The big day has finally arrived. Everyone will feel a mixture of nerves and excitement as they meet up for the long-awaited flight to Kenya. Embrace the nerves and get ready for the experience of a lifetime! You will arrive in the late evening and you will be met by your local Charity Challenge representative in arrivals and transfer you to your hotel in Nairobi. (No meals provided on this day)
Accommodation: Hotel
After breakfast, you will have a 4-hour transfer to Mountain Rock Lodge, in time for lunch. In the afternoon, your guides will take you on an acclimatisation walk to the Mau Mau caves in Mount Kenya Forest Reserve. These caves used to be the hideout by local freedom fighters that fought for independence in the colonial period. You will get your first feel of the abundance of birdlife, game and plants, with at least 11 unique species on the lower slopes of Mount Kenya. You may see Colobus monkeys up in the trees and elephants and buffalo through the clearings. (B,L,D)
Accommodation: Mountain Lodge
After a short drive, crossing the equator en-route, you will arrive at Sirimon Park Gate. From here you will start the trek up through magnificent montane forests, bamboo and giant heather zones before reaching the high altitude moorland and your first campsite, "Old Moses" at 3,340m. This first day's gentle trek takes 3-4 hours and climbs 690m. (B,L,D)
Accommodation: Camping
Trek up the spectacular Mackinder Valley past strange giant groundsel and lobelia plants, to emerge onto what looks like a set from Star Trek - Shipton’s Campsite at 4,236m. This surreal setting sits below towering peaks and glaciers, with resident populations of bizarre rock hyrax and beautiful sunbirds. (B,L,D)
Accommodation: Camping
‘Hike high, sleep low’. For better acclimatisation, you will take a rest day at Shipton's campsite. Short walks are possible on the summit circuit here. We will climb about 370m to Hausberg Col before returning for lunch. Climbing high and sleeping low is excellent for acclimatisation - but you can do that almost as well lounging in the sun watching the eagles! (B,L,D)
Accommodation: Camping
You will have an early start to reach Point Lenana at 4,895m for sunrise. The climb starts on frozen scree and continues on a rocky track with some very minor scrambling. With a good moon, you’ll barely need a torch. Without a moon, the pollution-free sky, bang on the equator, gives you as good a view of the stars as almost anywhere on Earth. The climb takes between 3 and 5 hours, and to add to the exhilaration, Kilimanjaro is usually visible on the horizon. After taking the all-important summit pictures, you will descend for 3 hours in time for a late breakfast by Hall Tarns (Mintos Camp). It is here where you will spend our final night camping next to beautiful lakes. You will have time to relax and explore this truly amazing site, with its dreamlike setting of beautiful lakes, 300m high cliffs of the Gorges Valley and fascinating views of the towering peaks and glaciers. (B,L,D)
Accommodation: Camping
After an early breakfast you will leave Mintos Camp and trek for 4 hours past spectacular chasms, and weirdly eroded lava flows until you reach Road End. Depending on the time, you will have lunch here, or you will be driven back to Chogoria and have your lunch at the gate. After a filling lunch you will then transfer back to The Mountain Rock Forest Lodge, for a much-needed shower and comfy bed! Tonight, there will be a celebration dinner. (B,L,D)
Accommodation: Mountain Lodge
Have a lie in and a relaxed breakfast before driving (approx. 4 hours) back to Nairobi. The transfer will do one drop off at Eka Hotel (for those extending their stay in Kenya, please note any hotel bookings for tonight have to be made by you) before dropping others off at the airport for the late evening flight back to London. Please note lunch and dinner are at your own expense today. (B)
Touch back down in the UK. Saying goodbye will not be easy, but the memories you’ve made will stay with you forever.
BELIEVE >> ACHIEVE >> INSPIRE
We hold an Air Travel Organiser's Licence granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is 6546. Many of the flight-inclusive challenges on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services listed on this website. This ATOL protection only covers challenges that include flights booked by Charity Challenge and that originate in the UK. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. Please see our booking conditions for information or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to: www.atol.org.uk/ATOLcertificate
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