Grand Traverse Expedition

A legendary trek of Africa’s highest and most famous mountain. This special combination is the by a wide margin the least-used route on Kilimanjaro, getting you far away from the crowds. The trailhead is at high elevation, and thus we start slow and easy on this route. The trail begins on the Shira Plateau, and the hike across the plateau is said to be one of the most stunningly beautiful hikes in Africa. After crossing the plateau, we leave the tourist trails and head off across the north side of the mountain, facing Kenya and the famous Amboseli National Park.

The spectacular hike along the northern circuit affords opportunities to see some animals; possible elephant, eland, and signs of many other animals. Along this way we won’t see other tourists, only following cairns which signal the route. For the first five days we traverse the plateau valleys and ridges of mountain between 12,000’ to 14,000’, and on day 6 the trail reaches the northeast side of the mountain, cresting the saddle between Mawenzi, the second highest peak of Kilimanjaro (16,893’) and Kibo. We trek to the Outward Bound camp before departing for the summit. This trek is designed to get you closer to nature, and to benefit from plenty of acclimatization time early on in the trip. The accommodation is in mountain tents and dining is in our mess tents. Toilet tents with convenient and sanitary portable flush toilets are set up at all camps.