This camp is located along the Lemosho Trail and the Shira route. As you ascend towards the summit along these trails, this is the third route you will encounter and you can rest here or spend a night here depending on your itinerary.
The camp gets its name from the famous Shira Plateau and it also has a resemblance in name with the previous camp site (Shira 1 camp site)
Similar to the last camp, this one also lacks permanent structures, therefore you’ll need to bring your own tent and set it up in the approved camping spot.
The ranger’s hut, which also serves as the administrative office, is the only building.
Modern solar-powered restrooms are available at the campsite, but because the water supply isn’t always consistent, you can still use traditional pit latrines in case the solar-powered ones break down.
There is also a clean and safe pit latrine.
The Shira Route
This route is one of the routes that are used in hiking the Kilimanjaro Mountains. It starts at above 3,600 meters above sea level. This makes this real not ideal for inexperienced hikers.
This route is a bit similar to the Lemosho route. It was actually the route on this side of the mountain before the Lemosho was created to help mostly the inexperienced hikers.
Unlike the Lemosho route that begins from the Londorossi gate in the Kilimanjaro forests, this Shira option begins form a bit further north and a bit higher on the Shira gate.
The trekkers start from the Shira main entrance to the Simba Camp on day one which is almost the same altitude.
This allows the hikers to familiarize with the high altitude before they join the Lemosho trail on the second day.
The fact that this route starts at a higher altitude is a disadvantage for several hikers. They don’t have enough time to acclimatize. Several of them will suffer from altitude related sickness on the first few to days.
It’s after the route joins the Lemosho on day two that we join Machame trail on the next day. We join this via the Lava Tower and then slope a bit to the Barranco Camp through the Southern Circuit.
Like most of the other routes like Umbwe and Lemosho. We ascend to Uhuru peak through the Barafu Camp and then to the southern Slopes of the Kibo Peak.
We shall then descend through the Mweka route. This circuit will usually take between six and eight days to complete.
The Shira Plateau
This area stretches for about 13km and is west of the Kilimanjaro Mountain. It’s about 3800 meters above sea level and is one of the world’s highest Plateaus.
This plateau is believed to have been formed about 500,000 years ago.
It is believed to have been a caldera that eroded over time. To eventually form a plateau on the bases of a volcanic pit.
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