Kilimanjaro Shira Route

The Shira Route is a difficult route that begins in the west, at the Shira starting point, Moramu. What is unique about Shira is that the first section of the trail is not hiked, but rather driven. Therefore, climbers using Shira will miss out on hiking up one of Kilimanjaro’s ecological zones, the rainforest.

An off-road vehicle transports climbers to the Shira Moramu located at 3400 meters/11,500 feet, where the hike begins to Shira 1 Camp. This is a sizable altitude gain for someone who slept at Moshi or Arusha on their previous night. Since you overnight at low altitudes at Moshi or Arusha which is between 1000 to 1500 meters above sea level, whereby the Shira route starting at 3400 meters above sea level which is so-called the altitude zone, complications from altitude can occur due to failed acclimatization. Due to this, we do not recommend this route to non-experienced climbers.

The route takes six days minimum to complete, although seven days is recommended. The descent is down Mweka, in the south-east. Because the starting point is far from Moshi and Arusha, it is more expensive to climb this route due to the added transportation cost of getting climbers to the gate. Scenically, Shira is beautiful because it crosses the spectacular Shira Plateau, and then combines with the Machame route to share its viewpoints around the southern circuit. Shira has low tourists traffic until it combines with Machame.

Shira is ideal for those who are confident in their ability to acclimatize to the altitude and to walk over steeper paths for extended periods.