- Day 1
Machame Gate to Machame Camp
1,800m → 3,010m · 5–7 hours
Registration at the gate, then a steady climb through dense montane rainforest. Expect mud, colobus monkeys and a lot of green. Your first night under canvas.
- Day 2
Machame Camp to Shira Camp
3,010m → 3,845m · 4–6 hours
Out of the forest and onto open moorland. Giant heather and the first clear views of Kibo. A short day by design — this is where acclimatisation starts to matter.
- Day 3
Shira to Lava Tower, down to Barranco
3,845m → 4,630m → 3,960m · 6–8 hours
The classic climb-high-sleep-low day. You touch 4,630m at Lava Tower, eat lunch, then drop into the Barranco Valley among giant groundsel. Most people feel the altitude here — that is the point.
- Day 4
Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp
3,960m → 3,995m · 4–5 hours
The Barranco Wall first thing: a 250m scramble that looks far worse than it is, with hands on rock but no ropes. Then a series of ridges and valleys to Karanga.
- Day 5
Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp
3,995m → 4,673m · 3–4 hours
A short, deliberately easy day across alpine desert to base camp. Early dinner, gear check, and in bed by 7pm — you will be woken before midnight.
- Day 6
Summit day, then down to Mweka
4,673m → 5,895m → 3,100m · 12–16 hours
Head torches on around midnight for the long, cold, slow climb to Stella Point at 5,756m, then the crater rim walk to Uhuru Peak at 5,895m for sunrise. Down to Barafu for a rest and a meal, then on to Mweka Camp.
- Day 7
Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate
3,100m → 1,640m · 3–4 hours
A last descent back through the rainforest. Certificates at the gate, then a transfer to your hotel in Moshi or Arusha — and the best shower of your life.
