10 Days Mount Kilimanjaro Rongai Route Trek & Safari

This 10 Day Mount Kilimanjaro trek using the Rongai Route and safari combo is a great adventure to experience the best of Tanzania’s attractions. You will trek for 7 days to the summit of Kilimanjaro and back then afterwards get on a safari trip to three of the best parks in the Northern Circuit. The safari part touches on a visit to the lake Manyara national park, famous for tree climbing lions, Tarangire National Park, and the world-famous Ngorongoro Crater and Conservation Area.

7 Days Rongai Route + 3 Days Wildlife Safari in Tanzania

Before you begin your 3-day safari to northern Tanzania, you will first climb Mount Kilimanjaro for 7 days on the Rongai Route, making the number of this adventure, 10 days. Compared to the Machame Route, the Rongai Route is simpler and has a higher success rate. It is also more scenic than the Marangu Route.

One of the less-traveled routes, the Rongai begins on the north side of the mountain just south of the Kenyan border. You ascend Kilimanjaro by the Marangu Route on the southeast side before joining the Rongai for the summit ascent. From several vantage points, you can see Kilimanjaro.

On the Rongai trail, you sleep in tents (tents are provided), not huts like on the Marangu Route. The porters will set up your tent for you. Either outside on a blanket or in a dining tent, meals are provided.

When is the best time for this 10-day Rongai Route trek and Tanzania safari?

Since the Rongai Route approaches the mountain from the Northern slopes with receives low precipitation, Rongai Route is perfect all year round.

This 10-day mount Kilimanjaro and safari tour starts in Moshi and ends in Moshi Town
Book your own international flights
Fly to/from Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO) near Arusha/Moshi. Or fly to/from Arusha Airport (ARK) via Dar es Salaam or Nairobi (Kenya)
Transport from and back to the airport is included

The 10 days Kilimanjaro & safari overview

Below is the day-by-day glance at the 10 days Kilimanjaro and safari itinerary in Tanzania.

Tanzania
Start	Moshi (Day 1)
Day 1	Kilimanjaro Airport
Day 2	Rongai Gate (Mt Kilimanjaro)
Day 3	Mt Kilimanjaro (Mountain)
Day 4	Mt Kilimanjaro (Mountain)
Day 5	Mt Kilimanjaro (Mountain)
Day 6	Uhuru Peak (Mt Kilimanjaro)
Day 7	Marangu gate (Mount Kilimanjaro)
Day 8	Lake Manyara National Park
Day 9	Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Day 10	Tarangire National Park

Activities & Transportation

Activities: game drives, wildlife safaris
Game drives: pop-up roof 4×4 vehicle
Getting around: pop-up roof 4×4 vehicle
A transfer from and back to the airport is included

Day1

Arrival - Kilimanjaro Airport

On arrival at the Kilimanjaro International Airport, you will be met by our Tranquil Kilimanjaro staff. After being greeted at the airport, you will be driven to your hotel or lodge in Moshi for the night. After a short briefing about your 10-day Mount Kilimanjaro Route trek and northern Tanzania wildlife trip, you will have dinner and stay overnight.

Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
Drinks not included

Day 2

Moshi (915 m/3,000 ft) to Nale Muru (1,950 m/6,400 ft) to Simba Camp (2,750 m/9,020 ft) 9 km, 4 hours Montane Forest,

With breakfast and a briefing, your day begins early. The 4-5 hour journey to the charming wooden town of Nale Muru (1,950 m/6,398 ft) involves passing through several communities and coffee fields. You start your journey on a broad trail that winds past fields of potatoes and maize before entering a pine forest after checking in and getting the porters ready. Then you begin to gradually but steadily rise through a lovely woodland that provides refuge for a variety of creatures. Simba Camp (2,600 m/8,530 ft), which has expansive views of the Kenyan plains, is located close to the “First Cave” at the border of the moorland zone where the forest starts to thin out.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Included.

Day 3

Simba Camp (2,750 m/9,020 ft) to Second Cave (3,450 m/11,320 ft) 7 km, 3-4 hours Moorland

Your morning hike leads you steadily upward to the Second Cave. You will get wonderful views of Kibo and the eastern ice fields on the crater rim as you travel.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Included.

Day 4

Second Cave (3,450 m/11,320 ft) to Third Cave (3,870 m/12,700 ft)10 km, 4 hours,

You reach the Third Cave as you continue your steady ascent. The eastern ice fields on the crater rim are drawing you closer now, higher. Watch out for any indications of altitude sickness on this day.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Included.

Day 5

Third Cave (3,870 m/12,700 ft) to Kibo Huts (4,695 m/15,400 ft)8 km, 5 hours Alpine Desert,

Today you trek up to the Kibo Huts at the base of the Kibo crater wall, where you connect to the well-known Marangu Route. Plan to trek early in the day, then take a nap before making the last ascent. Prepare your summit climb gear and warm attire, then go to bed early.

All meals included

Summit Day Kibo Huts (4,695 m/15,400 ft) to Uhuru Peak (5,895 m/19,340 ft) to Horombo Huts (3,690 m/12,100 ft) 4 km up, 14 km down 10-15 hours Alpine Desert,

At midnight, have a quick breakfast before getting ready to climb the top. The objective is to ascend before daybreak in order to reach Uhuru Peak just after the sun rises. Leave at 1 AM, switchback up an incline of steep scree or perhaps snow, and arrive between 5 and 7 AM to Gilman’s Point on the crater rim at 5,861 m/18,640 ft. You can see the storied crater and its icecaps from here. By 9 AM, you will reach Uhuru Peak, the actual summit of Kilimanjaro, after another two hours of climbing around the crater rim close to the famous snows. You would need to go more than 3,000 miles to the Himalayas to discover a mountain higher than this one, which is Africa’s highest point.

Take a photo of yourself at the peak to show your friends. Return to the Kibo Huts after your summit stays, have lunch there, take a break, gather your belongings, and then cross the saddle to the Horombo Huts. Get some well-deserved rest after supper!

With flashlights or headlamps, you start this ascent in the dark. Up until you begin descending, it will be quite cold, so make sure you are wearing all of your warm clothing. The trek’s most challenging section is by far this. You can get there by moving slowly, or “pole pole,” and by being positive.

All meals included

Day 7

Horombo Huts (3,690 m/12,100 ft) to Marangu Gate (1,830 m/6,000 ft) to Moshi (890 m/2,920 ft) 18 km, 5-7 hours

As per normal, get up, pack, and make your way to the Mandara Huts via the moorland. The park entrance should be reached by 2 or 3 PM after you finish your lunch there and continue your triumphal descent down into the lovely woodland. Given that you will be leaving them here, don’t forget to tip your guides, cooks, and porters. You’ll be transported back to your Hotel or lodge in Moshi or any comparable Moshi hotel when it’s time to celebrate!

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch Included

Day 8

Moshi - Lake Manyara National Park

It takes roughly 4 hours to drive from Moshi to Lake Manyara National Park. The greatest time to see animals in this park is in the late afternoon game drive, which you begin after a picnic lunch in Manyara. The East Rift Valley escarpment forms a stunning back wall to the lake when you approach it from that direction. Elephants recline in the shadow of baobab on the escarpment while monkeys jump from branch to branch in the thick trees of the groundwater forest. Zebras, impalas, monkeys, giraffes, buffalo, hippos, and other creatures are also commonly observed. Full-board lodging for the night at the Highview Hotel or a comparable hotel.

Meals & Drinks:

All meals included
Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Day 9

Ngorongoro crater

A half-day wildlife drive around the Ngorongoro Crater is enjoyable. This is the ideal location in Tanzania to witness black rhinos and a lion pride that includes gorgeous males with black manes. Numerous colorful flamingos and different aquatic birds may be seen. You could also spot tiny animals, the antelope family’s other members, the leopard, cheetah, and hyena. For lunch, return to the Highview Hotel. You may stroll through coffee farms in the late afternoon to take in the sights of waterfalls and wildlife. Afterward, spend the remainder of the day at the Highview Hotel.

Meals & Drinks:

All meals included
Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Day 10

Tarangire National Park - Moshi

Three hours are needed to go from the Highview Hotel to Tarangire National Park. The dry season, when many migratory animal species return to the Tarangire River’s perennial waters, is when this park is at its most breathtaking. Huge herds of wildebeest, zebras, elephants, elands, and oryx congregate in Tarangire and remain there until the start of the rainy season when they go once more for suitable grazing grounds. Drive back to your Hotel in Moshi in the late evening.

Meals & Drinks: