Climb Kilimanjaro in 5 Days: Marangu Route Guide to Uhuru Peak

You begin before dawn in Moshi, the town’s lights dwindling as the minibus chews up the dirt road toward Marangu Gate. The first steps through montane rainforest feel soft—leaf litter quiets your boots, streams dart and dare you to catch their reflections—then the trail opens, and the mountain shows a different face: lobelias like ancient candelabras, moorland that snaps with wind, and finally the raw, stony silence of the alpine desert. Over five days along the Marangu Route, huts replace tents, guides and porters become the heartbeat of the itinerary, and the summit—Uhuru Peak at 5,895 m—waits with a thin, bright sky.