Shira plateau
Elevation: 3,600-3960 meters above sea level
Lemosho route gives climbers a chance to see the Shira Plateau, a wide, flat area with stunning sights, even if they don’t make it all the way to Uhuru Peak.
The journey starts at Lemosho Gate, after a stop at Londorossi Gate for paperwork. From there, you trek through a quiet forest to the first camp, Mti Mkubwa. The trail keeps going up, taking you across the Shira Plateau, where you can see Kilimanjaro’s peaks—Shira, Mawenzi, and Kibo—in the distance. The plateau itself sits high up on Shira Peak, the third tallest of the three, stretching about 13 kilometers west of Kibo. It’s an old volcanic area, formed millions of years ago when lava poured out and built up the mountain. Over time, the Shira cone collapsed into a huge crater, leaving behind the flat land you walk across today.
As you climb, the path winds through different kinds of land. In the lower parts, the forest is full of tall trees and green plants. Higher up, the heath zone has shorter bushes and grasses, like heather and lobelia, growing in rich volcanic soil. You might spot birds or small animals, and sometimes even bigger ones like elephants or buffalo wandering near the edges, especially close to Amboseli National Park across the border in Kenya. The air gets cooler as you go, with daytime warmth dropping to chilly nights, and rain comes often in the lower areas but fades higher up.
The Lemosho Route passes several campsites along the way. After Mti Mkubwa, you reach Shira 1 Camp on the plateau, surrounded by rolling hills and streams. Then it’s on to Shira 2 Camp, where the land feels open and wild, with rocky ridges and patches of tough plants. From there, you keep climbing to places like Moir Hut, Lava Tower, and Barranco Camp, each spot showing off a new side of the mountain. The trail takes you over the Barranco Wall, a steep climb, and through the Karanga Valley before reaching Barafu Camp, the last stop before the summit push.
The final stretch to Uhuru Peak starts in the dark from Barafu, heading up through loose gravel and snow to the crater rim at Stella Point, then on to the top. It’s a tough climb, but the views from the highest point in Africa make it worth it. After that, you come down the Mweka Route, passing Mweka Hut and ending at Mweka Gate. The whole trip can take 7 or 8 days, depending on your plan, giving your body time to get used to the height.
The Lemosho Route stands out because it’s less crowded than some others and shows off Kilimanjaro’s beauty step by step—from green forests to snowy peaks. It’s a long, winding adventure that ends with a big reward at the top.
Location & Weather
The Lemosho Route begins on the western side of Mount Kilimanjaro, at Lemosho Gate, which sits on the lower slopes in a rural area surrounded by plantations. It stretches across the mountain, passing through the Shira Plateau—a wide, flat area west of Kibo, the main peak. The route winds up through various camps, like Mti Mkubwa, Shira 1, and Barranco, before reaching the summit on Kibo’s crater rim. It’s a journey that covers the northwest and southern sides, ending with a descent down the Mweka Route to Mweka Gate on the south.
Weather & Vegetation
The Lemosho Route takes you through five different zones, each with its own weather and plants. At the start near Lemosho Gate, it’s warm and rainy in the thick rainforest, full of tall trees and small animals. As you climb to the Shira Plateau, it turns cooler and windier in the heath and moorland area, where you see grasses, heather, and low shrubs. Higher up, around places like Lava Tower and Barafu Camp, it’s dry and cold in the alpine desert, with rocky ground and almost no plants or animals. At the top, near Uhuru Peak, it’s freezing with snow and ice, strong winds, and no life at all. The weather changes a lot—wet at the bottom, chilly in the middle, and icy at the summit.
How It Was Formed
The Lemosho Route crosses land shaped by Kilimanjaro’s volcanic past. Millions of years ago, the mountain formed when lava pushed up through cracks in the earth during a time of shifting continents. Three volcanic cones—Shira, Mawenzi, and Kibo—grew over time. Shira, where the route spends much of its early stretch, was once a huge peak but collapsed into a flat caldera about 500,000 years ago after its eruptions stopped. Erosion wore it down, leaving the wide Shira Plateau. Kibo, where the summit sits, stayed active longer, building up to its current height. The route’s path follows these ancient volcanic features, from Shira’s old crater to Kibo’s rugged slopes.
What It’s Like on Lemosho
Climbing the Lemosho Route feels like a big adventure with changing scenery. You start at Lemosho Gate after a bumpy drive, walking through a quiet forest to Mti Mkubwa Camp. The next stretch takes you out of the trees into open moorland, reaching Shira 1 Camp with amazing views of Kibo. From there, you cross the Shira Plateau—a flat, high area—to Shira 2 and Moir Hut, where the air gets thinner and the land feels wilder. The trek then climbs past the striking Lava Tower, a tall rock plug, before dropping to Barranco Camp near the steep Barranco Wall. You scramble up the wall to Karanga Camp, then push on to Barafu Camp, a rocky spot where you rest before the final climb. In the dark, you tackle the tough scree to Stella Point, then reach Uhuru Peak for a sunrise reward. The way down is steep and fast to Mweka Hut, ending with a walk through wet forest to Mweka Gate. It’s a long, varied trip—peaceful at first, tough at the end, and full of beauty all the way.