Kilimanjaro & Uhuru Peak　D4 Waypoint

D4 Itinerary

Today you'll put on grippy gloves, stow your poles, and scramble up the roughly 257 m Barranco Wall using hands and feet. Along the way there's a famous spot called The Kissing Rock — while scrambling past it, you can give it a kiss to mark the occasion. Anyone with experience on Taiwan's Yuanzui Mountain or Wuliaojian doesn't need to worry about this climb — just follow along steadily. The path really isn't hard: there's no railing, but the rock is solid rather than crumbly, the holds are secure, and it's not that steep. Along the way you'll see porters and Taiwanese hikers alike show off their moves — to a Taiwanese hiker's eye, looking up, it's all just a path.

After reaching the top of the Barranco Wall, the trail drops into a valley before climbing again, finally reaching Karanga Camp. This is a very large campsite with a lot of plant life rarely seen at lower elevations — hikers who aren't too tired should make the most of a rare trip to Africa and walk around outside camp to help the body adjust to altitude, and get a better look at the local scenery and culture. Since Kilimanjaro's porters depend on hikers from all over the world, I never once ran into a porter with a bad attitude — even Tanzanians whose English wasn't fluent were still extremely friendly.