer to the central bus station, to the airline office in the city for your shuttle bus to the airport or extension e.g. Northern Circuit Safari or onward flight to Zanzibar.
