Charity trek up Mount Kilimanjaro, community project
| country: | Tanzania |
| location: | Kilimanjaro |
| departures: | 2010: 2 Oct |
| price: | From £2400 (13 days) including flights from the UK |
| more info: | Sponsorship option: £300 registration fee + £3100 minimum sponsorship (£1000 goes to your charity) |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Charity trek up Mount Kilimanjaro, community project
Climb Mount Kilimanjaro and get involved with a community project
The ultimate African challenge. Climb Mt Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak and the world’s tallest free standing volcano, after acclimatising to the altitude by helping local children and undertaking much needed repairs and refurbishments at a local school. The area surrounding Mount Kilimanjaro is, despite the tourist dollars which pour into Tanzania, home to some of the country's poorest communities, and the schools are in dire need of assistance, which this trek up Mount Kilimanjaro will help to provide.
Whilst acclimatising in preparation for your climb, you will spend four days helping on a range of projects at the Mbokomu School, including renovating classrooms, clearing land for sports and recreation and restoring furniture – as well as spending time with the pupils of course!
After the work at the school, you will face the challenge of a lifetime. Following the slightly longer and more scenic Machame route to the summit of majestic Mount Kilimanjaro, you will be guaranteed the best chance of successfully reaching the summit. After taking 5 days to ascent, giving you lots of time for acclimatisation, you will eventually climb to the 5,895m Uhuru peak at dawn on the sixth day to enjoy one of the most amazing sights on earth. Whilst in Tanzania, why not extend your trip to spend two days on safari in the NgoroNgoro Crater, one of the world's best locations for viewing elephant, zebra, lion and warthog, or explore Stone Town and relax on the beach in exotic Zanzibar.
This trek up Mount Kilimanjaro community project is an opportunity to not only conquer one of the most amazing, and challenging, natural places on earth, but it is an opportunity to help communities here in the UK by fundraising for your favourite charities and in one of the poorest parts of Africa during your volunteer work.
The ultimate African challenge. Climb Mt Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak and the world’s tallest free standing volcano, after acclimatising to the altitude by helping local children and undertaking much needed repairs and refurbishments at a local school. The area surrounding Mount Kilimanjaro is, despite the tourist dollars which pour into Tanzania, home to some of the country's poorest communities, and the schools are in dire need of assistance, which this trek up Mount Kilimanjaro will help to provide.
Whilst acclimatising in preparation for your climb, you will spend four days helping on a range of projects at the Mbokomu School, including renovating classrooms, clearing land for sports and recreation and restoring furniture – as well as spending time with the pupils of course!
After the work at the school, you will face the challenge of a lifetime. Following the slightly longer and more scenic Machame route to the summit of majestic Mount Kilimanjaro, you will be guaranteed the best chance of successfully reaching the summit. After taking 5 days to ascent, giving you lots of time for acclimatisation, you will eventually climb to the 5,895m Uhuru peak at dawn on the sixth day to enjoy one of the most amazing sights on earth. Whilst in Tanzania, why not extend your trip to spend two days on safari in the NgoroNgoro Crater, one of the world's best locations for viewing elephant, zebra, lion and warthog, or explore Stone Town and relax on the beach in exotic Zanzibar. This trek up Mount Kilimanjaro community project is an opportunity to not only conquer one of the most amazing, and challenging, natural places on earth, but it is an opportunity to help communities here in the UK by fundraising for your favourite charities and in one of the poorest parts of Africa during your volunteer work.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | London to Kilimanjaro airport. Depart London for Kilimanjaro airport via Nairobi. |
| Day 2: | Kilimanjaro - Moshi. Arrive and transfer to the Moshi Hotel. (Meals included: Lunch & Dinner) |
| Day 3-5: | Moshi. We spend three full days assisting with a range of projects at the Mbokomu School, this time provides an excellent opportunity for gradual acclimatisation before embarking on the trek, as well as offering valuable assistance within one of Tanzania’s poorest regions. The project work here includes renovating classrooms, clearing land for sports and recreation and restoring furniture – as well as spending time with the pupils of course! (Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner) |
| Day 6: | Machame Gate to Machame Huts (3000 m). A 45 minute drive from the Hotel delivers you to Machame Gate to register and meet your porters. Your pace will be slow and gentle and the day will be spent trekking slowly up the muddy track through the rain forest. It’s a long day and typically takes 7 – 8 hours but by the end you emerge into a clearing and the welcome sight of your tents, hot tea and dinner. (Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner) |
| Day 7: | Machame Huts to Shira Plateau (3,840m). Following a cooked breakfast you start the climb through the remaining rain forest towards the giant moorland zone. The trek today is much shorter and the environment changes rapidly as you ascend out of the rain forest. Depending on the group pace, it is a 5 - 6 hour trek, during which you gain approximately 800 metres in altitude. Lunch is taken on a stunning outcrop of rock before completing the last stretch to Shira Camp and a stunning view over the Shira Plateau. Weather permitting you should also get your first close views of Kibo - the dramatic summit of Kilimanjaro. (Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner) |
| Day 8: | Shira Plateau to Barranco Camp (3,950m). After breakfast you set off early as today is a long trek. You will climb gradually through alpine desert where you reach a crossroads with the option of climbing to an altitude of 4,500 metres to the Lava Tower, or dropping back down towards Barranco Camp. It will depend on how fit you feel at the crossroads as to whether you visit the Lava Tower, but if you can manage it, it is extremely useful for acclimatization. Whilst long, the environment is extraordinary and few would disagree that Barranco, nestled at the foot of Kibo, is a wonderful campsite. Your sleeping altitude is not much higher than the previous night at Shira but this is a great day for acclimatisation if you make it to the Lava Tower at 4,500 metres. (Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner) |
| Day 9: | Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp (3,963m) After breakfast, your first obstacle is to breach the Barranco Wall, a 600-foot rock face. No technical climbing experience is required and whilst steep, it is still classed as a trek. This portion of the trek will involve scrambling over rocks. Once over the wall, the climb becomes extremely beautiful, with fantastic views of the crags and crevasses of the jagged peaks on your left, and then descends into the Karanga Valley where you will camp for the night. (Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner) |
| Day 10: | Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp (4700m). It is a slow, tough hike up to Barafu, which means "ice" in Swahili. The air starts to get quite thin at this stage and you will be running short of breath as you climb out of the Karanga Valley. It can be extremely cold at this altitude and with an early start ahead, an early night is required. At midnight you start the final ascent to Uhuru Peak – the Summit. (Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner) |
| Day 11: | Uhuru Peak. After light snacks and hot drinks, start climbing around midnight on the steepest and most demanding part of the mountain. Light is provided by your head torches, the moon on a clear night and as you ascend, the sun climbs spectacularly behind you, staining the sky a vibrant red and orange colour. As you reach Stellar Point, the sun has climbed into view and you can see Uhuru Peak in the distance. From the crater rim, rugged Mawenzi is a thrilling sight, with the Kibo saddle still in darkness beneath you and the crater's ice-walls looming ahead. Once you reach Stellar Point, you are only an hour or two from Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa, and the world's highest solitary peak (19,340ft). From there you will descend to Barafu Camp for a short break, hot lunch and a nap, before continuing to descend for other 5-6 hours to Mweka Hut. This is likely to be the toughest day that you will have ever experienced. You will have ascended 3,600 feet and descended 7,200 feet in a period of 14-18 hours. Although exhausting, you will have just achieved something extraordinary. (Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner) |
| Day 12: | Mweka Hut to Moshi. In the morning you will walk down to Mweka Gate through the rain forest. This all takes around 6 hours. You will be transferred to your hotel for lunch, and later the porters will return to the hotel for the certificate giving ceremony. If you ask nicely, the porters may sing the infamous Kilimanjaro Song! Enjoy a gala dinner tonight in celebration of your climb. Overnight at the Hotel. (Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner) . |
| Day 13: | Moshi to London. Today we transfer back to Kilimanjaro Airport for our return flight to the UK, or you will be transferred for your optional two night safari/Zanzibar extension. (Meals included: Breakfast) |
how this holiday makes a difference
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This charity trek up Mount Kilimanjaro community project offers you opportunities which few other charity fundraising events do. Instead of just ‘visiting’ Tanzania as a mere tourist and climber, a spectator of sceneries and events, this tour will provide you with the chance of helping refurbish an impoverished school, which will benefit the community in which you are staying.
We work to very rigorous environmental sustainability standards, such as ensuring the accommodation is are vetted to ensure rigorous environmental sustainability standards, water conservation and recycling policies, and that they source as many products as possible locally, that the hotel workers and support staff benefit from ‘staff friendly’ employment practices, such as the right to belong to trades union, and earn a fair wage for a fair days work. Therefore we can guarantee that the money you spend directly benefits local people. As well as the physical challenge of Climbing Africa’s highest peak, you will spend three days helping out at school near Moshi, in the foothills of Mt Kili.  Whether you choose to pick up a paintbrush, construct some shelving or spend time with the children helping them with some simple English lessons – you can be assured that you and they alike will have a fantastic time and make lasting friendships! By raising a minimum sponsorship for your chosen UK charity, you can ensure this trip helps communities both at home and abroad. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |
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