This 13 Day Mount Kilimanjaro trek using the Lemosho Route and safari combo is the perfect tour for mountain climbers and wildlife enthusiasts. It is like killing two birds with one stone. With the best route for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, the scenic Lemosho route, and a “Big 5 safari” in the best parks that Tanzania has to offer, what more would you ask for? This tour can be customized to extend more days on the safari part and even an addon to Zanzibar Beach or a Rwanda tour to trek on the Gorilla habited highlands of this beautiful East African country. On the Kilimanjaro trekking part, it will take us 8 days to complete the Lemosho route before heading north for a safari to Serengeti National Park, home of the wildebeest migration and big cats. Not only that but you also get to visit the Ngorongoro Crater, a world heritage site that is the natural habitat for all the big 5 animals including the endangered and rare rhinos. To top the icing on the cake, this 13-day Kilimanjaro and safari adventure also features a visit to Tarangire National park, home of the giants, thanks to the abundant population of elephants and giant baobab trees scattered all over the amazing landscape that is dissected by the Tarangire River.

8 Days Lemosho Route + 4 Days Wildlife Safari in Tanzania

This 13-day Kilimanjaro and safari tour is a combination of an 8-day Lemosho route trek and a 4-day Tanzania safari. Beginning at Londorossi Gate, 2360 meters above sea level, with an approach far to the west of the mountain, the Lemosho route climb begins. It travels through a magnificent jungle where some of the most unusual fauna in the area may frequently be spotted. Shira Ridge, the third top of the mountain, is reached by continuing up the path. Before reaching Shira camp on the main Machame path, you must first pass the renowned Shira plateau and visit the breathtaking Shira Cathedral. This enables a few days of peaceful climbing while seeing some amazing landscape before using the more popular route to the peak. Instead of going back the way you came, you will take the Mweka trail down once you’ve reached the peak.

On a four-day safari to the Serengeti National Park, a wonderful location to explore at any time of year, get a true safari experience of Tanzania. You will also go to two of Tanzania’s most well-known national parks: Tarangire, where elephant families gather all year long along the Tarangire River, and Ngorongoro, where you have the highest chance of sighting the Big Five.

When is the best time for this 13-day Lemosho Route trek and Tanzania safari?

Since the Rongai Route approaches the mountain from the Northern slopes with receives low precipitation, Rongai Route is perfect all year round.

  • This 10-day mount Kilimanjaro and safari tour starts in Moshi and ends in Moshi Town
  • Book your own international flights
  • Fly to/from Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO) near Arusha/Moshi. Or fly to/from Arusha Airport (ARK) via Dar es Salaam or Nairobi (Kenya)
  • Transport from and back to the airport is included

The 13 days Kilimanjaro & safari overview

Below is the day-by-day glance at the 13 days Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route trek and safari itinerary in Tanzania.

Tanzania
StartMoshi (Day 1)
Day 1Kilimanjaro Airport
Day 2LONDOROSSI GATE TO MTI MKUBWA CAMP
Day 3MTI MKUBWA CAMP TO SHIRA 1 CAMP
Day 4SHIRA 1 CAMP TO MOIR HUT
Day 5MOIR HUT TO BARRANCO CAMP VIA LAVA TOWER
Day 6BARRANCO CAMP TO KARANGA CAMP
Day 7KARANGA CAMP TO BARAFU CAMP
Day 8BARAFU CAMP TO SUMMIT TO MWEKA CAMP
Day 9MWEKA CAMP TO MWEKA GATE
Day 10MOSHI TO TARANGIRE
Day 11SERENGETI
Day 12SERENGETI
Day 13NGORONGORO TO ARUSHA TO KILIMANJARO AIRPORT

Activities & Transportation

  • Activities: game drives, Big 5 wildlife safaris
  • Game drives: pop-up roof 4×4 vehicle
  • Getting around: pop-up roof 4×4 vehicle
  • A transfer from and back to the airport is included
Day1

Arrival - Kilimanjaro Airport

On arrival at the Kilimanjaro International Airport, our Tranquil Kilimanjaro staff will be waiting for you at the airport for a private transfer to your place of accommodation. After a short briefing about your 13-day Mount Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route trek and big 5 safari trip, you will have dinner and stay overnight at the recommended hotel or lodge.

  • Transport: Private transfer (0.8 hour, 40 km)
  • Accomodation: Hotel
Day 2

LONDOROSSI GATE TO MTI MKUBWA CAMP

To begin our Kilimanjaro and safari expedition, we will drive to the Londorossi Park Gate after a hearty breakfast to register. Before we start our trek up the woodland route to Mti Mkubwa (Big Tree) camp at 2895m, our porters prepare and load our provisions and bags. We’ll spend the night here.

  • Transport: 1.7 hours, 80 km
  • Hiking time: 3 – 4 hours
  • Ascent: 535 m
  • Max. altitude: 2895 m
  • Accommodation: Camping
  • Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner
Day 3

MTI MKUBWA CAMP TO SHIRA 1 CAMP

With breathtaking views of Shira Cathedral, our drive continues east through the Shira Plateau. In order to go to Shira 1 Camp, which is at a height of 3500 meters, we have to traverse a moorland meadow. We should be able to glimpse the breathtaking glaciers of the Western Breach by now. The temperature tonight will likely drop below freezing, making it colder than the previous night.

  • Hiking time: 5 – 6 hours
  • Ascent: 605 m
  • Max. altitude: 3500 m
  • Accommodation: Camping
  • Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner
Day 4

SHIRA 1 CAMP TO MOIR HUT

As the route approaches the moorland region after leaving the woodland, it becomes steeper. To reach Moir Hut, which has stunning views of the Arrow glacier, you first traverse the high-altitude Shira Caldera on a mild gradient. Here around 4200 meters, we will set up camp for the night.

  • Hiking time: 6 – 7 hours
  • Ascent: 700 m
  • Max. altitude: 4200 m
  • Accommodation: Camping
  • Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner
Day 5

MOIR HUT TO BARRANCO CAMP VIA LAVA TOWER

Today, we will go to a height of 4600 meters and descend to the base of the Lava Tower for lunch and acclimatization. This will be the hardest day we’ve had thus far, and you could feel the effects of the altitude for the first time. Following the acclimatization maxim “hike high, sleep low,” we will descend once again by approximately 650 meters to Barranco Camp after lunch. We descend to Barranco Camp during a two-hour period, which provides wonderful possibilities to get some stunning images of the Western Breach and Breach Wall. The camp is located in a valley that lies below the Great Barranco Wall and Breach.

  • Hiking time: 6 – 7 hours
  • Ascent: 400 m
  • Descent: 650 m
  • Max. altitude: 4600 m
  • Accommodation: Camping
  • Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner
6

BARRANCO CAMP TO KARANGA CAMP

A quick but enjoyable day that begins with a climb up the Great Barranco Wall is what sets the pace on day 6 of our 13-day Kilimanjaro Lemosho route trek and safari in Tanzania. To reach the Karanga Valley (3930m), which is located beneath the icefalls of the Heim, Kersten, and Decken Glaciers, we then travel through scree. At the campground at Karanga, we’ll spend the night..

  • Hiking time: 4 hours
  • Ascent: 260 m
  • Descent: 280 m
  • Max. altitude: 4210 m
  • Accommodation: Camping
  • Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner
Day 7

KARANGA CAMP TO BARAFU CAMP

In order to reach the intersection with the Mweka route for descending Kilimanjaro, we leave the Karanga campground behind. We then ascend to Barafu Camp from here. You have now finished the Southern Circuit, which gives several perspectives of the peak. We may relax, eat dinner, and get ready for the summit day in camp. From here, it is possible to see Mawenzi and Kibo’s two summits in full view.

  • Hiking time: 3 – 4 hours
  • Ascent: 670 m
  • Max. altitude: 4600 m
  • Accommodation: Camping
  • Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner
Day 8

BARAFU CAMP TO SUMMIT TO MWEKA CAMP

Around 23:30 a few minutes before midnight, tea and cakes will be the favoured bites to give you the much-needed energy boost for breakfast. Starting between the Rebman and Ratzel glaciers, we ascend to Stella Point on the crater rim on our ascent to the summit. The hardest portion of the walk both psychologically and physically is this. We’ll take a little break at Stella Point (5732m), where we’re hoping to arrive in time to see the spectacular dawn (weather permitting). The highest peak on Mount Kilimanjaro on the African continent, Uhuru Peak (5895m), is now only an hour away.

We proceed to Barafu camp for lunch before descending to Mweka camp from the peak. You’ll need trekking poles for the rough scree leading down to Mweka Camp (3100m). We will have our final meal on the mountain later in the evening before a well-deserved rest.

Meals & Drinks:

  • Hiking time: 13 – 16 hours
  • Ascent: 1295 m
  • Descent: 2795 m
  • Max. altitude: 5895 m
  • Accomodation: Camping
  • Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner
Day 9

MWEKA CAMP TO MWEKA GATE

This is your last day of the journey; after breakfast, we continue our descent of 1300 meters to the Mweka Park Gate, where you can pick up your summit certificates from the park headquarters. We will transfer you back to your hotel  in Moshi Town.

Meals & Drinks:

  • Transport: 0.6 hour, 17 km
  • Hiking time: 3 – 4 hours
  • Descent: 1300 m
  • Max. altitude: 3100 m
  • Accommodation: Hotel
  • Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch
Day 10

MOSHI TO TARANGIRE

We will pick you up from your accommodation with our safari driver and vehicle and then travel to Tarangire National Park, arriving in plenty of time for an afternoon game drive. A large number of wild animals including elephants, buffalo, giraffes, and antelope are drawn to the Tarangire River, which flows through the park, especially between June and October when it is dry. Large elephant herds may frequently be seen wandering through Tarangire’s savannah grasslands or resting in the shade of the park’s many bizarre-looking “upside-down trees,” or baobab. The park also has the most diversified collection of birds in Africa, with over 550 distinct species, including the largest flying bird in the world, the Kori Bustard! In Karatu, we’ll spend the night in a safari lodge.

Meals & Drinks:

  • Accommodation: Safari Lodge
  • Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner
Day 11

SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK

After breakfast, we will travel for around four and a half hours via the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to the Serengeti, stopping along the way for a picnic lunch. The Serengeti offers some of the most thrilling game watching, even when the migration is calm, thanks to its enormous herds of buffalo, smaller herds of elephant and giraffe, as well as huge numbers of eland, topi, hartebeest, impala, and Grant’s gazelle. We will spend tonight in a tented camp deep into the Serengeti.

Meals & Drinks:

  • Accommodation: Safari Lodge
  • Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner
Day 12

SERENGETI MIGRATION AREA

We’ll leave this morning with a picnic lunch to go wildlife watching in the Serengeti. One of the best wildlife parks in the world is the Serengeti National Park. It is Tanzania’s oldest game reserve, translating to “endless plains” in the Maasai language, and is well-known for its part in the annual Great Migration, during which an estimated two million herbivorous animals—mostly wildebeest and zebra—move from the Serengeti to Kenya’s Maasai Mara Game Reserve. We will depart the Serengeti in the afternoon and go back to Karatu.

Meals & Drinks:

  • Accomodation: Safari Lodge
  • Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner
Day 13

NGORONGORO TO ARUSHA TO KILIMANJARO AIRPORT

We’ll drive to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area’s amazing wildlife habitat after an early breakfast. The crater, which is more than 260km2 (100 miles2) in size, was created around 2-3 million years ago when a large volcano erupted and fell on itself. It is now the world’s largest preserved volcanic caldera. More than 25,000 big animals live there, so it’s common to witness all five members of the “Big Five” in a single day.

We will depart for Arusha in the late afternoon to catch a flight out of Kilimanjaro. You will need to get a flight that departs after 9 pm because we anticipate being back in Arusha by 5 pm. We can book a hotel room for one more night of accommodation in Arusha.

Meals & Drinks:

  • Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch

The cost for the whole 13 days Mount Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route and safari includes and excludes the following items

Kilimanjaro & Safari Price includes

Park fees

Game drives and activities

All accommodation

A professional driver/ safari guide

All transportation

All Taxes/VAT

Roundtrip airport transfer

Meals

Water / Coffee / Tea or Soft Drinks

Price Excludes

International flights

Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour

Tanzania Visa

Gratuity

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

Meals not listed above

Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees

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