Mount Kilimanjaro 9 Day Lemosho Route

$2,463

About this tour

The 9-Day Lemosho Route is widely regarded as the premium choice for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Starting from the lush western rainforest at Londorossi Gate, it traverses the spectacular Shira Plateau, circles the south circuit beneath the dramatic southern icefields, and summits via the Barafu ridge.

By stretching the trek to 9 days, this itinerary provides an unmatched acclimatization profile. It strictly follows the “climb high, sleep low” principle, featuring a dedicated short trekking day before the summit push. This deliberate pace keeps physical fatigue low and elevates the summit success rate to well over 85%, making it the ideal selection for trekkers seeking maximum safety, comfort, and scenic variety.

Best for

Explorers

Landscapes

Mountaineers

Highlight

PAX

Any group size

Accommodation

Tour Type

Private group tour

Transport

4x4 closed sided pop up roof vehicle

Start

Arusha

End

Arusha

Minimum Age

12 Years

What Makes This Trip Special?

Best time

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

Tour Map

Day by day Itinerary

Day 1: Londorossi Gate (2,250m) to Mti Mkubwa Camp (2,650m)

Hiking Time: 2–3 hours
Distance: 6 km / 3.7 miles
Habitat: Rainforest

The adventure begins with a 3-hour drive from Arusha or Moshi to Londorossi Gate for registration. A short 4×4 drive takes you to the Lemosho trailhead. The hike kicks off on a beautiful, winding trail through the pristine, undisturbed rainforest. Keep an eye out for Black-and-White Colobus monkeys and exotic birdlife before reaching Mti Mkubwa (Big Tree) Camp.

Meals: Full Board

Destination: Mt. Kilimanjaro

Accommodation: Mti Mkubwa Camp

Day 2: Mti Mkubwa Camp (2,650m) to Shira 1 Camp (3,610m)

Hiking Time: 4–5 hours
Distance: 8 km / 5 miles
Habitat: Moorland

You leave the dense canopy of the forest behind and enter the heather and moorland zone. The trail steepens as you climb out of the forest valley, crossing several streams. You will crest the western rim of the Shira Caldera and descend onto the expansive Shira Plateau—one of the highest plateaus on earth—arriving at Shira 1 Camp with views of Kibo peak in the distance.

Meals: Full Board

Destination: Mt. Kilimanjaro

Accommodation: Shira 1 Camp

Day 3: Shira 1 Camp (3,610m) to Shira 2 Camp (3,850m)

Hiking Time: 3–4 hours
Distance: 7 km / 4.3 miles
Habitat: Moorland

A gentle, scenic day designed entirely to help you adjust to the altitude. You will trek across the plateau, exploring its rolling hills and distinct volcanic rock formations. This steady easterly walk brings you to Shira 2 Camp, where the panoramic views of the spectacular sun valley and the Western Breach are unmatched.

Meals: Full Board

Destination: Mt. Kilimanjaro

Accommodation: Shira 2 Camp

Day 4: Shira 2 Camp (3,850m) to Lava Tower (4,630m) to Barranco Camp (3,970m)

Hiking Time: 6–7 hours
Distance: 10 km / 6.2 miles
Habitat: Alpine Desert

This is a critical acclimatization day. You will climb steadily into the alpine desert up to the iconic Lava Tower, a 300-foot volcanic rock formation at 4,630 meters. You will stop here for lunch to absorb the altitude (“climb high”) before descending sharply into the beautiful Barranco Valley (“sleep low”). This descent rewards you with incredible views of the Barranco Wall and unique giant Senecio trees.

Meals: Full board

Destination: Mt. Kilimanjaro

Accommodation: Barranco Camp

Day 5: Barranco Camp (3,970m) to Karanga Camp (3,995m)

Hiking Time: 4–5 hours
Distance: 5 km / 3.1 miles
Habitat: Alpine Desert

The morning begins with an exhilarating scramble up the near-vertical Barranco Wall. No technical climbing skills are required, but you will use your hands for balance. At the top, you are treated to stunning views of Kibo’s southern glaciers. From there, you cross a series of hills and valleys before dropping into the green Karanga Valley and making a final short climb to Karanga Camp.

Meals: Full board

Destination: Mt. Kilimanjaro

Accommodation: Karanga Camp

Day 6: Karanga Camp (3,995m) to Barafu Camp (4,673m)

Hiking Time: 3–4 hours
Distance: 4 km / 2.5 miles
Habitat: Alpine Desert

You break camp and connect with the Mweka descent trail before turning upwards toward Barafu Camp (the base camp). The landscape becomes stark, rocky, and windswept. Arriving at lunch, you will have the entire afternoon to rest, rehydrate, eat, and receive a detailed briefing from your guide. An early dinner is served before you turn in for sleep ahead of the midnight summit push.

Meals: Full board

Destination: Mt. Kilimanjaro

Accommodation: Barafu Camp

Day 7: Summit Day – Barafu Camp (4,673m) to Uhuru Peak (5,895m) to Mweka Camp (3,100m)

Hiking Time: 11–13 hours (6–8 hours up, 5–6 hours down)
Distance: 15 km / 9.3 miles
Habitat: Arctic / Glacier

Wake up around 11:30 PM for hot tea and snacks. You will begin climbing by headlamp in freezing temperatures over steep scree toward Stella Point (5,739m) on the crater rim. This is mentally and physically challenging, but reaching Stella Point by sunrise rewards you with spectacular views. Another 1-hour hike along the snow-covered rim brings you to Uhuru Peak—the roof of Africa! After celebrating and taking photos, you will descend back to Barafu Camp for a short rest and lunch, then continue down through the moorland to Mweka Camp for your final night on the mountain.

Meals: Full board

Destination: Mt. Kilimanjaro

Accommodation: Mweka Camp

Day 8: Mweka Camp (3,100m) to Mweka Gate (1,640m)

Hiking Time: 3–4 hours
Distance: 10 km / 6.2 miles
Habitat: Rainforest

Your final day on the mountain is a peaceful descent back through the warm, lush rainforest. The trail can be muddy and slippery, so trekking poles are highly recommended. At Mweka Gate, you will sign out of the national park registry and collect your official gold summit certificates. A vehicle will meet you here to drive you back to your hotel in Moshi or Arusha for a long-awaited hot shower and celebration.

Meals: Full board

Destination: Mt. Kilimanjaro

Day 9: Departure & Transfer

Activity: Rest and Hotel Check-out

Enjoy a relaxed morning at your hotel. Depending on your travel plans, you can arrange a transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO

Meals: Breakfast

Destination:

End of this tour

Tour Price

1 Person

2 people

3 people

4 people

5 people

6 people

7 people

On Request

$2,621

$2,491

$2,463

Included

8 nights’ accommodation in tents on the mountain.

Purified water

Professional, experienced, mountain

All Park fees and Rescue fees.

2 nights of hotel accommodations

Airport transfers pick up ad drop off

Camping Equipment on the mountain

Camping Equipment's

All meals while on the Mountain

Guides, Porters, cook salaries, and park fees

Large portions of fresh, healthy, nutritious food

Excluded

Tanzania Visa: $50 per person on arrival

Personal Expenses (e.g., laundry, telephone, beverages, etc.

Personal Trekking Gears

Tips and any items of personal nature.

Flights

Our recent customer reviews

    
 
 
         
   Ljubica B 
 
 
 
 Verified Absolutely incredible and a bucket list item checked! Incredible experience. My friends and I had a goal of reaching Uhuru Peak of Mt Kilimanjaro on New Years Day and to see the first sunrise of 2025 on top of the mountain and that is exactly what we got. Our guides were incredible. Setting a great pace that allowed us to walk for longer periods without too many breaks. They were so knowledgeable and very considerate and caring of our wellbeing. Overall a wonderful experience and I would recommend Leken Adventure to anyone attempting to climb Mt Kilimanjaro.
  
 
        
   Xavier M 
 
 
 
 Verified 10 Day Kilimanjaro, Tarangire and Ngorongoro Extravaganza Wow, just wow, what an amazing experience.Guided by Aggrey, Benny and Atana, myself a 4 friends undertook the 7-day machame route to climb Kilimanjaro. They were incredibly knowledgeable, kind and astute guides, and made sure we were happy and safe at all times. Supported by Samson, Eli, Patrick, Bruce and many others, we were incredibly well fed and looked after. This culminated in a successful summit day with all 5 of us topping out, with only minor altitude struggles.Asante sana once again to all you amazing people.We were then looked after by Joachim for two days and shown around the Tarangire national park and the Ngorongoro crater. We saw all sorts of animals but the highlights were several big herds of big elephants and an almost touching distance encounter with 3 lions (their trajectory was skilfully predicted by Joachim).I could not recommend Leken more to anymore looking for an adventure in East Africa.
  
 
        
   abl 
 
 
 
 Verified Amazing Kilimanjaro and safari tour I had an amazing Kilimanjaro and safari tour with Leken Adventure. Alex ensured a seamless trip with a well-planned itinerary. Thanks to the professional guides, I reached Uhuru Peak and saw the Big Five. Highly recommend!
  
 
        
   Alessandro R 
 
 
 
 Verified Kilimanjaro trip We have climbed Kilimanjaro through Marangu Route (6 days). It has been a great and emotional experience. Our guides ( Aggrey and Leonard) were amazing and professional. A mention also to all the porters that help us during this adventure. Really recommended.Also the accommodation before and after the hike is very good.
  
 
        
   Abigail S 
 
 
 
 Verified DON'T HESITATE- BOOK IT. Amazing!! We booked with Leken about a year before our travel. They were very responsive and informative with all our questions—and we had a lot! The support was impressive from the time we booked, throughout our travels and continued after we left. They easily accommodated a few glitches during our trip. I found them very responsive, affordable and reliable.We summited Kilimanjaro via the Machame route, a seven-day trek. Our guide, Aggrey, was outstanding! He and his team—guides Ben and Jose, Chef Eduardo, assistant George, and all the amazing porters—supported our trek to the top with encouragement, excellent food, laughs, stories, singing and smiles. One of our group had the sole of his hiking boot fall off on day 2 of our trek. Eduardo SEWED IT BACK ON! With what? How? I have no idea, but it held through to day seven and allowed us all to summit together. They were a true dream team! We were then taken on an amazing 4 day safari with guide Joachim and our chef, Inocent. Muah!! THE ANIMALS!! THE BEAUTY OF THIS COUNTRY CANNOT BE OVERSTATED. If you are taking the time to go to this part of the world, just go ahead take the time to go on Safari. You will not regret it. Camping in Serengeti National park was an activity of a lifetime. We misunderstood our dates, and found on our arrival that we would have an extra day in Africa after our adventures. Leken scheduled us an activity on that day with transport, lunch and a second night in our hotel at minimal expense. That last day was swimming in a true local osasis that we we never could have experienced without them. This company is not offering the fancy or luxurious packages that the expensive companies tout, but all the accommodations were more than adequate and the customer service of every single person affiliated with Leken was 5 star.
  
 
        
   Marina T 
 
 
 
 Verified climbing Kilimanjaro Vary good organisation of our whole Kilimanjaro experience. Without Aggre Mhalu and Leonard Lyimo, I would not have achieved my dream of being on top of Africa. Everyone who took care of us was extremely helpful, caring and positive. Highly recommend, these are your Kilimanjaro people!
  
 
        
   Яна Ч 
 
 
 
 Verified The best experience ever Big thanks to the entire team that took care of us during the Kilimanjaro adventure. Especially to our guides Aggre and Leonard, who were with us and provided us with an incredible experience."
  
 
        
   Melissa M 
 
 
 
 Verified Amazing adventure Me and my boyfriend decided to climb Kilimangiaro almost a year ago. During all this time we were followed in every request. Even during the adventure, the team supported us with every problem and helped us during the most intense times. The food was delicious, we never felt hungry!The guides are well prepared and kind.If we managed to do the climb is also thanks to them!
  
 
        
   Dressed t 
 
 
 
 Verified Strong team and wonder safari We have gone with Leken Adv. to Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro in a 4 days safari. Everything just goes way better than our expectation. Me and my wife just finished a safari in Masai Mara and forced to change the original Kilimanjaro trekking to safari for personal reasons. We actually did not expect that much, as this could be very similar to what we had in Masai Mara. But things are not so after we spent the four days with our chef and our guide.We told our guide, Anwar, to show us more small animals and birds as the beginning, cause we have seen the big five. I knew it’s very hard, cause the grass is just too long after the rain season. But he had made it! Sometimes, we just didn’t know why we stopped the car, until he shown us what’s going on with some tiny animals in the near.Also I should say, Leken Adv. is a strong team, there could always be this and that issue during the safari, but our guide is always able to find someone helpful. One more thing, don’t feel bad about camping in Simba campsite, especially after you read about the reviews in TripAdvisor about that place. The facility is not perfect, but you will have a chance that a zebra, a warthog or even a rhino just sleeps (or runs) 5 metre away from your sleep bag. The only separation is the wall of the camp. This is something you won’t have elsewhere!Again, thank you so much to the whole team of Leken!
  
 
        
   Vadim C 
 
 
 
 Verified A unique experience, reliable organizer, i recommend! We climbed Mount Kilimanjaro on the Machame route and we did two days of safari in Tarangire and Ngorongoro Crater Nature Park. Everything was well organized, Asante Sana!