Description
Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru combine to make an excellent trek with plenty of acclimatisation. The ascent of Mount Meru (4566m), Kili’s little sister, makes for a superb training and acclimatising trip before the main ascent of Kilimanjaro. It is a four day round-trip and a wonderful climb in its own right. It is far, far less crowded than any of the routes on Kilimanjaro. You can also expect to see wildlife on the lower slopes and in the Arusha National Park which we pass through after the climb. After a night in Moshi, where you will meet any clients joining just for Kilimanjaro, we head off to the start of the Machame route.
The Machame route approaches from the wetter south side of the mountain, initially through dense, lush montane cloud forest and on up to the eastern side of the Shira plateau to Shira 2 campsite. Shortly beyond here the route merges with Lemosho route as it passes the Lava Tower (4600m) on the acclimatisation day en route to Barranco. From this point on the trail can get very busy, but there is never any need to rush on our itineraries. Descent is via the Mweka route.
All flights are to Kilimanjaro airport, avoiding the overland journey to and from Nairobi. And finally we include ALL PARK FEES in our prices.
The departure date is based on an overnight flight departing the UK in the evening and arriving the following day at Kilimanjaro International Airport. Some same-day flights may be available but the overnight flight allows you to arrive earlier in the day giving you more time to recover from the flight before heading up the mountain.
The Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru trek can be extended with visits to Zanzibar or a safari. Please see our Trip Dossier download tab or contact us for further details.
Adam H –
Gary Daines was our English Guide on Meru and Kili. I understand that this was the first time that Adventure Peaks have worked with Gary. I would like to make clear: Gary is an absolute credit to Adventure Peaks. As a company director myself, that uses subcontracted staff, I know how difficult it can be to find the right people to represent your business in a positive and professional manner. Let me say that with Gary, you have a friendly, knowledgeable, supportive and professional mountain guide. I cannot recommend him highly enough! He made our trek a delight. Five stars!
The choice of hotel in Arusha was perfect. The choice of hotel for the safari extension was even better! I highly recommend both places for organising future trips.
Hannah –
I thought the in-country and British guides were excellent and made the trip very enjoyable, fun and safe – they were all very experienced, especially Gary who I cannot fault, he was great!
I really like that Adventure Peaks is a small independent company, and the training weekend in the Lake District was brilliant. All food and accommodation was superb and overall I loved the trip.
The in-country guides were brilliant!!!!! They were very helpful, welcoming, fun to be around and some of them (especially the assistant guides) had very good knowledge of flora and fauna, the food was fantastic and quite astounding considering where we were and the facilities the cook had! The accommodation in Arusha was lovely and so nice to come back to after trekking, and the accommodation on the safari was even better, just a fantastic way to end the trip and so relaxing, we were very grateful for it! Our safari guide (Steven) was absolutely brilliant, and so knowledgeable about all of the animals and history – he made the safari even more fantastic and I cannot thank him enough.
Gary was incredible and made the trip both fun and safe, I cannot thank him enough. He was so approachable and didn’t make me feel silly for any small worry, especially considering myself and my partner had never been to altitude before and therefore were experiencing symptoms for the first time. I trusted his judgement on the mountain and I was incredibly thankful to have Gary there keeping me safe – for that he is worth his weight in gold. He was always positive, and encouraging, with an interest in the flora and fauna which I personally really liked because I am also interested in these. He was obviously very experienced and I was extremely glad to have him there, not to mention the fact that he was really good fun and kept everyone’s spirits up. He really did make the trip brilliant!
Ngorongoro crater was my favourite day, the animal life was incredible and our guide was fantastic! I also loved Mt Meru, more than Kilimanjaro, it was a stunningly beautiful mountain, and I would have liked some more time to complete this at a slightly more leisurely pace in order to be able to take it all in.
Andy F –
Overall the trip was very good. All info sent out before the trip was very professional and clear. While in the country there was a few questions that could have been an issue, but handled superbly by the UK guide. The porters/kitchen staff were all so helpful.
Highlights: reaching Stella Point and then the summit after a 6/7 hour plod, then it hitting home and getting quite emotional realising what we had achieved a few hours later after falling into the tent for an hour ‘recovery nap’…and meeting and making six new friends, it’s amazing how close you all get after a few meals in a tiny mess tent. Looking forward to the already planned cycle trips, climbing sessions and walks in the lakes with the group.