The 7-day Lemosho Route gives you the mountain's quietest start and some of its finest views, for the same price as the 7-day Machame: from $2,090 per person. You begin on the remote western side, walk through forest with few other climbers and cross the Shira Plateau before joining the main southern path at Lava Tower.
The trade-off is day 2, a long walk of about 16 km (10 miles) that gains over 1,000 meters (3,300 feet). If you can spare one more day, the 8-day Lemosho breaks that up, and it is the climb we recommend most often. If seven days is what you have, this is still a very good way to climb Kilimanjaro.
| Route | Lemosho up, Mweka down |
|---|---|
| Days on the mountain | 7 days, 6 nights in tents |
| Total distance | About 70 km (43 mi) |
| Start and finish | Londorossi Gate (western side), Mweka Gate (1,650 m / 5,410 ft) |
| Summit | Uhuru Peak, 5,895 m (19,341 ft) |
| Difficulty | Hard, with one long early day |
| Best seasons | January to mid-March, June to October |
| Price | From $2,090 per person, two sharing |
Both climbs start the same way. On this one, day 2 runs all the way from Mti Mkubwa to Shira 2. The 8-day climb breaks that into two easier days, with a night at Shira 1, for $245 more per person. After that, the two itineraries are identical.
If you have the time, we would take the eighth day, because slower early days help your body more than almost anything else you can do. If not, this climb still gives you more distance and more quiet than the 7-day Machame.
At seven days, they cost the same and share the same path from Lava Tower up. Choose Lemosho if you want quiet trails, the full width of the Shira Plateau and a feeling of remoteness in the first days. Choose Machame if you would prefer a shorter transfer and an easier second day. The main practical difference is that Londorossi Gate is about three hours from Moshi, while Machame Gate is about one.
Here is how the 7-day Lemosho climb runs from gate to gate. Distances and walking times are typical figures, and your guide will set a pace that is slower than you expect. You also spend one night in a Moshi hotel before the climb and one after it.
The drive from Moshi to Londorossi Gate on the western side of the mountain takes about three hours and includes park registration, so this is a late start. A short walk through quiet, rich forest follows, with far fewer climbers than on the southern routes. Colobus monkeys are the most likely sighting. Elephant and buffalo live in this forest too, although you are unlikely to see them. Mti Mkubwa means "big tree", and the camp sits among huge old trees.
This long second day climbs out of the forest through heath and then crosses the whole Shira Plateau, gaining more than 1,000 meters (3,300 feet). The views of Kibo are excellent, but it is a big day for this early in the climb. Walk slowly, keep drinking and eat lunch even if you are not hungry. This is where the 7-day route asks more of you than the 8-day route does.
This is the day that does the most for your acclimatization. You climb through bare alpine desert to Lava Tower (4,600 m / 15,090 ft), a volcanic plug that is the highest point you have reached so far, and eat lunch there. Then you drop more than 600 meters (2,000 feet) to sleep at Barranco. Headaches at Lava Tower are common and usually ease on the way down, which is exactly how "climb high, sleep low" is meant to work. Tell your guide how you feel. The last hour of the descent passes through a valley of giant groundsels.
The morning starts with the Barranco Wall, a 250-meter (820-foot) scramble that looks far more intimidating from camp than it feels on the rock. You use your hands in a few places, and your guide will show you where to step, but it needs no ropes and no climbing experience. From the top, the glaciers of the southern icefields seem close enough to touch. The path then rises and falls across valleys to Karanga, where you arrive by early afternoon. Use the extra time to rest, eat and drink, because this easy afternoon is why this schedule works.
A short, slow climb over bare rock takes you to the high camp. Barafu means "ice" in Swahili, and the camp is exposed, windy and cold. You arrive around lunchtime, eat, and go through the summit plan with your guide. Lay out your layers, charge what you can, fill your water bottles and try to sleep by early evening. Few people sleep well here, and that is normal. Rest is what matters. You will be woken around 11 p.m. for tea and a snack.
You leave around midnight and climb steep volcanic scree by headlamp, in temperatures that can fall to around -20°C (-4°F) with wind. It is slow and mentally tough, and most climbers find the hours before dawn the hardest of the whole trip. Stella Point on the crater rim (5,752 m / 18,871 ft) usually comes around sunrise, and Uhuru Peak (5,895 m / 19,341 ft) is about an hour further along the rim. After photos you descend to Barafu for food and a short rest, then continue down to Mweka Camp. Trekking poles help your knees a great deal on this descent.
The final morning is a walk through rainforest on tired legs, and the thick air feels wonderful. The path can be slippery after rain, so stay careful even though the hard part is over. At the gate you sign out and receive your certificate: Uhuru Peak earns a gold summit certificate, and Stella Point earns a green one. Then we drive you back to your hotel in Moshi for a long shower and your second included night.
The Lemosho Route is a hard walk, but it is a very fair one. The early days are moderate, the Shira Plateau gives you time to adapt, and the only section that needs your hands is the Barranco Wall. As on every route, summit night is the real test, with about 1,200 meters (3,900 feet) of climbing in the dark from Barafu. You do not need any climbing experience, but you should be able to walk on hills for 6 to 8 hours and do it again the next day.
On 7 days, the challenge comes early. Day 2 is long for that altitude, so take it slowly, and do not treat it as a race to camp.
Summit night on the Lemosho Route follows the same path as Machame, starting from Barafu around midnight. You climb long zigzags of scree for around 6 to 8 hours by headlamp, usually reaching Stella Point around dawn, and then walk the crater rim to Uhuru Peak in about an hour. After the extra days on the plateau, many climbers feel stronger here than they expected. It is still very cold and can be windy, so wear every layer, and keep your water insulated.
The 7-day Lemosho climb starts from $2,090 per person with two people sharing. Prices differ slightly by group size because of how hotel rooms are shared in Moshi, not because of your crew, who are arranged per climber. For more than six climbers, or a different hotel level, ask us for a quote. Your final price is confirmed in your written quotation.
| Group size | Price per person |
|---|---|
| 1 climber | $2,130 |
| 2 climbers | $2,090 |
| 3 climbers | $2,125 |
| 4 climbers | $2,090 |
| 5 climbers | $2,110 |
| 6 climbers | $2,090 |
Budget separately for flights, your visa, insurance and tips. Our Kilimanjaro cost guide shows what to expect in total, so nothing catches you out.
Every climber on our Kilimanjaro climbs has one guide, five porters and one cook. A group of two therefore has two guides, ten porters and two cooks. That ratio is higher than many operators offer, and it means that if one climber needs to slow down or turn back, the other can continue with their own guide.
Our guides have worked on Tanzania tours for 7 years. They are graduates of the College of African Wildlife Management, Mweka, and the National College of Tourism, and they hold certification from those institutions. We are also a partner of the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP), which works for the fair treatment of mountain crews.
Mild headaches and poor sleep are normal above 3,000 meters (10,000 feet). Severe symptoms are an emergency, and the treatment is to go down. Be honest with your guide about how you feel each day, and read our guide to altitude sickness on Kilimanjaro before you travel. We carry pulse oximeters to track your blood-oxygen levels each day, emergency oxygen cylinders for emergency descents and severe altitude illness, and a Gamow bag, a portable pressure chamber used to treat advanced altitude sickness. Helicopter evacuation is available through providers including Kili MedAir and Proflight Helicopters, with fees starting from $3,500 per person. It is not part of the climb price, so check that your travel insurance covers trekking to 6,000 meters (19,685 feet) and evacuation before you buy it.
Tips are paid at the end of the climb and are not in the price. Common guidance is about $20 to $30 a day for a guide, $12 to $20 for a cook and $5 to $10 for each porter. With our crew of seven, that works out at about $400 to $700 per climber on this 7-day climb. We go through how to do this fairly at your briefing.
The driest months are January to mid-March and June to October. Lemosho stays quiet for its first days even in peak months, so it is a good way to avoid crowds in July, August and September, although you will meet other climbers after Lava Tower. The forest section can be very muddy in the rains from mid-March to May, and the long drive to the gate can be slower in wet weather. Our month-by-month guide goes into more detail.
Londorossi Gate is on the far western side of the mountain, about three hours by road from Moshi including park registration. We collect you from your hotel in the morning, so you will reach the trailhead around midday. The climb finishes at Mweka Gate, about an hour from Moshi, and we drive you back to your hotel. Fly into Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), about an hour from Moshi, and we meet you there.
Start training at least 12 weeks before you travel, with long hikes on back-to-back days. Our Kilimanjaro training plan shows you how, and our packing list covers what to bring and what you can rent in Moshi. Two nights in a mid-range Moshi hotel are included by default, one before and one after the climb. If you would prefer a different standard, tell us and we will adjust your quote.
Your legs will need a day or two, and then many climbers add a northern circuit safari. We can build this into one quote.
They cost the same and share the same upper mountain. Lemosho has a quieter start, more varied scenery and a longer drive to the gate. Machame has an easier journey to the start and a shorter second day. If you value solitude and views, choose Lemosho.
Londorossi Gate is on the far western side of the mountain, about three hours by road from Moshi including registration. We collect you from your hotel in the morning.
Colobus monkeys are the most likely sighting in the forest on the first day. Larger animals such as elephant and buffalo live in the western forest but are rarely seen.
Yes, for most fit climbers. Eight days gives you a better margin, especially if this is your first time at altitude.
We run private climbs and have no joining dates of our own. If you would like company, we can ask trusted partner companies whether one of their departures matches your dates, at the same price with nothing added.
Tell us your dates and how many are climbing, and we will send a full quote from our office on Mawenzi Road in Moshi.
Price per personFrom $2,090 USD
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