Kilimanjaro: Lemosho Route
Overview
The Lemosho Route is often hailed as the most scenic path to the top of Kilimanjaro, and it’s easy to see why. Starting on the quieter western side of the mountain, this route gives you plenty of time to soak in the changing landscapes—think lush rainforests, dramatic views from the Shira Plateau, and the exciting challenge of the Barranco Wall.
This eight-day trek takes you through a variety of Kilimanjaro’s ecosystems, from the forests where you might spot colobus monkeys, to the high-altitude deserts where the peak of Kibo looms large. The route’s gradual ascent gives you the perfect chance to acclimatize, increasing your chances of standing at the summit—Uhuru Peak (5,895m)—the highest point in Africa.
After celebrating at the top, you’ll descend via the Mweka Route, completing your full-circle journey through Kilimanjaro’s spectacular terrains. Scenic, challenging, and rewarding—this adventure has it all.
What's Included?
- Airport Transfers & Private Local Transport
- Dedicated Guides, Porters, and Cooks
- 2 Nights in a hotel in Moshi
- 7 Nights camping on Kilimanjaro
- All meals during the trek
- All National Park Fees and Permits
- Summit Certificate upon successful completion
- Drinking water during the trek
- International Flights
- Travel Insurance
- Soft Drinks, Alcohol or Drinking Water
- Tips for Guides
- Personal Equipment & Clothing
- Souvenirs
Trip Highlights
Summit of Uhuru Peak (5,895m): Reach the highest point in Africa and enjoy the breathtaking sunrise as you stand at the roof of the continent.
Lava Tower Acclimatization: Reach the iconic Lava Tower at 4,600m before descending for a “climb high, sleep low” acclimatization boost that prepares you for summit day.
Barranco Wall Challenge: Tackle the famous Barranco Wall—a fun, non-technical climb that rewards you with epic views once you reach the top.
Scenic Variety: Experience Kilimanjaro’s diverse ecosystems—from lush rainforests teeming with wildlife, to the wide-open Shira Plateau, and the thrilling Barranco Wall.
Daily Itinerary
Welcome to Tanzania! After arriving at Kilimanjaro International Airport, we’ll greet you and transfer you to your accommodation in Moshi. After settling in, you’ll meet your guide for a private briefing to go over the trek ahead. Get some rest—your Kilimanjaro adventure begins tomorrow!
Meals Included: Dinner
And we’re off! We start at Lemosho Gate, making our way through the lush rainforest. Keep your eyes peeled for colobus monkeys swinging in the trees above as you trek towards Big Tree Camp, where we’ll settle in for the night. It’s an easy start—just enough to get you in the groove.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Today, the scenery changes as we leave the forest behind and enter the moorlands. The landscape opens up, offering dramatic views of the surrounding mountains. We’ll trek up to Shira 1 Camp at 3,500m. It’s a longer day, but trust me, the views are worth it!
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Today’s a bit more relaxed. We’ll cross the stunning Shira Plateau with panoramic views of Kibo Peak in the distance. It’s a great opportunity to acclimatize as we trek to Shira 2 Camp. Take it slow, soak in the scenery, and enjoy the change of pace.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
We head towards the famous Lava Tower today, ascending to a lofty 4,600m. This is where the “climb high, sleep low” strategy comes into play—helping your body adjust to the altitude. After reaching Lava Tower, we descend to Barranco Camp at 3,960m. It’s a longer day, but acclimatization is key, and you’ll be ready for the exciting challenge of tomorrow’s Barranco Wall.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Time to tackle the famous Barranco Wall! Don’t worry—it’s not as scary as it looks. In fact, it’s one of the most fun parts of the trek. After climbing the wall and taking in the epic views from the top, we’ll head to Karanga Camp for a bit more acclimatization.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
This is it—our final stop before the summit! We’ll ascend to Barafu Camp at 4,640m, where you can rest, prepare, and maybe start feeling those pre-summit butterflies. It’s an early night because the summit push starts just after midnight.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Summit day is finally here! We start just after midnight, trekking through the dark towards Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa. It’s tough, but reaching the top as the sun rises over the continent is absolutely worth it. After celebrating at the summit, we descend to Barafu for a rest, then continue down to Millennium Camp.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Our final descent takes us through the lush rainforest to Mweka Gate, where you’ll receive your well-earned summit certificate. From there, we’ll head back to Moshi for a celebratory dinner—time to relax and reflect on an epic adventure!
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
After breakfast, we’ll transfer you to the airport for your onward journey. Kilimanjaro is behind you, but the memories and sense of accomplishment will stick with you forever.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Where We'll Stay
We’ve selected a range of accommodations to ensure you’re well-rested throughout your Kilimanjaro adventure. From rustic mountain camps to a comfortable hotel in Moshi, you’ll experience a mix of accommodations suited to each stage of your journey.
In Moshi, you’ll stay in a private hotel where you can relax and prepare for the climb ahead. Once on the mountain, you’ll be camping each night at various scenic campsites along the Lemosho Route, including Big Tree, Shira, Barranco, and Barafu. Tents are set up for you at each site, and while it’s rustic, the views and sense of adventure more than make up for the lack of creature comforts.
Whether you’re camping beneath the stars on the Shira Plateau or resting at Barafu Camp in preparation for your summit attempt, each night on Kilimanjaro offers a unique experience and the perfect chance to recharge for the next day’s trek.
Like the sound of this trip, have a question or want to check something before you book? Maybe even have a great idea to customise this itinerary? Get in touch and start your adventure!
Interactive Route Map
Check out the interactive map of this trip below. You can simply zoom in and have a look at the route.
Or, if you’re wanting to get a feel for the route or to dive into the daily details then click on any of the steps and you’ll be redirected to our Polarsteps page.
What is Polarsteps?
We’ve loaded all of our itineraries onto Polarsteps. It’s an app that can help you plan, track and relive your travels. We’ve used it to display our trips in all their glory but anyone can easily create on-the-go mementos of their adventures.
Carbon Emissions
This trip emits approximately 265 kg of carbon per person. This includes emissions from accommodation, ground transport, food, activities, and the operations behind the scenes to run the trip.
What does this mean?
This is roughly equivalent to driving a typical petrol car about 850 miles.
It’s similar to the carbon emissions from heating an average UK home with a gas boiler for about 12 days during winter.
Our Approach
We understand the impact of carbon emissions from travel and strive to create experiences that benefit the communities and environments we visit. This estimate allows you to make informed choices about your carbon footprint and consider offsets that resonate with you.
More Information
What's the fitness level required for this trip?
We grade all of our trips to try and make it easy to understand the fitness levels required. These are broad guidelines however so you’re welcome to chat to us about any specific concerns you might have.
You’ll find more information about these levels here and you can find the difficulty rating for this specific trip at the top of the page.
What information will I receive after I book?
After you book, we’ll get to work confirming that the dates you’ve selected are completely available.
There are extremely rare circumstances that may mean we’re unable to confirm your booking. These circumstances are limited to events beyond our control or not being able to secure the services that you wanted to book.
In the extremely rare event that we’re unable to confirm your booking you will be offered an alternative itinerary or a full refund without any fees. Please do not book any non-changeable travel plans until you receive the confirmation from us. This will be within 72 hours.
A detailed Trip Dossier will then be sent to you after you make your booking. It’ll contain all the information you might need to help you pack and get prepared for your trip, including information on visas, vaccinations, packing and training.
We encourage you to refer to the UK Government’s official travel advisory service when planning your trips. You can find the FCDO advice here.
And when you travel, we work closely with local experts to put together the best itineraries. We’ve worked with them exhaustively to provide safe adventures at great value. They know their destination better than we ever could so you’ll be in good hands! You can read a bit more about why we will only ever have locally-led trips here.
What if someone under the minimum age wants to travel?
It might not be an issue. Some destinations such as Rwanda have firm rules in place about how old people should be in order to visit the gorillas. In other destinations it’s more of a guideline.
Please do contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
Can I customise this trip in any way?
- adding in extra days or cutting out a day here or there;
- squeezing in other destinations or removing them;
- starting or finishing the trip in a different place;
- staying in a hotel or guesthouse that we don’t list as an option.
Which airport do I need to fly into and out of for my trip to Tanzania?
All of our trips to mainland Tanzania will start and end at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO).
If you’re also travelling to Zanzibar then flights can be booked from Zanzibar International Airport (ZNZ). You might also look at flights out of Dar Es Salaam (DAR) but please be aware that this will require you to take a ferry to the mainland.
Please let us know if you need assistance selecting flights for your trip.
How do I find out which hotels, meals and activities are included?
Unfortunately we can’t provide an exhaustive list of everything included in the ‘What’s Included’ section of this page as we include a whole bunch of stuff on our trips!
If it’s in the itinerary and we’ve not explicitly said that it’s an optional activity, then yes – it’s almost certainly included. If you’re not sure, please ask.
The meals that are included are all listed on the daily itinerary.
For the accommodation, we’ve got a shortlist of properties that we use. You can get a sense of the types of accommodation we use higher up the page in the ‘Where We’ll Stay’ section. We cannot guarantee any specific properties for your trip as it’s based on availability. If you are wanting to specifically request a property then please get in touch as we’re able to customise our trips.
What should I know about the possible cold climate?
This trip spends time in locations where there might be significantly cold temperatures (below freezing) during the day with further temperature drops at night. You might be staying in poorly insulated accommodation in rural locations. It’s important that you are adequately equipped and that you remain sufficiently hydrated and nourished.
Our guides are trained to mitigate the risks associated with undertaking activity in cold weather but you should be aware of the risks and ensure you’re appropriately prepared.
What should I consider about trekking at altitude?
A lot of our trips spend considerable time above altitudes of over 2,500m. Some people may experience symptoms associated with Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). It’s really important to note a couple of things. Firstly, past experience at high altitudes is not necessarily an indicator of how you’ll fare in the future. Secondly, our itineraries have been curated and our guides have been trained to mitigate the risks associated with trekking at altitude. However, due to the nature of trekking at altitude it’s vital that you report any symptoms to your guide immediately. It’s also important that you have travel insurance covering you up to the maximum altitude at which you’ll be trekking.
Is travel insurance mandatory?
Yes, it is. We run adventurous trips and it’s mandatory that you have suitable travel insurance in place to cover overseas medical treatment as well as evacuation or repatriation.
We can’t recommend which provider you use but the main things we’d encourage you to look out for is that you’re fully covered for the activities you’re taking part in (i.e., covers you up to the altitude you’ll be trekking at) and that it covers cancellation in the event that illness or other circumstances prevent you from travelling.
How much should I tip in Tanzania?
Tips are not included in any of our trips. They are entirely discretionary but in most cases are expected by the teams that will be looking after you. We know it can be daunting to work out exactly what to give so whilst this guideline hopefully helps, please remember that it’s a completely personal choice and you should feel free to tip more or less based on the quality of service that you receive.
Lead Trekking Guide: $25 USD per day
Assistant Trekking Guide: $15 USD per day
Porters or Support Staff: $6-15 USD per day
Drivers: $10 USD per day
Again, tipping is not compulsory and please only do so if the service you’ve received warrants it. It’s hugely appreciated and a way for the teams looking after you to supplement their income.
Book Now
Whether you’d like more information about this itinerary or to customise it to exactly what you want to do, drop us a line and let us know your plans!
And if you’re wanting to kick back and relax after the climb then be sure to check out our R&R Add On: Safari & Zanzi – game drives in Ngorongoro, Manyara and Tarangire National Parks before a few days by the beach!
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