great introductory trekking

The Journey

The Roof of Africa

At 5896m, Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa, and the thin air around the top provides a stout challenge. We use the Machame route because it combines diverse and interesting scenery, an enjoyable trek and, most importantly for you, an achievable acclimatisation schedule. One of the highlights of the trek is exploring the small valleys around our camp 3 where East African Giant Lobelias and Giant Senecios make the landscape seem prehistoric. We have built in two shorter days to give you the best chance to acclimatise, and climb in safety.

The climb to the summit – Uhuru peak - is quite steep walking, and tough due to the thin air. However it is non-technical and achievable for fit healthy trekkers. The descent through the thick jungles that halo Kilimanjaro to the Mweka gate and our waiting jeep provide a balm for our eyes after so much time above the treeline. We use a camping trek for maximum flexibility, and porters carry our camping gear, food and personal kit.

The climbing season in East Africa covers most of the year. The two dry seasons generally run from December to March, when you would expect dry and warm conditions, and June to October, which is usually also dry, but cooler.

The Reward!

You finish in a five star lodge for some well earned luxury after your climb. You can then join our expert guides and drivers on a private jeep safari. After years of observation and study our guides have an excellent grasp of animal behaviour. The camping safaris, take in any or all of the famous Ngorongoro Crater with its permanent water and resident large populations of animals, two lake parks (Manyara and Tarangire), or, for those with more time, the wide Serengeti. We will explore the different environments of ‘the big five’ and the vast array of other wildlife that populates these parks.

Our Style

The typical trekking day begins at around 6.30am with a substantial breakfast, the expedition leader then provides a briefing on the day’s activities as staff prepare the loads.

After breakfast we usually trek for a few hours, stopping every hour or so to rest and take pictures, then meet the crew for hot soup and packed lunch along the trail. We then walk another few hours to camp where our porters set up our sleeping tents. You might like to explore around camp, read a book or have a snooze. Dinner is usually a three course meal of soup, a curry, pasta or stir-fry, a simple dessert and as many hot drinks as you like.

Safari days would normally begin with a dawn game drive, and during the day we intersperse game drives with meal breaks, photo stops and relaxation time. We generally finish our safari day with a dusk game drive (when the animals are most ac-tive), and then dinner back at our campsite. 

Brief Itinerary

Day 1	Arrive Kilimanjaro International Airport and transfer to Arusha hotel
Day 2	Trip briefing and preparation for trek
Day 3-8	Trek and climb Mount Kilimanjaro via the Machame Route from our high camp
Day 9	Final day of trek and transfer to hotel
Day 10	Either a final rest day, departure, or commencement of an optional safari
Options:	Private jeep safari in Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater or Serengeti game parks or relaxing at Zanzibar

dawn from Shira camp sunrise on Mt Meru

Is it right for me?
 
To achieve the major challenge of this climb on Mount Kilimanjaro, you will need to be fit and healthy. Our staff carry everything but your day pack, prepare the meals and set up camps, so you’ll just have to take care of enjoying your adventure. We stay in good quality mountain tents on Kilimanjaro, good hotels in towns and a very nice lodge to enjoy a post summit rest.

Experience required

Despite Kilimanjaro’s height, our strategic route involves hiking, not technical climbing. You will not need rope, rock-climbing or mountaineering skills, but a background in trekking and camping or overnight hiking will be an advantage.  

Fitness required

You will need a reasonable level of fitness in order to best enjoy your experience of Africa, and to have a good chance of success. You will need to be able to trek on sometimes rough tracks for 6 or more hours a day with a daypack. The trekking days are not especially long, as your body needs time to acclimatise, and there is time for a leisurely lunch, and photography stops.

An extra effort will be required on summit day to take you above the glaciers to Uhuru peak. This is a tough day.

We suggest that because people have a wide variety of lifestyles, you may benefit from a training program to prepare for your trek. We suggest you start well ahead and work up slowly to get yourself ready for the ascent.

 

DCXP was started by Duncan Chessell and has been operating trips around the world for many years. The experience gained in expedition logistics and health, has been utilised in developing teams of talented staff that are the basis of DCXP's  consistently high quality expeditions. DCXP is now owned and managed by Katie Sarah, who has been involved with this business since 2006, and has now gained her own experience both in the field - from the remote wilderness of Antarctica to the summit of Everest - and in operating expeditions.