Luxury Kilimanjaro trekking Safari

Your adventure begins with a flight from home to Kilimanjaro International Airport. We'll meet you on arrival in Kilimanjaro and deliver you to the Gran Melia Hotel for the night.

The Machame route through the Kilimanjaro National Park starts with a reasonably paced trek through a thick rainforest filled with fig and rubber trees, begonia and other lush tropical vegetation. The forest gives way to tall grasses and heather as you gradually ascend. There's no hurry we'll take our time making the ascent, stopping regularly to appreciate the scenery. You'll arrive at Machame Camp by early evening.

Admire the dramatic Uhuru Peak with your morning coffee before breaking camp and heading for the Hagenia zone. You'll cross an expanse of savannah and a mesmeric landscape of volcanic rock before arriving at the Shira Plateau. From this height, the views across the Maasai Steppe to Mount Meru and the Shire Needles in the distance are nothing short of spectacular.

A steady walk this morning up to the pass at Lava Tower where you'll pause for lunch. Afterwards, a slight descent towards Barranco Camp over the Bastains stream. You'll walk along the immense Grand Barranco canyon now. As you go there will be waterfalls fed by mountain streams that gradually converge to form the Umbwe River. We'll make camp in the late afternoon.

Moving on towards Karanga Camp, you'll begin the day with a fairly steep climb at Barranco Cliff. From there it's a relatively easy trek up and down the mountain slopes for the rest of the day. You should make camp by around lunchtime, leaving you plenty of time to rest up or explore the Karanga Valley.

A scenic climb to Barafu across alpine desert terrain, with the majestic Mawenzi peak off to your right and Kibo overhead. Well make camp in the early afternoon but the altitude is beginning to bite. The temperature at this point is so low you'll be sleeping with most of your clothes on. Climbers planning to make the challenging ascent to the summit tomorrow will need an early night.

Setting off shortly after midnight, you'll begin a 13-hour trekking day with a trek between the imposing Ratzel and Rebman glaciers to the edge of the crater. From here it's just another hour to the highest point on the African continent. Take in the breathtaking views and that extraordinary feeling of achievement. You've done it! We descend to Mweka in time for dinner.

Descending from Mweka, you should reach the gate by noon, where you'll be presented with a certificate to mark your successful ascent of Kilimanjaro. One of our team will meet you here for the return transfer to Lake Duluti Serena and a well-deserved rest.

After breakfast, we will go for a tour of Tanzanite You will experience Tanzanite history, mystery, and scarcity. A journey that started over 585 million years ago, culminating in the discovery of one of the rarest gemstones on the planet: Tanzanite! At Tanzanite Experience you will go through the museums, and information centre and through both our physical and online stores, where you are guaranteed to get the highest-quality, fully-certified Tanzanite on earth.

Transfer back to Kilimanjaro International Airport ready to fly home in the evening hours.