Overnight flight to Kilimanjaro International airport. On arrival in Tanzania you will be met and transferred to the hotel. Situated in a quiet location in the foothills of Kilimanjaro this is a pleasant and friendly hotel with restaurant and bar.

An early start on the first day allows you some time to make any adjustments to your packing before leaving for the park gate. From the gate (1800m) the path climbs with a gradual gradient and a never tiring route in a forest full of flowers. A last ramp leads to the lovely rocky rise and metal constructions of the Machame Hut (3000m). Climb 1200 metres, walking time: 4 to 5 hours.

A rather short day although the altitude begins to make itself felt. The path rises with a charming route along a lava ridge that offers splendid views of the Kibo and Meru peaks before crossing a number of clearings surrounded by very high, tree-like heathers. A stony stretch with the odd zigzag leads to the edge of the remarkable lava plateau of Shira. We cross this to our camp (3840 metres) near a large cave. Climb 840 metres, walking time: 4 to 5 hours.

This stage, quite tiring at first, explains why hikers starting from Machame suffer the altitude less on the final stage to the Kibo summit. Zigzagging up and down is, on any mountain, the best way to get acclimatised. You start by reaching an enormous solitary rock and then proceed on wide, desolate, stony slopes towards the Lava Tower and the Arrow Glacier Hut.  High up, in the distance are the walls of the Western Breach. Once at the ridge at the base of the Lava Tower (4600m) a rather steep descent leads to the Barranco Hut (3950m), a splendid viewpoint of the Breach Wall and the Heim and Decken glaciers. Climb 760 metres, descend 650 metres, walking time: 7 to 8 hours.

A long but spectacular day which gives an ever changing vista of the summit. You start by crossing the valley and scrambling up the Barranco wall by a series of easy rock ledges. Once at the top a broad, rocky ridge traverses around the mountain with wonderful views of the Heim glacier. A short sharp descent past some amazing rock formations leads down into the Karanga Valley (4000m) followed by a short climb to the Karanga campsite.  The final stretch of the approach follows a rocky wind-beaten ridge close under the south flank of Kibo and crosses a large desolate bowl before climbing up onto the obvious ridge to the Barafu Hut (4500 metres) and our camp. Climb 850 metres; descend 200m, walking time: 7 to 8 hours.

Leaving our camp just after midnight a good path marked by stones climbs the rocky slopes and into the wide gorge to the right of the Rebmann glacier. A section on the more friable ground (nothing like the screes of Gillman's Point on the normal route) precedes the last slopes, sometimes covered with snow. Once out on the crater at Stella Point (5795m) you continue on round to Uhuru Peak (5895m). To descend, we drop back scree slopes to Barafu for a rest and an early lunch and then continue down for a further four hours to Mweka Camp, delightfully situated in the trees and celebrate! Climb 1295 metres; descend 2795 metres, walking time: 10 to 14 hours.

A fully refurbished trail takes you down through the forest to the park gate (1500m) and the bizarre sight of vehicles! After bidding farewell to the guides and porters we transfer you to the hotel where you can get a meal and have a wash and brush up before transferring to the airport to catch an early evening flight home.  Descend 1600 metres, walking time: 3 to 4 hours.

Arrive back in the UK.