Umbwe route is regarded as one of the hardest routes of Mt Kilimanjaro, precarious, steep and short. This route is considered for great experienced and fit climbers who want a new challenge in their lives. The success of the Umbwe route is very low compared to other Kilimanjaro routes due to its short acclimatization time during climbing. The route has only one acclimatization point that is at Karanga which has around 32 kilometers sharp ascent accompanied by more 21 kilometers downwards.
Umbwe Route is the least used trail of all the Kilimanjaro trails, and the trail needs patients and physical endurance. The route is considered a life-threatening route without proper acclimatization. It has a bad record of altitude sickness with over 60% of the climbers who succumb to this hence failing to reach the summit. The common altitude sickness is Nausea and headache which start as low as 4000 meters. The Umbwe Route is the most direct route to the summit but most breathtakingly the spectacular climb.
When clients arrive at the Kilimanjaro International Airport or Dar es Salaam International Airport, you will be met at the airport by our representatives and transferred to the hotel or clients preferred residential home for Overnight. You can start your trek any day, any month of the year!
On this day of the Umbwe Route, you will wake up early and prepare yourself for breakfast, and check out at the  Lodge /hotel. You will depart Moshi (890 m/2,920 ft) and drive to the Umbwe route entrance gate. After registering at the gate, then you start your ascent at the small Umbwe Gate just above the village and follow a gentle winding vehicle track for an hour to a signboard that announces the small steep Umbwe trail. The introduction is over, and you now climb up for several hrs through a dense forest of rubber trees and giant fig trees. In places, you must scamper up steep sections of roots and rock. The Umbwe Route Camp is in the forest, and there are some caves nearby. You will be greeted here with a graciously served hot meal. You will commence the climb through the rain forest with packed lunch on route. To the First encampment at 2 800m dinners and overnight at the First cave campsite.
Your day 3 of the Umbwe route starts early with a steaming cup of tea or coffee. After breakfast, you will climb steeply through leave the glades of the forest and follow an ascending path on the open moorland to the Barranco encampment located at 3 900 m. The clouds will part to reward you with a view of Uhuru peak looming overhead. After lunch, you enter a zone of giant ground sells (scenario Kilimanjaro) that seem to guard the heights, and this garden is one of Kilimanjaro’s special treasures you may find. After dinner you overnight at Barranco campsite.
Your 6-hour climb northwest up through heavy scree between the Rebmann and Ratzel glaciers to Stella Point on the crater rim is the most challenging part of the route for most climbers. You will reach Stella Point (5,685 m/18,650 ft) at around 05:30 am and you will stop for a short rest and a chance to see a supremely sanguine sunrise. At Stella Point, you join the top part of the Marangu Route but do not stop here too long, as it will be extremely difficult to start again due to cold and fatigue. Depending on the season and recent storms, you may encounter snow on your remaining hike along the rim to Uhuru Peak. On the summit, you can enjoy your accomplishments and know that you are creating a day that you will remember for the rest of your life. After your 3-hours descent from the summit back to Barafu Camp, you will have a well-earned but short rest, collect your gears, and hike down a rock and scree path into the moorland and eventually into the forest to Mweka Camp (3,100 m/10,170 ft). This camp is in the upper forest, so you can expect mist or rain in the late afternoon or evening. Dinner, and washing water will be prepared, and the camp office sells drinking water, soft drinks, and chocolates! After Dinner you will overnight at Mweka Camp.Â
After a well-deserved breakfast, it is a short, scenic, 3-hours hike back to the park gate. Don’t give your porters any tips until you and all your gear have reached the gate safely but do remember to tip your staff at the gate. At Mweka Gate, you can sign your name and add details in a register. This is also where successful climbers receive their summit certificates. Some climbers like to get their Certificates at the Hotel or where they will be staying and have a celebration dinner and drinks with their Porters and Guides and get Certificates with photos of a Give presenting the Certificates to each member of the Group for Good Memory after accomplishing the DREAM. Climbers who reached Stella Point are issued green certificates and those who reached Uhuru Peak receive Gold with Green colors certificate. From the Mweka Gate, you will continue down to the Mweka Village, possibly a muddy, 3 km, 1-hour hike if the road is too muddy for vehicles. In the Mweka Village, you will be served a delicious hot lunch after which you are driven back to Moshi for an overdue hot shower and comfortable night in a Hotel or similar lodging.
Depart for the airport or other destinations in Tanzania or Kenya. A trip to the beaches at Zanzibar is a good way to recuperate. We can arrange as many for reasonably priced trips and safaris around Moshi or Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.
Reserve your ideal trip early for a hassle-free trip; secure comfort and convenience!
Leave a comment: