When: 3rd Quarter 2011
Availability: Only 10 openings for the climbing team
Cost: $2,500 gift to support Eleos Project's Never Thirst Again clean water initiative.
You can give this as a donation or raise this through your network and offer a tax-deduction
to your climbing supporters. In addition each team member is responsible for paying their individual travel expenses, this includes but is not limited to: airfare, ground transportation, accommodations, meals, guide fees, safaris, equipment rentals, permits, visas and tips.

Route: Marangu
Time: Five days (base-summit-base)
Distance: Approximately 35 miles
Equipment Rental: Is available 

For More Information Please Contact: kilimanjaroclimbinfo@eleosproject.org

Mt Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest mountain at 19,341 ft. only 3 degrees south of the Equator, yet crowned with a permanent icecap. The National Park covers an area of 1,864 sq. kms extending from 5,984 ft. to the summit at 19,341 ft.. Often the only visible sign of the mountain is the great, snow-mantled shoulder of Kibo and the rugged crags of Mawenzi thrusting through a ring of cloud. At lower altitudes the park consists of mountain rain forest, giving way to scrub then alpine moorland and finally glaciers. On the moorland are found the extraordinary giant groundsel and lobelias that have seemingly evolved in response to freezing cold at night and hot tropical sun by day. Game includes eland, colobus and blue monkeys and the rare Harvey’s and Abbott’s duiker.

Nairobi, Kenya
Nairobi is the capital city of Kenya, boasting over 3 million inhabitants. It was founded as a colonial city at the turn of the twentieth century with the ongoing construction of the Uganda Railway taking its name from a variant of the Maa (Maasai) place-name for it which means cold watering place. As a colonial city, its spatial composition reflected the racial prejudices of the British colonial project from its inception, and that segregation, together with some of colonial Nairobi’s earliest neighborhoods (called estates), can still be seen today.

Arusha, Tanzania 
Arusha is a city of northern Tanzania surrounded by some of Africa’s most famous landscapes and national parks. Beautifully situated below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern branch of the Great Rift Valley, it has a pleasant climate and is close to Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara, Otduvai Gorge, Tarangire National Park, and Mount Kilimanjaro, as well as having its own Arusha National Park on Mount Meru.

Daily Itinerary at a Glance:

Arrive in Nairobi, Kenya where you will be met by the Eleos Project team. Spend the night in Nairobi.

Day 1   Nairobi to Arusha, Tanzania
Day 2   Mt. Kilimanjaro/Marangu Huts (3.77 miles)
Day 3   Mt. Kilimanjaro/Horombo Huts (5.93 miles)
Day 4   Mt. Kilimanjaro/Kibo Huts (5.4 miles)
Day 5   Summit Day/Uhuru Peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro/Horombo Huts (2.16 miles, 7.55 miles down)
Day 6   Mt. Kilimanjaro/Marangu Gate (9.71 miles), Arusha, Tanzania
Day 7   Safari Day in Tanzania
Day 8   Depart for Nairobi, Kenya
             (miles are approximate)

Daily Trekking Details:

Day 1: Arusha/Moshi to Marangu Gate to Mandara Huts
Elevation: (915 m/3,000 ft.) to (1,830 m/6,000 ft.) to (2,740 m/9000 ft.)
Distance: 7 km
Hiking Time: 4-5 hours
Habitat: Montane Forest

After breakfast and a briefing from your guide, leave Moshi at 9 AM, drive for 45 minutes (or if driving from Arusha leave the town at 7 AM, drive for one and half hours) to the Marangu Gate on the eastern side of Kilimanjaro, register with the national park, and begin hiking at 10:30 AM. In the rainforest, took for towering Eucalyptus trees, bird life, and Colubus monkeys. At these lower elevations, it can be wet and muddy, so gaiters and trekking poles will help. Shorts and t-shirts should be sufficient, but keep your rain gear and warmer clothing handy. Stop halfway for lunch, and reach the Mandara Huts at 2 or 3 PM. Unpack, rest, and have some tea or coffee. A 15 minute side trip to Maundi Crater is a good way to see the surroundings including Northern Tanzania and Kenya. Dinner is served during the early evening at 7 PM. Bathrooms with running water are available.

Day 2: Mandara Huts to Horombo Huts
Elevation: (2,740 m/9,000 ft.) to (3,690 m/12,100 ft.)
Distance: 11 km
Hiking Time: 6-8 hours
Habitat: Heathland

Wake to a 7:30 AM breakfast, and pack for your next trek. Break camp by 8:30 AM, hike for an hour through rainforest glades, and then follow an ascending path through heath land where you can look for giant lobelias and groundsels. Continue up into open moorlands where small shrubs are the main vegetation. Stop halfway for lunch, where you can enjoy amazing views of Mawenzi. Arrive at the Horombo Huts by 3 PM, where you can see Kibo’s summit. Rest, unpack, and prepare for dinner. Bathrooms with running water are available.

You may start to feel the effects of altitude here, and to aid your acclimatization, we may choose to spend an extra day resting at Horombo or climbing to a base camp below Kibo’s sub-peak Mawenzi.

Day 3: Hororubo Huts to Kibo Huts
Elevation: 3,690 m/12,100 ft.) to (4,695 m/15,400 ft.)
Distance: 10km
Hiking Time: 6-8 hours
Habitat: Alpine Desert

Wake to breakfast as usual, but if you wake early you can get some great photos of the sunrise. The first part of the day’s hike climbs through the dwindling heath land that blends into a moonscape as you enter the sweeping saddle connecting Mawenzi and Kibo. When you stop for lunch, and later when you cross this surprisingly large saddle, you can examine the summit climb up Kibo that you will be starting in just a few hours. Be careful to notice any signs of altitude sickness. There is no running water at the Kibo Huts.

Day 4: Summit Day! Kibo Huts to Uhuru Peak to Horombo Huts
Elevation: (4,695 m/15,400 ft.) to (5,895 m/19,340 ft.) to (3690 m/12,100 ft.)
Distance: 4km up, 14km down
Hiking Time: 10-15 hours
Habitat: Alpine Desert

Wake at midnight to a light breakfast, and then prepare for your summit ascent. The goal is to climb before dawn so that you can reach Uhuru Peak shortly after sunrise. Leave at 1 AM, switchback up steep scree or possibly snow, and reach Gilman’s Point on the crater rim at 5,861 m/18,640 ft. between 5 and 7 AM. Here, views of the fabled crater and its icecaps greet you. Another 2 hours of hiking along the crater rim near the celebrated snows takes you to Kilimanjaro’s true summit, Uhuru Peak, by 9 AM. This is Africa’s highest point, and you would have to travel more than 3,000 miles toward the Himalayas to find a higher peak! Be sure to have your picture taken at the summit to show your friends. After your summit stay, descend back to the Kibo Huts, have lunch, rest, collect your things, and re-cross the saddle to the Horombo Huts. Eat dinner and get some well-deserved sleep!

You do the beginning of this climb in the dark with headlamps or flashlights. It will be very cold until you start descending, so you will need all your warm layers. This is, by far, the most difficult part of the trek. Slowly slowly, or, pole pole, and an optimistic attitude will get you there!

Day 5: Horombo Huts to Marangu Gate to Arusha
Elevation: (3,690 m/12,100 ft.) to (1,830 m/6,000 ft.) to (890 m/2,920 ft.)
Distance: 18km
Hiking Time: 5-7 hours

Wake as usual, pack, and descend through the moorland to the Mandara Huts. Have Lunch there then continue your triumphant recessional down through lush forest to the park gate, which you should reach around 2 or 3 PM, Remember to tip your guides, cooks, and porters, since you will be leaving them here. A vehicle will take you back to the Hotel in Moshi/Arusha, where it is definitely time for celebration!

TREKKING GEAR AND WARM CLOTHING, CHECKLIST OF RECOMMENDED ITEMS
AND RENTAL RATES
(Equipment Rental Rates are Per Day or Per Trip)

 
Waterproof Rucksack & Daypack   $15/trip
Sleeping Bag (at least 3 season)   $2/day
Whistle   $1/trip
Boots & Light Trainers   $12/trip
Balaclava or Woolen Hat   $5/trip
Scarf   $4/trip
Snow Goggles/Sun Glasses   please bring your own
Gaiters (useful when encountering snow or scree)   $1/day
Water Bottle   we provide
First Aid Kit & Insect Repellant we provide but please bring your own as advised by your doctor
Gloves & Mittens (synthetic preferable)   $1/day
Trekking/Walking Pole   $10/trip
Pants & Jacket (waterproof + windproof)   $15/trip
Roll Sleeping Mat (needed for camping routes only)   $10/trip
Some Plastic Bags   please bring with you
Long Sleeved Shirt   please bring with you
Several Pairs of Socks   please bring 5 pairs with you
Sweaters/Jumpers   bring 2-3 if thick or 3-4 if light
Small Towell & Wash Kit   please bring 1 or 2
Thermal Under Wear   bring 3 or 4 warn for summit day
Anorak/Rain Jacket   $10/trip
Toilet Paper   we provide
Sun Screen & Lip Salve   please bring with you
Flashlight (head mounted preferable) with spare batteries   $10/trip without batteries

Pease give us advance warning of what you would like to rent so we can ensure availability.