Climbing Time: 4.5 hrs
Distance : 3.7 miles
Longorossi Gate – Mti Mkubwa (Big Tree Camp)
Day 1 Kilimanjaro climb via Lemosho route
Morning
Drive to Londorossi Gate
The drive from Moshi to Londorossi Gate took about 5 hours, we made several stops for pictures. It was a rough 4-wheel-drive ride. At the gate we saw many guides offering climbing services. I did not know how reliable those guides were, have no clue what their success rate was, but the price tag was definitely more attractive compared to the oversees companies.
So, just like I mentioned in How to climb Kilimanjaro on a budget, it might be one of the cheaper alternative. I talked to a couple of British guys, they were about to hire a guide there. Three days later I saw those guys on the trail, which means that hiring a guide at the gate was an option. The day before summit in Barafu camp I talked to a Russian couple who hired a guide at the trailhead almost three times cheaper compared to the Russian tour operator that they initially planned to go with.
If you have your mind set on Lemosho route and do not want to book your climb from oversees, perhaps this is an option for you.
Back to Day 1, after arriving to the gate and completing the registration process, we headed to the trail-head, it was another hour-long very bumpy ride, the Jeeps were not able to make it to the trail-head due to road condition, so we had to add another mile or so to our hike. We had our prepacked lunch at the trail-head and started our climb.
Hike to Big Tree Camp
The hike to Big Tree Camp was about 4,5 hours, we hiked through beautiful rain forest, similar to the one you see on Travel channel, so colorful, peaceful and untouched by human. We saw and heard Colobus monkeys. Those cute white-tailed creatures make very unique loud noises.
Porters passed us on the way to the camp and by the time we arrived, the tents were already put together and ready for the group, tea and popcorn were served for us in the dining tent. And the most important thing, portable toilets were installed and ready to use. One day I will write a post “Tribute to portable toilets on Kilimanjaro”, but for now I just want to tell you that it was a pure luxury to have portable toilets on the mountain.
