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The Shira Plateau and Lemosho Routes (6-8 days)
Introduction to the Shira Plateau and Lemosho Routes
Both the Shira Plateau and Lemosho trails involve a crossing of the expansive Shira Plateau which stretches out for around 13km to the west of Kibo. This plateau is actually a caldera, a collapsed volcanic crater: when you are walking on the plateau, you are walking on the remains of the first of Kilimanjaro’s three volcanoes to expire, around 500,000 years ago; it was then filled by the lava and debris from the later Kibo eruption.
The plateau has a reputation for its fauna, largely thanks to its proximity to Amboseli
National Park in Kenya from where herds of elephant, eland, buffalo, and big cats
such as the lion have been known to wander. Indeed, not so many years ago trekkers
on these routes had to be accompanied by an armed ranger (for which they had to pay)
to protect them against encounters with predators. That said, you will be very, very
lucky to see any evidence of wildlife existing on the plateau, save for the odd hoofprint
or two and the occasional sun-
So while the proximity of Africa’s finest wild beasts adds a certain frisson of excitement to the walk, don’t choose either of these trails purely on the strength of their reputation for spotting game: it’s an awful long way to come just to see some dessicated elephant shit.
Click on the map icon above to see a map of the Shira and Lemosho routes
Shira or Lemosho: which route I am on?
The first thing to know about these two routes is that it is common for the relatively new Lemosho Route to be referred to as the Shira Plateau Route, particularly by foreign agencies keen to promote the fact that you’ll be walking across the Shira Plateau.
This, of course, is confusing so you should ask your agency to indicate exactly which
of the two paths you’ll be taking.
Another way to check is to see where your first night’s accommodation will be; if it’s the Big Tree Campsite – or Mti Mkubwa in the local language – where you’ll be staying, then it’s actually the Lemosho Route that you’ll be following, regardless of what your trekking agency calls it.)
The Shira Plateau Route
The Shira Plateau Route is the original plateau trail, though it is seldom used these
days, for much of it is a 4WD track and walkers embarking on this trail often begin
their trek above the forest in the moorland zone. Having crossed the plateau and
reached the foot of Kibo at Lava Tower, you then have two choices: the longer and
easier Barafu Route that takes you round the southern side of Kibo; or the Western
Breach Route via Arrow Glacier and the Crater Camp. As such, the walk could last
as many as eight days if taking the Barafu Route and extra overnight stops on the
plateau and in the Karanga Valley are taken -
The Lemosho Route
The Lemosho Route is a fairly new route across the Shira Plateau that has quickly gained in popularity. It improves on the Shira Plateau Route by starting below the Shira Ridge, thus providing trekkers with both a walk in the pristine forest of west Kilimanjaro at the start of the trek and more time to acclimatize.
The Lemosho Route also includes a crossing of the Shira Plateau which precedes an
assault on the summit via Barranco, Karanga Valley and Barafu to Stella Point on
the Barafu Route; or, alternatively, via the Western Breach Route up to the Kibo
crater floor and onto the summit. The usual descent route is the Mweka trail. Overall,
allow seven-
What are the advantages with the Lemosho Trail?
It is the first day or so, when you are walking through the forests on Kilimanjaro’s western slopes, that is the main reason why this trail has overtaken the old Shira Pateau Route as the main path attacking Kilimanjaro from the west. With the latter you usually take a car all the way up to the plateau, thereby missing out not only on some fine forest, which you experience only through a car window, but also on some useful acclimatisation.
And although the walk up to the plateau on the Lemosho Route is an exhausting one,
the benefits of trekking rather than driving up will manifest themselves later on
as you saunter up Kibo with scarcely a headache, while littering the trail around
you are the weeping, retching bodies of the AMS-
What’s more, because Lemosho is a more southerly route, so it allows side trips to the minor peaks of Kilimanjaro’s third summit, the Shira Ridge. In particular, the Shira Cathedral, on the southern side of the plateau, has become a very popular excursion on the third day of the trek. Again, such a side trip is useful for acclimatization purposes and no extra days need to be taken to do this either.
Other side trips that do require an extra day include a trek to the Moir Huts, on
the north-
And the disadvantages of the Lemosho Trail?
Though it’s a great route, Lemosho is not without its drawbacks. For one thing, we reckon it to be the wettest route; though meteorology doesn’t back us up, it always seems to rain on this side of the mountain more than anywhere else. .
For a file of GPS waypoints for Kilimanjaro’s Lemosho Route, please click on one of these links:
Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route GPS via Barafu Huts >>
Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route GPS via Western Breach >>
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