Tanzania·20 - 28 February 2025
A special expedition to Mt. Kilimanjaro in support of the National children's charity, Starlight UK
ENQUIREClimbing Kilimanjaro is one of the best things you can do in your lifetime and one of the most inspiring. Climbing with friends and for a purpose makes it even more so. Join us this February on one of the world's most iconic mountains as we raise money for the vital children's charity Starlight UK. Truly this will be a dream adventure: Kilimanjaro is a mountaineering classic, the highest mountain in Africa, one of the ‘Seven Summits’ and the highest freestanding mountain in the world at 5,895m. Starlight is the UK’s leading charity for children’s play in hospitals and hospices. Evidence shows that play has the power to reduce fear, pain and trauma during treatment and recovery from illness - boosting mental and physical health and resilience. Starlight works to ensure every child has the opportunity, space and time to experience play. Starlight also undertakes research and campaigns to ensure children’s right to play is protected and provided for.
Do something truly unique and memorable this February and take on this life changing challenge for an amazing cause.
Starlight is an important National children's charity which provides for seriously ill children and their families. Join friends and supporters of this amazing charity on this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
15% of the cost of this expedition will be donated to Starlight with guests asked to raise as much additional funds for Starlight though sponsorship.
Oliver Browne leads the expedition alongside his Team This Way Up teammates and TSA Tanzanian Head Guides John Bosco and Lucia Kivoi.
The 4* Kilimanjaro Wonders Hotel is the best hotel in Moshi and the perfect place to start and finish your trek.
Our "Max Add Ons" include a portable shower and private toilets for your comfort.
Our head chef Steven is one of the best chefs working on Kilimanjaro and produces some of the best food we have eaten at altitude anywhere in the world.
Dr Emmanuel Tesha has a dozen ascents of Kilimanjaro and 2 so far with TSA.
Ed, Ollie, Jos and James rowed the Atlantic for Starlight in December 2022, finishing 2nd in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, raising £250k for Starlight in the process.
The team will be reuniting for this challenge albeit without their rowing boat 'Astrid.'
Oliver is the CEO and founder of True Summit Adventures, a certified Mountain Leader and experienced adventurer and alpinist.
He has been to the summit of Kilimanjaro six times: in 2019, 2022 and and four times in 2023.
Oliver is passionate about the transformative power of adventure and loves to climb or race for a cause, the Atlantic row for Starlight being a great example.
Of Kilimanjaro he says: "I think it is something everyone should do in their lifetime. It is a challenge going to 6000m, but it is a very special place. Everything from the unique scenery, to the people who work on the mountain, the whole experience is magic, a dream. It's my pleasure and my hope to share this dream with you."
Arusha born, Lucia was one of the first female Head Guides to work on Kilimanjaro and is one of the most experienced.
Lucia led our 2023/2024 New Year's Eve special to Kilimanjaro and impressed everyone with kind and patient approach to all members as well as her experience and knowledge.
Lucia has been working the mountain for many years, starting as a porter, before qualifying as a guide and leading expeditions. She is a certified Wilderness First Responder.
Lucia lives in Arusha still, with her two children and is proud to be a trailblazer for female guides on Kilimanjaro.
Our Tanzanian Head Guide, John Bosco is a Kilimanjaro legend with over 200 summits and many coming via the technically difficult, not often climbed Western Breach route.
John has an impressive record of getting people to the summit. The oldest client he has guided to the summit to date was 78 years old while the youngest was just 9!
John has an impeccable safety record, undergoes regular First Aid training and is highly experienced at recognising and treating the symptoms of AMS.
John will no doubt impress you with his kind and professional manner, attention to detail and skill on the mountain.
Our Assistant Head Guide Kennedy is a superstar mountaineer with more than two decades experience working on Kilimanjaro.
Starting as a porter, he has worked his way up to be our Head Assistant Guide after gaining his guiding qualification at Mweka Wildlife College.
Ten years later, Kennedy has over 100 summits under his belt and when not on the mountain is busy farming coffee, bananas, and avocados at his his family farm in Arusha with his wife and two children.
Mathew hails from Arusha and has a long history with Kilimanjaro, beginning as a porter when he was still just a teenager.
He is a graduate of Arusha's National College of Tourism and is now one of the best providers of Kilimanjaro logistics in Tanzania. He also designs and books excellent safari's in Serengeti, Tarangire and Ngorogoro National Parks.
Mathew will be available 24 / 7 to make sure our expedition is a great success.
Steven is one of the most experienced high-altitude chef's working on Kilimanjaro and produces some of the best food at high altitude we have tasted anywhere in the world.
He has over 15 years experience as a chef on Kilimanjaro, where he prides himself on providing the best and freshest recipes whatever your culinary preferences and requirements.
A graduate of the Royal Institute of Tourism in Moshi, Steve lives there with his wife and four children.
JOURNEY TO THE SUMMIT
Kilimanjaro has many routes to choose from but we prefer the Machame Route for its spectacular views, more challenging nature, and lower chance of crowding.
Technically speaking, the Machame route has some steeper sections, scrambles (including the famous Baranco Wall), and longer distances trekking between camps compared to other routes.
However, the topography allows climbers to trek high and sleep low, making acclimatisation easier and contributing to higher summit success rates.
The route starts along the southwest side of the mountain, at the Machame Gate winding gently though the rainforest to the Machame Camp before proceeding steeply north, and traversing the Shira Plateau. It eventually joining the Lemosho Route at the junction below the Lava Tower. We descend directly down from the Barafu Camp to the Millennium Camp, exiting close to Moshi at the Mweka Gate.
Reach the highest point in Africa for Starlight!
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Welcome to Tanzania and to the experience of a lifetime.
A True Summit Adventures team member will collect you from Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) and take you to our hotel in Moshi.
We use the excellent Kilimanjaro Wonders Hotel; by our reckoning the best hotel in the Moshi area.
Once checked in you can relax by the pool, have a massage at the spa or head into town for a coffee at Union Cafe.
In the evening, we gather for introductions, a gear check, expedition briefing and team dinner where a Starlight team member will talk about this incredible charity and how the funds you raise will benefit children around the UK.
Be sure to eat a lot as the climb is long and arduous...
Today is the day and everyone is excited to to get going.
We begin with a good breakfast at Kilimanjaro Wonders before making the 45 minute transfer to the Machame Gate where we will begin the trek.
Here we meet our expert climbing crew; guides, porters and camps team that will make this adventure with us and complete the necessary park registrations before the all important photo where we will fly the Starlight flag!
Today, the trekking is relatively relaxed. The first section of the climb meanders gently through magnificent, dense rainforest to Machame Camp.
Our guides set a steady, maintainable pace, although anyone wishing to trail-run these first days is welcome to – a superstar guide will be assigned to accompany you!
In the evening we settle in to expedition life and enjoy the best food on the mountain, courtesy of our excellent Head Chef Steven.
Today we continue steeply up through forest until we reach the Shira Plateau. Here we will enjoy amazing views of Kilimanjaro, directly ahead of us, and Mount Meru in the distance.
Mount Meru is another dormant volcano, close to Arusha, some 70km west of Kilimanjaro. At c. 4500m its summit normally protrudes from the clouds providing a beautiful backdrop to the climb.
We take lunch at the Shira Camp and in the afternoon can visit the ancient Shira Cave and head slightly further up the mountain for some additional acclimatisation.
Our journey through this diverse landscape continues and today we head above the treeline and onto the high moorland where we traverse the southwest side of Kilimanjaro, passing under the imposing Lava Tower, where we stop for lunch.
Today we gain some serious altitude - touching 4600m at the Lava Tower, but following the mountaineering code of ‘trek high, sleep low’, we will descend to the Baranco Camp for the night, helping our bodies acclimatise as we continue our push to the roof of Africa.
Descending to the Baranco Camp we will see scores of Dendrosenecio Klimanjari trees; a giant groundsel found only on Kilimanjaro.
Today we have one of the highlights of the whole trek – the famous Baranco Wall.
The steepest section of the climb, you should expect epic scrambling followed by stunning views - be sure to kiss the famous "Kissing Rock" for good luck.
By this point you will no doubt marvel at the strength of the Tanzanian porters as they cheerfully haul packs with gravity-defying ease up the steep slopes of the wall.
Tea, coffee and snacks await you at the top before we head towards the Karanga Valley, and a final climb which takes us into camp at 3,963m.
Today we make the relatively short hike to Barafu Camp, trekking across desolate scree slopes with little or no vegetation remaining at this altitude.
Most of today will be spent settling in at the camp, fuelling up, and resting as we prepare physically for the long night and day to follow.
After an early dinner, final team briefing and gear check, we aim to get a few hours sleep before a midnight breakfast and the climb to the summit!
Today will be a great day in your life.
As people around the world are sleeping in their beds we will begin our climb to the top of Kilimanjaro.
Starting at midnight, we move collectively over the scree and up towards the summit glaciers. We should be on the crater rim at Stella Point (5739m) as the dawn begins to break.
Surrounded by the incredible summit glaciers, snow bound slopes and facing the jagged Mawenzi Peak, we guarantee it will be sunrise you will never forget.
The incredible porters who sang through the depths of the night will serve rejuvenating tea before we make the final hour's walk to the summit, Uhuru Peak (5895m).
Here we will gather to celebrate and take the all important summit photos!
We then return to Barafu Camp via Stella Point for a well-earned breakfast rest.
Later we make our way down to Millennium Camp where we can start to celebrate and bask in the glow of our summit success.
Waking up at the Millennium Camp and seeing the summit behind you and knowing you were there 24 hours earlier is a surreal but incredible feeling!
After our final breakfast on the mountain we begin the final descent back through rainforest to Mweka Gate.
Here we complete the park formalities and thank the porters and guides for their magnificent work before enjoying a much-deserved lunch with Mathew our logistics manager.
It is impossible to properly convey the incredible energy, kindness, and enthusiasm of the high mountain crew - the most powerful ingredient of Kilimanjaro and why people love it so.
Then the celebrations begin in earnest as we head back to the Kilimanjaro Wonders Hotel in Moshi for hot showers, massages and a celebratory dinner packed with story swapping and a presentation of summit certificates.
For anyone that still has the energy, the after party will move to Amuz Nightclub in Moshi where Team This Way Up will be hosting the celebrations!
Sadly all good things must end and today we say our goodbyes.
We hope the experience of climbing Kilimanjaro and this incredible adventure for Starlight lives long in your memory and you feel energised and inspired for weeks if not months to come!
Drivers will be on hand to take you to the airport or stay on in Tanzania for safari or a beach holiday in Zanzibar.
Accommodation pre and post climb is at the excellent 4* Kilimanjaro Wonders Hotel; the best in the Moshi area.
All rooms are fully en-suite with air conditioning, while the hotel has a pool, gym, spa and an excellent restaurant with rooftop terrace.
On the climb, we switch to four season tents and sleeping bags with double thickness mattresses and pillows, will all be pitched and carried for us by our amazing team of porters.
Hot drinks will be served in your tent before breakfast, while all meals are served in the communal mess tent.
A portable shower and private toilets will also be provided, helping to make your journey up and down the mountain as comfortable as possible.
All Transfers
2 Nights Accommodation at Kilimanjaro Wonders Hotel
Welcome and Celebration Dinners
3 Meals a Day on the Mountain
Supplemental Oxygen if Required
Four Season Mountain Tents
Sleeping Mattress and Pillow
Portable Shower
Private Portable Shower
Satellite Phone
Doctor to Accompany the Group
Western Mountain Leader
Tanzanian Head and Assistant Guides
1 Porter for Main Bag (Max 20 kg)
Filtered and Treated Water Throughout
Drinks and Snacks Each Day
Logistics Manager in Moshi
After Party at Amuz Nightclub
Donation to Starlight of 15% of the Cost of Your Trip
International Flights
Lunch on Arrival / Departure Day
Alcoholic Drinks at KWH
Travel / Trekking Insurance
Tip to Tanzanian High Mountain Crew (min. $250 pp)
Sleeping Bag Rental (If Required)
Absolutely. Extra nights at Kilimanjaro Wonders Hotel are around US $130. Should you wish to arrive early we suggest you trek to the Materuni Waterfall which we can organise for you. The cost is $100 pp and includes all transport, guides, lunch and coffee tour at a Chaga village.
Like all mountains, the weather on Kilimanjaro is changeable and becomes colder at night and the higher you go. Temperatures at the summit are typically -3 to -8 degrees Celsius.
Participants should be fit enough to hike uphill for six to eight hours a day for multiple days. A good test is to walk 21km. If you feel like you could do it again the next day without too much soreness then you are probably fit enough.
The food is plentiful and consists largely of rice, pasta and potato dishes served with meat and vegetables along with lots of fruit. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options are also available.
Kilimanjaro. The main reason being there is no summit night on Everest Basecamp Trek and no camping.
We are much more likely to see snow on the summit in December than we are in June or July, which makes for a really impressive spectacle.
Absolutely. We have a range of safari options for all budget. Please email the office for more information.
Kilimanjaro is an epic challenge. By preparing well you give yourself the best chance to summit and adapt to altitude. Ask us for our high altitude training plan.
The weather on Kilimanjaro can be unpredictable and it is not unlikely to have at least one day of rain - typically on the first or last days of the trek. Please adhere to the kit list and bring the all important poncho!
US$ is the currency to pay the visa on arrival and tip to the high mountain crew.
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