10-Day Kilimanjaro Climbing & Serengeti Safari

Day 1 – Arrival in Arusha
Land at Kilimanjaro International Airport and settle into your Arusha lodge beneath forested Mount Meru. That evening your mountain guide checks gear, reviews the route, and answers every “What if?” The mountain waits.
Dinner included.
Stay at Outpost Lodge (budget), Planet Lodge (mid-range), or Arusha Coffee Lodge (luxury).

Day 2 – Marangu Gate to Mandara Hut (2 700 m)
A short drive to the park gate, paperwork done, boots laced. The trail winds through dripping rain forest alive with colobus monkeys and turacos. After four to five unhurried hours you reach Mandara Hut, sip hot tea, and listen to the forest settle for the night.
All meals included; sleep in Mandara Hut.

Day 3 – Mandara to Horombo Hut (3 720 m)
Trees thin, heathers take over, and giant groundsels stand like alien candelabras. Every step opens the view—Mawenzi’s jagged peak ahead, Mount Meru floating behind. By late afternoon you arrive at Horombo Hut in time to watch the sun blush against Kibo’s glaciers.
All meals; overnight Horombo Hut.

Day 4 – Horombo to Kibo Hut (4 700 m)
A steady climb across the high-altitude moonscape called “the Saddle,” a broad plain between Mawenzi and Kibo. The air is dry, the silence huge. Kibo Hut appears, stark against scree. Early dinner, early bed—your summit push starts at midnight.
All meals; overnight Kibo Hut.

Day 5 – Uhuru Peak (5 895 m) and down to Horombo
In darkness and ice-crisp air you begin the slow zig-zag to Gilman’s Point. Dawn spills pink over the crater rim as you make the final traverse to Uhuru Peak—the roof of Africa. Photos, deep breaths, then a long descent past Kibo to the comfort of Horombo Hut. Exhausted, triumphant, utterly alive.
All meals; overnight Horombo Hut.

Day 6 – Descent to Marangu Gate and return to Arusha
The scent of wet earth returns as you drop through rain forest to the gate. Certificates in hand, you say goodbye to the crew and drive to Arusha for a hot shower and a celebratory dinner.
Breakfast and lunch included.
Stay at Outpost Lodge, Planet Lodge, or Mount Meru Hotel.

Day 7 – Tarangire National Park
Leave Arusha after breakfast, rolling past Maasai herds and kopjes toward baobab country. Tarangire greets you with dust clouds kicked up by giant elephant families, lions draped over termite mounds, and a soundtrack of hornbills and distant thunder. Sunset finds you at camp with a cold drink in hand.
All meals included.
Camp at Zion Campsite or choose Fig Tree Lodge, Marera Valley Lodge, Tarangire Sopa Lodge, or Tarangire Treetops.

Day 8 – Ngorongoro Crater and on to Serengeti
Dawn light over the Ngorongoro rim feels other-worldly. You drop 600 meters to the crater floor, where black-maned lions patrol, flamingos tint the lake, and—if luck holds—a lone rhino grazes the open plain. After lunch beside a hippo pool you drive the wildebeest-dotted road into the Serengeti, arriving as the sky turns gold.
All meals included.
Camp at Seronera or stay in Serengeti Wild Camp, Serengeti Heritage Camp, Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge, or Four Seasons Serengeti.

Day 9 – Full Day in the Serengeti
From first pink light to crimson sunset you roam the heart of the Serengeti. Cheetahs scan the grass from termite mounds, lion cubs topple each other near a kopje, and—depending on season—the migration darkens the horizon in a rolling sea of hooves. Every stop is unscripted theatre.
All meals; same camp or lodge.

Day 10 – Farewell Game Drive and Return
One last dawn drive—the air cool, the savanna humming. After breakfast you fly or drive back to Arusha, arriving in time for onward flights or an extra night in town. You started ten days ago at a trailhead in rain forest; you finish with lion dust on your boots and summit ice in your memory.
Breakfast and lunch included.