Compare 7 Days-Kilimanjaro-Marangu Route by Expect In Africa Safari vs Off the Beaten Track by Zama Tours & Safaris
Compare details and see what other travelers are saying.
| Trip |
5 | Excellent
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4 | Great
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| Duration | 7 days | 9 days |
| Price From | $ 1,680 | $ 3,185 |
| Price Per Day | $ 240 | $ 354 |
| Highlights |
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| Trip Style | Group tour | Private guided tour |
| Lodging Level | Camping | Premium |
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| Flights & Transport | Ground transport included | Internal airfare and ground transport included |
| Activities |
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| Meals Included |
6 Breakfasts, 6 Lunches and 7 Dinner |
8 Breakfasts, 8 Lunches and 8 Dinners |
| Description |
The Marangu Route has been referred to as the ‘Coca Cola’ route and this has led potential climbers to think that it is an easy route to the summit. This is far from the truth to be honest! The fact that it requires a minimum of 6 days to complete it does not mean that it is easier than any other route. The only reason that people say it is easier is because it is the only route up Kilimanjaro where you sleep in huts as opposed to tents. An optional acclimatization day at Horombo Huts is highly recommended for those with no prior trekking in altitude experience under their belt. Advance booking of hut accommodation is required to avoid any inconveniences. The route starts from the park headquarters in the village of Marangu and heads straight westwards towards Kibo. The trail goes through lush rainforest, heath and moorland to alpine desert and ultimately the arctic zone at the peak and same route down. |
Tanzania has so much more to offer than wildlife and landscapes. This safari gives you a look into local culture by spending time with the Masai tribe in Esilalei and the Chagga people in Marangu at the base of the famous Kilimanjaro. Speak with the elders, learn about traditional medicine and joint traditional life. |
Day 1: Arrival Day
Meals: Dinner
Accommodation : Hotel
You will be picked up at the Kilimanjaro International Airport and transferred to your arranged hotel in Arusha, and meet company member who will brief you on your upcoming schedule for safari and trek and do an equipment check to make sure you have all the necessary mountain gear. Gear which is missing can be rented on the trekking day.
Day 2: Marangu Gate (1860m) To Mandara Hut (2700m)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation : Mandara
Distance covered: 8.3km / 5.2mi
Approx. time taken: 5 hours
After breakfast, you will be collected from your lodge in Arusha and taken to the Marangu gate. Once the necessary paper work has been completed, your trek can begin and you will soon be hiking through the dense rainforest. Alongside the impressive vegetation, you will have the chance to catch a glimpse of some primates as you head to the Mandara Hut. After a well-earned rest, your guide can take you to the Maundi Crater where you can enjoy the wonderful view of the Kenyan interior.
Day 3: Mandara Hut (2700m) To Horombo Hut (3700m)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation : Horombo Hut
Distance covered: 12.5km / 7.8mi
Approx. time taken: 9 hours
The day begins with an early breakfast. Shortly after you have left Mandara Hut, you will reach the timberline and then enter the heath and moor zone. Approximately 4 – 6 hours later, the Horombo Hut will come into sight, standing at an altitude of 3700m. From the hut, you will have fantastic views overlooking Mawenzi, Kibo and the wide plain of the Masai steppe.
Day 4: Acclimatization Trek To Zebra Rocks (4020m) Then Back To Horombo Hut (3700m)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation : Horombo Hut
Distance covered: 5km / 3.1mi
Approx. time taken: 4 hours
Horombo Hut Today serves as an acclimatization day. This should not be underestimated and greatly improves your chance of success in reaching the summit. After a relaxing breakfast, a 4 hour trek follows to the Zebra Rocks (4020m). The distinctive black and white stripes give the rock formation its name. On your return to Horombo Hut, a warm lunch will be waiting for you. You can relax in the afternoon and regain your strength for the hike the following day.
Day 5: Horombo Hut (3700m) To Kibo Hut (4700m)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation : Kibo Hut
Distance covered: 9.5km / 5.9mi
Approx. time taken: 7 hours
Today’s stage is long and tough. The well-built trail passes the “Last Water point” which is followed by the so-called “saddle”. This nearly vegetation less plateau joins the main summit Kibo with Mawenzi. Today’s destination is the Kibo Hut that is usually reached in about 5 – 6 hours. Here, you will enjoy an early evening meal followed by an early night, as the night will be short.
Day 6: Kibo Hut (4700m) To Uhuru Peak (5895m) & Down To Horombo Hut (3700m)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Distance covered: 22km / 13.7mi
Approx. time taken: 9– 10 hours
Day 7: Horombo Huts (3,690 M/12,100 Ft) To Marangu Gate To Arusha
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel
After breakfast and refreshing; 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 1pm or 2:30 pm. Kindly tip your guides and porters as you will be leaving them here. A vehicle will take you back to your hotel in Arusha.
Horombo Huts (3,690 m/12,100 ft) to Marangu Gate (1,830 m/6,000 ft) to Moshi (890 m/2,920 ft) 18 km, 5-7 hours
Day 8: Depart
Depending on your flight time you will transfer to the airport
Day 1: Arusha
Meals: Dinner
Accommodation: Arumeru River Lodge
Activity: Transfer to Arusha
On arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, you will be met by our office representative and transferred to Arusha for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Arusha – Serengeti National Park by flight
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation: Nyumbani Serengeti Camp
Activity: Flight to Serengeti // Game drive
In a small bush plane, you delve directly into the heart of the Tanzanian wilderness with a flight to the Central Serengeti National Park, where you are met by your guide. You game drive for the rest of the day (with picnic lunch) and arrive to at your tented camp before sunset. Dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Serengeti National Park
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation: Nyumbani Serengeti Camp
Activity: Game drive in the Serengeti
Full day to spend on the vast plains of the Serengeti! You will have breakfast at the lodge or camp before we embark on an early morning game drive in the park. The Migration, consisting of around 2 million animals, is on the move all year round. Depending on the season you may see this impressive phenomenon. Naturally it also attracts a mass of predators and you may be able to see a band of lionesses gather for a hunt. You will return to your lodge for a sumptuous lunch to gather strength for the afternoon game drive. Dinner and overnight in the same accommodation.
Day 4: Serengeti – Olduvai Gorge –Esilalei Area
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation: Isoitok Camp
Activity: Game drive in the Serengeti // Visit of Olduvai Gorge
Early morning game drive to see also nocturnal predators returning from hunting and animals waking up in early morning light. After breakfast continue game driving on your way to Naabi Hill Gate and towards Ngorongoro Conservation Area. On the way you will stop at the Olduvai Gorge where anthropologists Louis and Mary Leakey made many significant discoveries, contributing to the theory that human life originated in Africa. After a picnic lunch you continue to the Maasai land of Esilalei for dinner and overnight in a tented camp.
Day 5: Esilalei
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation: Isoitok Camp
Activity: Visit of the Masai of Esilalei
Meet with your local Maasai guide who will introduce you to his village. Get a better understanding of the natural medicines still used on a daily basis with a Maasai medicine walk of the surrounding area. Then continue down to a Boma (mud dwelling) for an introduction into the Maasai way of life, beliefs and rituals. Freshen up and enjoy a real cultural experience around the fire place with traditional song and dance. Dinner and overnight in the same accommodation.
Day 6: Esilalei – Tarangire National Park
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation: Nimali Tented Lodge
Activity: Game drive in Tarangire
Short drive to Tarangire National Park, Tanzania’s third largest national park and sanctuary for an unusually large elephant population. Majestic baobab trees are an interesting feature of the park, dwarfing the animals that feed beneath them. Animals concentrate along the Tarangire River, which provides the only permanent water supply in the area. There is a great diversity of wildlife including lion, leopard, cheetah and up to six thousand elephant. Full game drive with lunch box, then continuation to your tented lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Tarangire – Arusha National Park – Marangu
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation: Marangu Hotel
Activity: Game drive in Arusha National Park
Today’s program is a visit to the less-known gem among the Tanzanian northern National Parks, the Arusha National Park. Once the site of the action packed Hollywood movie Hatari, starring John Wayne and Hardy Kruger, it shows you now a variety of landscapes and one of the few possibilities for a walking safari with an armed ranger on the slopes of the Mount Meru. You pass by herds of zebra, buffalo, and giraffe on the savannah. Enjoy a picnic lunch at Momella Lake, famous for huge flocks of colourful flamingos and its views at majestic Mt. Kilimanjaro. You continue in the afternoon with a game drive around the different habitats in this truly beautiful national park. There are black and white colobus monkeys (unique to this location northern Tanzania), Sykes’s and Vervet monkeys, shy forest duikers, elusive leopards and substantial herds of antelope. Later afternoon drive to Marangu (Moshi) for dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Marangu
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation: Marangu Hotel
Activity: Visit of the Chagga people
At the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, outside the entrance to Kilimanjaro National Park, lie the beautiful towns of Mamba and Marangu. Here, local people of the Chagga tribe have planned walking tours through valleys and waterfalls depicting mountain village life. The day is filled with hikes, historical and cultural visits, including a local lunch. Together with a Chagga guide you visit the Chagga Museum, walk through fertile valleys with great waterfalls, densely planted coffee and banana plantations to panoramic viewpoints ideal for photographing Mount Kilimanjaro. You experience culture, traditions and daily life of the local Chagga people. Dinner and overnight in the hotel.
Day 9: Marangu – Kilimanjaro Airport/Arusha
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
Activity: Transfer to the airport
Drive to the airport for your flight home or a further destination
