Welcome to Tanzania! As you touch down at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), get ready for the start of an exciting cycling adventure! We’ll be there to pick you up and whisk you away to your cozy overnight spot near Moshi, right at the foot of the majestic Mount Kilimanjaro.

After a bit of relaxation, we’ll gather in the late afternoon to kick off our journey with a friendly meet-and-greet, doing bike fitting, share some recommendations, safety tips, and outline all the details in the itinerary about our upcoming tour. Any questions you have, we’ve got answers!

Dinner is on us tonight, and if you arrive in super early, we will help you fill your time exploring Tanzania before our get-together.

Today starts with a transfer to Marangu Gate, 1840 m. The journey takes 1.5 hours (70 km). This is followed by registration for the national park for the mountain bike climb. The Marangu Gate is now located where Hans Mayer, a German geographer, Ludwig Purtscheller, an Austrian alpinist and Yohani Kinyala Lauwo, a local guide, started the successful first ascent in 1889. Memorial plaques still remind us of this impressive pioneering act. 

After official registration, the journey continues to Kilema Gate 1980 m, the park entrance. It’s about a 30 minute drive. Our tour begins here. The porters take over the luggage and we follow a supply track through the dense rainforest on our mountain bikes. You will gain the first important meters in altitude over varying steep gradients, mostly easy to ride. The pace is kept as slow as possible in order to save energy for the following days. 

After about 1000 m of altitude gain through varied rainforest, we reach the Kilema Camp, a simple campsite, at about 2980 m. Our support team will provide you with a delicious and hearty dinner and you will spend your first night on Africa’s highest mountain in our cozy tents.

Distance covered: 9km

Elevation: approx. 1050hm

Estimated time:  4-5 hours

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Kilema camp

Today we continue to follow the forest track and cover the second section of the driveway to the Horombo Huts. The landscape begins to change and we slowly reach the second of four different vegetation zones on the mountain. The forest is becoming increasingly sparse. The jungle trees give way to a dense bush landscape. Overgrown with lichens and mosses, it forms a mystical and impenetrable silvery green wall to the left and right of the path. 

Towards the end of the day’s stage, the gradients become steeper and sometimes impassable. In order to conserve our strength and keep our pulse rate in the moderate range, we use the wide path to partially push our mountain bikes. The view opens up further and shortly before reaching the huts, the view towards the summit is clear for the first time. The last few meters lead downhill so we reach the hut by driving.

 An unusual sight for many of the porters, guides and summit aspirants present, as only a few have ridden the mountain on a mountain bike.

Distance covered: 10km
Estimated time: 3-4 hours
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Elevation gain:850m
Accommodation: Horombo hut

The daring undertaking of climbing a Seven Summit on a mountain bike and finally riding a 4600m downhill requires one thing in particular and that is: good acclimatization. In order to maximize our summit chances, we use day 4 to go on an exploration tour past the famous Zebra Rocks up to the Kibo saddle, 4300 m. Our route via the Upper Mawenzi Route is too steep or too loose for long stretches to be tackled sitting in the saddle. Here too, it is important to walk slowly and push the bike again, because the upcoming summit day requires fit, not exhausted mountain bike mountaineers. 

When you arrive at the saddle at approx. 4300 m, enjoy a long lunch break. A magnificent view opens up before us. The mighty peak of the Kibo and at its feet our next camp, the Kibo Hut 4700 m. The wide plateau seems endless, it’s a good thing we’re on the mountain bikes! We return to huts via the ascent route. Now the steepness of the path suits us, as what follows is a varied downhill that is almost 600 m long. Downhill fun is guaranteed. We use the afternoon to relax and eat and drink enough.

Distance: 16km
Estimated hours: 4-5 hours
Elevation gain: 650m
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Horombo hut

The same climb as the day before takes us along the Upper Mawenzi Route up to the Kibo saddle and then over the wide plateau to our next camp at 4700 m at the Kibo Hut. “Pole Pole” translated: “Slowly slowly” is the motto on Kilimanjaro. This is where the wide plateau comes in handy. In the lowest gear we slowly ride towards our destination for the day. Here you can be happy to have your mountain bike with you. This means the path is noticeably shortened.

Distance covered: 9km
Estimated time: 4-5 hours
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Elevation gain:1050m
Accommodation: Kibo hut

Today the absolute highlight awaits us! We are ideally prepared and set off around midnight to tackle the summit climb. In the light of our headlamps we climb the 1000 m up to Gilman’s Point on the crater rim at 5680 m. Between Gilman’s Point and Stella Point we have to climb one or two blocks before a gently rising ridge turns towards the highest point, Uhuru Peak at 5895 m.

The porters carry our mountain bikes up to Stella Point and did us a great service. If you want to reach the top with your bike “by fair means”, you can of course try to push and carry your mountain bike there yourself. 

The remaining meters from Stella Point are actually easy to ride and we reach the highest point in Africa sitting in the saddle. An unforgettable experience! All the hardships of the last few days and especially those of the summit climb suddenly disappear when you stand on the summit of Kilimanjaro at sunrise. You have the mountain bike firmly under control, proud and happy to have achieved this unique achievement. You can be sure of applause and congratulations from the other climbers.
The local mountain guides and their guests also know about the special nature of this undertaking. After the great summit experience and an energizing rest, the second big highlight of the day follows. 

A seemingly endless descent over 4600 meters depth. Riding fun guaranteed. Following the ascent route, the first few meters of descent in particular are pure enjoyment. The mountaineers who are still climbing will hardly believe their eyes when you come towards them on your mountain bike. 

Mind you, we are at almost 6000 m. The rocky passages between Stella Point to just below Gilman’s Point require you to carry your mountain bike for a short time. Then a descent opens up that is unrivaled anywhere in the world. The slope above the Kibo Hut, which is initially very steep and then becomes increasingly moderate, leads us downhill in numerous twists and sharp bends. 

The dimensions of the summit structure and the slopes to be navigated are only now really noticeable.
In the warming sunlight you perceive the terrain completely differently than in the small beam of light from a headlamp. From the Hans Mayer Cave at the latest, the descent is pure pleasure without any major technical difficulties and in flowing windings all the way to Kibo hut (the base camp). There we enjoy a hearty breakfast, drink coffee and tea and adjust our equipment for further descent.

Estimated time: 10-12 hours Distance: 12km

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Elevation gain: 1145m

DESCENT FROM KIBO HUTS TO MARANGU VILLAGE VIA KILEMA GATE

 We won’t need the down jackets anymore, because the descent takes us back through high desert and moorland bush landscape into the rainforest and finally to the banana plantations outside Kilema gate. 

Between Kibo and Horombo Hut we take the flatter “Lower Kibo Route”, that no trail builder in the world could have thought of better. The trail invites you to play in rhythmic windings and shallow curves, and later on a narrow and varied trail the path leads back to the Horombo Hut. From there we use the Kilema path again at a further 2000 meters depth into the dense green jungle. Watch out for monkeys crossing the road.

Short checkout at Kilema Gate and over easy-grip clay tracks, in the rush of impressions, through the bright plantations and small villages, we continue to the road junction to Marangu Gate. The support team is waiting for us there with cool drinks and the bus for the return journey. Congratulations! What a success! 

Distance covered: 28km descent
Estimated time: 2-3 hours
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Chanya Lodge

After returning from the mountain and arriving safely back at the lodge, we have another relaxing day of biking ahead of us today. It would be a shame to leave Tanzania without further impressions of the country and the local people. 

In order to recover for the journey home and get to know new facets again, we ride our mountain bikes. We will ride 30km and then back with transfer to your accommodation place.

Our ride goes today to a natural underground pool fed by the sources of Mount Kilimanjaro, locally called Chemka, meaning boiling; referring to the way the water appears to boil as it emerges from underground. The water is not hot rather it is a pleasant temperature!

Estimated time: 2-3 hours 
Distance: 30km
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Chanya lodge

As the sun sets on our exhilarating 7-day bike tour to the summit, it’s time to bid farewell to the breathtaking landscapes and shared triumphs. We extend our heartfelt gratitude for choosing this journey with us. Safe travels back, and may the memories of conquering peaks stay with you, fueling your spirit for future adventures. Until our paths cross again.