Kilimanjaro & Uhuru Peak　D6 Waypoint

D6 Itinerary

Today is the toughest day on the Whiskey Route — a slow crawl uphill, a slow crawl downhill, and staying focused the entire way.

We left Barafu Camp at 00:00 for the summit push. Wherever the Machame Route climbs, the trail is deliberately laid out in zigzags — a longer distance to cover, but a smaller elevation gain with each step. As the altitude climbs, some hikers start to find breathing harder; that's when you remember the phrase the porters keep repeating — Pole Pole (slowly, slowly) — and just keep going slowly.

My previous altitude record was Yushan in Taiwan, at 3,952 m. Past 5,200 m, my arms and legs still had strength, but my breathing got harder and harder. It took 5.5 hours to reach Stella Point at 5,756 m — but the upside of taking 5.5 hours to grind up to that altitude was that my body had mostly adjusted by then. From Stella Point to the true summit, Uhuru Peak, was almost a brisk walk-jog, because I still had to race to catch the sunrise timelapse at the top!

The view from Uhuru Peak is a full 360-degree panorama with nothing blocking it — ancient glacial ice, the golden light of dawn, and a churning sea of clouds. Because the mountain is so massive, the ground around both Stella Point and Uhuru Peak is, broadly speaking, flat enough to hold a lot of people. After sharing the moment with hikers from all over the world and taking summit photos, it's time to head back down.

The descent from Stella Point back to Barafu Camp splits from the way up, so it doesn't fully retrace the same path. The trail is clear, but it's made of loose scree and drops fast, so keep your weight centered with each step to avoid slipping.

After a short rest back at Barafu Camp, we continued dropping to High Camp at 3,950 m to rest. This valley campsite may hold in moisture, and it felt colder than Barafu Camp at 4,673 m — make sure you stay warm and don't catch a chill.

Porter Pateli Ndiyogi guided me through Stella Point straight up to Uhuru Peak, then safely brought me back down to High Camp at 3,950 m (Waypoint 44).