| Day three An early start, and drive round the mountain to Rongai – 3 to 4 hour drive, part of the way on a bumpy track. Upon arrival we will meet our guides and porters,and complete the park formalities. Our ascent begins from Naremoru Gate (1,950m), and after a short while we will stop for lunch. We trek through farmer's fields and into the forest zone. It is a 3-4 hour trek and 700m climb through the forest. We camp overnight at 2,650m, near the end of the forest line. There is a good chance to see the colourful Colobus monkeys on route; and if the weather is clear, we should get our good late afternoon views across Tsavo in Kenya. Overnight camp. Day four After an early breakfast, we leave Simba Camp and climb mostly on a narrow path through the moorland, with some fine views over Kenya to the north. As we climb, the trees become sparser and later disappear; even the Heather starts to shrink at higher altitudes. However, there is still plenty of interest of wild flowers such as the elegant Scarlet and Prickly Thistle. We trek up approx three hours to second cave (a lava tube) where we break for lunch. After lunch a three hour traverse to Kikelewa Cave – a pretty campsite just over 3,600mon the edge of the lobelia zone. Day five A steeper trek to Mawenzi tarn Hut at 4,295m, 4-5 hours, 600m climb arriving for lunch. It's a pretty campsite, set in moraines in a glaciated valley with goodviews of the jagged peaks of Mawenzi above us. In the afternoon we will have a short acclimatisation walk to a higher altitude and then back down to camp. Day six Today is a rest day for acclimatisation purposes. A short trek to ascend 200 or 300m will be organised, before returning to camp for rest and allows us to savour the amazing views across to Kibo. Day seven Early start 7am and a 5 hour trek to either school Hut or Kibo hut (camping nearby) at 4,700m. It's a slow 5 –6 hour trek across "the Saddle" – an alpine desert between the volcanic peaks of Mawenzi and Kibo. Upon arrival at 4,700m, we will rest and prepare for the summit day. Day eight This is an extremely long and challenging day, walking up to 16 hrs. We get up shortly after midnight and climb Kibo for about six hrs to Gilman's point (5,680m) on the rim of the volcanic crater for sunrise. If the day is clear there are spectacular views over the savannah plains with the possibility of seeing Mt Kenya some 360km away. We then continue across the snow around the rim for a further two hrs for the final push to Uhuru Peak (5,895m) – Africa's highest point. It is a hard hike, but is well worth it to see the glaciers and have your photo taken with a sign confirming your achievement. If you reach Uhuru you will have walked about four km for about 7 - 81/2 hours and ascended 1,200m. We go down the way we came back to Gillman's then onto Kibo and then continue our descent on the Marangu route all the way back to Horombo Huts where we will spend the night in tents at 3,700m. This will be another 4km, which will take four 1/2 to 7 hrs and will have descended 2200m. Day nine We descend from Horombo through the moorland and forest to the gate at Marangu, arriving at around 3pm. From here we will transfer to the Kibo or Impala Hotel in Moshi for a celebration dinner. Day ten Transfer to Nairobi for our overnight flight back to the UK. Day eleven Arrive at London early morning | 
