Descending from Kilimanjaro’s summit, Uhuru Peak – the roof of Africa, began around 20-30 minutes after we had arrived at the summit. Such is the story of ascending Kilimanjaro for many. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could picnic up there or, at least, at Stella Point and soak in the achievement taking it all in??
Yes, it sure would be nice. Except the thin air would begin doing a number (a deadly number, potentially) on most people so it is not recommended. Being well-led, we began the descent from the summit of Kilimanjaro as soon as all the picture-taking at the summit was completed. All sorts of photos with the famous sign (since replaced from the one in my pics): individual photos, group photos, and best friends/couples photos. Our group and everyone else who had shown up at the summit at that time competed for the real estate in front of the sign but, it was orderly and people were considerate of those waiting. And those waiting were happy to have made it there so they were patient. All-around feel good moment for everyone on top of this massive rock!
Outline of the descent of Kilimanjaro
As I wrote this post, I struggled with what to name the post as I had been using “day X” in every post leading up to this moment in the hike. How should I count the days to properly cover the descent? I chose day 6 and 7 based on how things took place for the final push to the summit and the ensuing descent:
- On day 5, we arrived at base camp in the early afternoon.
- At midnight, or the very start of day 6, we left base camp to start the ascent towards the summit, Uhuru Peak.
- In the early morning, we arrived at the summit.
- Then, we started the descent from Kilimanjaro’s summit – still day 6.
- The descent went on until we got to the final camp where we would stay at during this climb, Mweka Camp.
- On day 7, we left Mweka Camp for the final stage of the entire adventure to get off the mountain.
So, this post covers the full descent – from leaving the summit until leaving the mountain, hence “Day 6 and 7” on the title.
How long does it take to come down Kilimanjaro?
In total, coming down from the summit was a process that would take us about eight hours that day 6. YES, that SAME day we had just walked up 8 hours without a full night’s sleep to each the summit.
Plus, add 3 to 4 hours the next day (day 7).
Think about it: 5 days and 8 hours to ascend to the summit but about 12 hours to come back down all the way.
In reality, altitude issue aside, Kilimanjaro can be climbed within a day or two if you are fit enough (like, you had been at the summit the day before!). But altitude acclimatization (and common sense to combat a Darwin award nomination) requires time if one wants not just to make it to the top, but to survive the experience to be able to tell (or blog!) about it.
Descending from Kilimanjaro’s summit is a bit like skiing
We passed Stella Point again on the way down but, this time, without much fanfare – or picture-taking; a case of been there, done that. We were now on a mission to lose altitude quickly and stop the brain cells from dying. And our guides REALLY meant “quickly”!! I had not been prepared for what came next (I probably missed the explanation during the prep talk the night before, a nightly thing with our guide to ready us for the following day).
We supposedly had crossed a field of scree (small pebbles) on the ascent (I mentioned not remembering that part; or perhaps there was another path up without scree? I doubt we walked on scree on the way up). Well, it was time to come DOWN the field of scree whether we had gone on it before or not. I was very unprepared on what technique was required here to succeed without injury. All I knew is that it was like skiing except you had to watch out to not pop out a knee (a terrifying thought, really).
So I began to walk down the scree, putting one foot down, using my hiking pole to stop its slide (as you step on the scree it shifts down, taking your footing with it), then moving the other foot and repeating the process. Well, this was taking quite a bit of time and other trekkers were passing me fast. After maybe five minutes of this, the same guide who had carried my daypack on summit night locked arms with me and proceeded to take me down the scree. Drive me down maybe is more like it. It was an exhilarating and scary ride!! We were going very fast and we were mainly sliding downhill, much as you would do when skiing.
I have never experienced this mix of thrill and almost-panic at the same time. Looking back, it was rather fun and there was no risk to my knees – unless I had suffered a spectacular fall. If I were to do it again, I think I would see it as something fun and highly recommend you go with that perspective.
Read more what about preceded descending from Kilimanjaro’s summit!
- Want to start on day 1 of this hike? Start the series here.
- Back to the night we climbed the summit? Click here.
- Read about what to wear during this trek here.
- And, check out the top 14 items to take on this hike here.
Coming down Kilimanjaro: a break at Barafu Camp, just a break
Soon enough we sighted Barafu Camp from where we had departed not quite 12 hours before. A break was coming! This was where we were going to have lunch, change out of the warm clothes we had worn for the ascent, replenish water bottles, etc. There was a little delay in the lunch being prepared so the stop was about an hour longer than expected. No complaints from me…
On my way down the scree, based on the drama of the descent, I failed to pay attention to my feet and two-thirds of the way down, I realized I had a blister and was at risk of acquiring two more. I stopped, got some duct tape, and took care of the potential blisters-to-be, as I learned from the Trekking for Kids lead when I hiked in Romania last summer. Duct tape over a burning sensation anywhere on the feet helps prevent further development of a blister – if caught on time.
Once I was at camp, a fellow trekker had some magical thing she had bought at REI and she SO kindly took care of fixing the blister I had developed. Whatever it is she had gotten at REI worked like magic (I have never had to use moleskin before but she said this was better). The remainder of the hike after lunch, I did not even feel my blister!! I felt awful a fellow trekker had to deal with my dirty feet but she said she sees worse every day at her job: she is a dental hygienist! Plus my feet don’t smell… 🙂
Should I stay or should I go?
Though we were tired, we had to keep going to reach our camp for the evening: Mweka Camp. Mweka Camp is named for being the first camp on the same-named route for those who enter the Kilimanjaro through the Mweka Gate. Some were asking why we could not stay in Barafu that night and get some well-deserved rest. I was quite happy not staying for several reasons. Here are the reasons that I was OK not staying in the Barafu Camp:
- We had arrived before noon. Staying would represent a loss of an entire afternoon of moving and getting closer to exit the mountain. While I needed rest, I figured we could knock out some distance.
- Getting to a lower camp than Barafu meant that day 7, the last day on the mountain, would be a short one. A downhill hike of 3 or 4 hours and – bam! – off to the hotel, a great lunch, and most important: the first shower in a week!
- But my most important reason not to want to stay at Barafu Camp was that I hated its inhospitable environment, being so rocky and so dusty. The latter bothered most of us the most. I was done with the dust. And didn’t want to have a fall like I almost had suffered the day before when I tripped on a tent cable while minding the uneven rock terrain I was trying to navigate.
So I was quite happy with moving on. If I had only known what was coming our way, I may have held a different opinion…
From Barafu Camp to Mweka Camp: a rocky road…
Pretty quickly after leaving Barafu Camp the second part of our descent from Kilimanjaro’s summit on day 6 became a nightmare of sorts. Though the views were great most of the time, the terrain was so rocky that you had to navigate carefully (at least for those of us not super experienced) and you could not really enjoy the vistas. Some of us started feeling that our knees were being hit hard (read: pummeled) and had to slow down some. My legs were extremely tired at this point. And my knees, though not hurting yet, were wearing out with every step.
A glimmer of hope!
After a couple of hours or more, we saw in the distance a colorful array of tents. Yessssss! We weren’t terribly far! As we cheered our good luck, our guide quickly (all too quickly…) replied: “That’s not our camp, that is base camp for the Mweka Route ascent and we are not allowed to stay there since we are no longer on the ascent. You see that piece of metal over there (he pointed to a structure far, far away)? That’s where we are going.” Our collective jaws dropped (and almost hit the rocks, I am sure). NO WAY, José! (OK, his name was Luis, not José.) That was a massive bummer.
Not quite a trail of tears but it may have been close at that moment
We continued our descent and, at times, it felt that that piece of metal was actually getting further away (I swear that it did look that way). A couple of times our path became a smooth dirt trail which would thrill us tremendously only to turn a corner and resume the very rocky terrain. It was an exhausting, frustrating, and demanding-on-the-knees 4.5 hours walk down.
I almost wished I were back in the Barafu Camp, resting and breathing dusty thin air at 15,000 ft+ altitude. But not quite. Remembering that helped me push forward knowing that what we were doing was the best approach and the camp we were going to was much better than Barafu.
The most difficult part of MY climb – the descent from Uhuru Peak
Most of these 4.5 hours actually were the most mentally and physically difficult part for me of the entire 7 days. For sure, the accelerated heart rate on day 4 slowed me down and made me worry. Yes, on ascent night, I wondered if I would make it when I surrendered my backpack to my guide.
Yes, we were getting more and more oxygen on the descent as we went. To the point where, somewhere along these 4.5 hours, we must have reached an altitude to which our body had acclimatized to already. I am sure were not adjusted to 15,000 ft though we had spent part of the day on day 5 there so it was possible.
But, I just didn’t see an end to the rocky path on day 6 and the Mweka Camp kept looking very far away any time we spotted it. It was a true test of will power for me to finish that path. At this point, the group was not together. It had splintered some but always in small groups with one or two guides along them so never not-taken-care-of. I walked with a fellow trekker most of these last few hours and one or two guides (it varied). I took some Advils (ibuprofen) along the way to lower my knee pain and prevent it from getting worse. That helped with the physical part but I was mentally running out of gas.
Finally, camp!
But, all good things (ha!) come to an end, and we reached our destination for the day: Mweka Camp. It is certainly not the most amazing camp in the mountain. But, at that precise moment, it was heaven. The customary “signing of the guestbook to prove we had been there” done, we approached our tents for a final night of camping. Hot water was brought to us and I happily washed off my face and did what I could to clean myself before having dinner. One final night of dirty Raul. LOL…
That meal may not have been spectacular by most standards but we were exhausted and we loved sitting around that mess tent one last time on the mountain, eating and reflecting on what we had just done. The amazing feat and experience that was reaching the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, of getting to the roof of Africa. I didn’t linger though, I was tired and wanted to get everything ready and go to bed.
Getting off the mountain
On day 7, we woke up all ready to go: This was our freedom day! Don’t get me wrong, I was eager to climb Kilimanjaro and enjoy the mountain. But once we had reached the summit, we were ALL about getting to the hotel and a nice shower.
We trekked down for maybe about 3 hrs from an altitude of 10,000 ft or so to the Mweka Gate at an elevation of 6,000 ft (3,800 m). The climate zone went to full forest again, as we had experienced on day 1 and the moorlands were done. The clothing was lighter and so was our mood. Someone even rode the emergency stretcher that was laying about during one of our breaks…
I found my happy place: the Mweka Gate hut!
Finally, the sight we wanted and were ready to see. The Mweka Gate hut where we would sign in one last time. That signature proving we made it to that gate. The gate also being the place where we would sit around for an hour+ to wait for the certificates that would prove we HAD climbed Kilimanjaro (though there was no book to sign at Uhuru Peak…). We were not getting those certificates just yet as that took time. Our local outfitter, Zara Tours, would also be issuing us a certificate since their guides knew we did make it. We would receive both certificates that evening at the celebration with our guides and porters.
While waiting to leave the mountain, folks would come by selling us stuff but we knew we could get all that cheaper elsewhere.
However, one of my fellow trekkers eyed a beer seller. He looked at me and, of course, I wouldn’t leave a buddy drinking on his own. Especially after a week of no alcohol and a hike of 3 hours… That’s when the first beer was bought. Others in the group looked at us like “really?” Fast forward 20 minutes and most everyone had a beer in their hand! And off we went to the bus, to get to the Springlands Hotel and back to being clean!!!
The descent, as you can see, was a mixed set of emotions and terrains. It is amazing how little time it takes to descend. The feeling of accomplishment once you get to the Mweka Gate is incredible. And so is the entire experience of spending seven days on this incredible mountain, home to the roof of Africa: Kilimanjaro!
If you are planning your own climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro, I would appreciate letting me know via the comments if the info here (or in my other posts about Kili) has been helpful or what else may help you dream of or plan for the hike! I have described what descending from Kilimanjaro’s summit felt like to me. Would really enjoy reading how that went and felt for others. I am sure there are different experiences!
Looking down after the scree field crossing towards our former basecamp (Barafu Camp) where we would stop for lunch. Pin this image and stay focused on this as your goal after reaching the summit!
