Trekking Mount Kilimanjaro

In this section we provide a quick run through some of the basic issues that you need to cover before planning a trek on Mount Kilimanjaro.

To trek Kilimanjaro the park regulations require that you travel with a licensed mountain operator. You cannot simply buy a permit and head off onto the mountain. Nor can you hire a guide and do the same.

On your trek you will be accompanied by a highly experienced mountain team comprising guides, cooks and porters, plus all the equipment needed to help you stay safe and reasonably comfortable.

This team usually adds up to around 3-7 members of staff per trekker.

You have to trek Mount Kilimanjaro by one of several predetermined routes. Choosing the right route for your level of fitness and experience is critical, more on this later.

All of our treks involve either 5, 6, 7 or 8 nights on the mountain and all of the routes that we offer involve camping each night.

You will need at least one night in a lodge either side of the trek (although two or more nights beforehand is better for acclimatisation), making at least 7-10 nights in-country, plus any nights that you need to spend on flights getting here and back. That’s before you have added safari (3-8 nights), beach (3-10 nights) or other elements to your trip.

Our trekking routes involve no technical climbing or specific mountain skills, although there is a limited amount of scrambling requiring the use of hands on some routes and there is the option to scree walk some of the descent.

licensed operators on fixed routes

Treks cost between USD 1200-3650 per person depending on the route and group size, plus around USD 800-1200 in park fees.

On top of that you need to add the costs of any personal equipment that you want to rent from us, like walking poles, down jackets, sleeping bags and mats etc)(shared equipment like tents, food and cooking gear is all included).

There are also optional tips of around USD 150-300 per trekker, which you will almost certainly want to pay, having spent a week with your team.

Then you need to think about adding maybe USD 200-600 for nights in an hotel either side (there are various levels available) and various transfers to get you in from the airport and over to the mountain.

Your flights to Africa are likely to cost USD 1800-2500 from the Americas, around half that from Europe and Asia.

So a total all in cost of around USD 3250-7700 per person.

After park fees, this works out around USD 250 to USD 500 per person per night, which really isn’t a lot considering the scale and complexity of the logistics involved.

The larger your group size, the lower the cost per person. Treks are noticeably more expensive for 1 to 3 trekkers, less for 4 and 5 trekkers and levelling off from 6 or more trekkers.

All of our treks are offered in four different specification levels, Basic, Standard, Superior and Premium, which enables you to balance service levels against price. Each level steps up the cost by around 10-20%. More on this later.

Of course you may also need to splash out on some personal gear before you come, suitable clothing and that kind of thing. You will find a kit list on the pages for each specific trek.

the main price factors are routing and group size

The lower age limit is officially 10 years, but from long experience we recommend a lower age limit of 13 years. As parents ourselves, some of us think that 16 might be a more appropriate guideline

Please let us know at the time of making an inquiry if any member of your group will be under 16 at the time of the ascent, as we may need to make special arrangements, notably including extra summit guides.

We have lots of experience of outfitting treks with younger people and regularly operate group treks for schools, so please do feel free to get in touch for a chat. If we have concerns we will make them clear and may even recommend that you don’t trek at all. For us it’s always safety first.

There is officially no upper age limit, but around 60 is the threshold at which we start to recommend extra health checks. People in their seventies and eighties regularly make the summit.

In reality we have found that older trekkers are often advantaged over younger generations, they tend to be better equipped to deal with adversity, more single minded, more intent on achieving their goal and can pace themselves accordingly. These factors often outweigh the physical advantages of youth.

an official lower limit of ten years old

All of our treks involve camping out on the mountain each night. The one route which does have huts, Marangu, is too busy and low quality for us to offer.

Maintaining comfort on the mountain is absolutely critical to summit success. All our treks include wholesome food and elevated levels of hygiene, with options for mess tents with tables and chairs, as well as private toilets.

You can tune the level of comfort to match your needs and budget during the booking process.

comfort is a key component of summit success

All of the treks that we offer on Kilimanjaro are private.

From 1999 to 2017 we also offered group treks on the mountain, where guests could join with others to make a group of up to 15 trekkers, accompanied by a mountain team of around 45 staff.

But over the years we have come to realise that it’s simply impossible to deliver truly excellent service and an intimate wilderness experience when operating treks on this scale, they were proving the biggest obstacle to improvement.

So in 2017 we reconfigured our whole trekking operation to enable us to provide cost effective treks for private groups of any size. Unfortunately treks for solo travellers are still inherently expensive, but for the vast majority of groups of two or more trekkers these private treks are definitely a far better solution than a group trek.

Some guests start out thinking that they’d prefer to trek in a larger group, mainly for the comradery, but the reality is that once you are on the mountain with your private team, the benefits of going private become very apparent. The levels of service are far higher and it’s the tight relationship that you form with your crew that really makes the trip.

Avoidance of traffic can be a major issue when planning a quality trek. We are now able to offer departures on any route any day, which greatly helps in avoiding the hotspots caused by weekend departures on busy routes. Imagine the difference in finding a private little campsite for your handful of tents compared with trying to get some sleep in a ‘canvas village’ of literally hundreds of tents!

a private trek is usually a much better option

A trek on Kilimanjaro can be very easily combined with a host of other amazing African experiences including safari in the Serengeti and tropical beaches in Zanzibar …

Flights to and from Africa

Most people access the mountain via Kilimanjaro International Airport, although if you are adding other elements to your trek, like safari or beach, then there may well be more convenient airports.

Please do not book your flights before arranging your trek. We need to check availability first.

Arriving early

Arriving early in Africa for your trek will significantly increase your chances of summiting. An extra day of settling in, or doing a safari beforehand is very advantageous. This apparently small but important issue is overlooked by around 95% of all trekkers.

Combining with safari

The famous safari areas of the Tanzania North region lie only a few hours to the west of Mount Kilimanjaro, including Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire and Lake Manyara.

Although a safari in this region is usually best done over 6-10 nights, many trekkers tend to be a little short on time and budget and instead look for more of a taster experience.

Beware that going on a decent safari in this region tends to work out a good deal more expensive per night than trekking the mountain.

Combining with tropical beaches

The tropical beaches of Zanzibar and other parts of the Tanzania Coast are a short hopper flight away from Mount Kilimanjaro, so are often added at the end of a trip, especially by those wanting to take advantage of the excellent diving and snorkelling.

Nights down on the coast can be a good deal less expensive per night than trekking the mountain.

Combining with gorillas

Perhaps the ultimate trip combination also includes a visit to Rwanda or Uganda to trek into the tropical forests in search of mountain gorillas. This kind of extension usually adds 3-5 nights.

But a gorilla trip is very expensive, largely due to the costs of connecting transport and the huge cost of the gorilla permits. You can reckon on it adding at least USD 3000 per person.

Combining with Victoria Falls or Cape Town

We are commonly asked to combine Mount Kilimanjaro with Victoria Falls and/or Cape Town.

The truth is that the locations are very distant and it usually takes the best part of two days to travel from one to the other. So you probably will be thinking about a trip of three weeks or more before this kind of combination becomes really attractive.

arriving early, combining with safari and beach

Our usual lead time for a trek on Mount Kilimanjaro is three to six months, largely because most trekkers want to leave themselves a good length of time to get some training under their belts.

For peak season treks, especially in Dec, Jan. Feb, Jul, Aug and Sep we do sometimes start to run out of mountain teams and booking even further ahead of time is recommended.

The best way to get started is usually to have a chat with us either on LiveChat or on the phone, that should enable you to quickly figure out if this is something you would like to pursue. We are always happy to answer your questions.

After a short chat it should be possible for us to email you a proper quotation with all the details that you need to make your decisions.

best to book three to six months in advance

Choosing the right time of year to visit Mount Kilimanjaro is absolutely critical to the safety and summit success of your trek.

The two main trekking seasons are Jan-Feb and Jul-Oct.

The Jan-Feb season is characterised by the mildest and calmest conditions on the mountain.

The Jul-Oct season also usually features calm conditions and low rainfall, but is much colder, so this is the time to go if you want to maximise your chances of encountering snow on the summit.

Trekkers hitting the mountain in good weather conditions are at least 25% more likely to reach the summit.

It would probably be fair to say that a trek during poor weather is roughly twice as difficult as during fine conditions. Treks in bad weather can suffer from deep mud on the lower forested sections, rain, drizzle, fog and wind at medium altitudes, snow, ice and very low temperatures at higher altitudes.

Because all the treks we offer are private, we are usually able to offer departures on all routes on any day of the year, so we can really fine tune your trek to optimise for climate conditions, to avoid traffic on the mountain, to coincide with full moons and to fit around your personal availability

important to avoid serious adverse weather

We estimate that the risks involved in trekking the mountain vary by a factor of 10 between the best and worst weather conditions.

The majority of the deaths on the mountain occur during periods of adverse weather, with people getting lost in freezing fog or dying of exposure and fatigue induced by extreme conditions.

For this reason we only operate treks during the more difficult 01APR-15JUN and 01NOV-15DEC seasons under caution, usually only for very experienced mountain climbers and military groups.

ten times more dangerous during the rainy seasons

The time of year and the prevailing weather conditions can have a huge effect on the difficulty of a trek.

At lower altitudes, the trails through the forest can become very wet and slippery, sometimes with significant mud, which can greatly hinder progress. This is particularly true of the Machame and Marangu ascent routes and almost all decent routes.

At medium altitudes encountering significant rain can just make the whole camping experience that much more tiring, trying to keep warm and cheerful, whilst being virtually confined to tents and constantly trying to dry out clothing under adverse conditions.

At high altitudes the arrival of snow can make a trek all the more magical, but can also significantly increase the degree of difficulty, largely due to the more slippery surfaces.

There are also times of year when temperatures can be extremely cold or when storms and high winds can really be challenging.

challenging weather can easily double the difficulty

Trekker traffic can become a major problem during peak seasons.

You will notice that we talk quite a lot about the traffic avoidance techniques that we deploy on our preferred routes.

The amount of people on the mountain varies enormously both throughout the year and through each week.

Selecting the right route and changing your start date by just a single day can reduce the traffic you encounter by a factor of ten or more. That’s the difference between sharing a campground between twenty tents or two hundred tents, so it’s really worth thinking about.

We will help you to identify the optimum start date for your trek.

one of the most important factors

It’s generally considered advantageous to trek on or around a full moon, which makes it a lot easier to see where you’re going at night, notably during that very early start on the summit day.

Whilst we are in general agreement, there’s also something to be said for the excitement of trekking in the dark and having to rely on your head torches.

Having said that, the starlight at these altitudes is sufficient to ensure that it rarely gets really extremely dark.

Our only real worry is that if you coincide your summit day with the night of the full moon, chances are you will encounter a great deal more traffic on the mountain, since a good number of big commercial treks also do this. We usually recommend offsetting by at least 2 or 3 nights either side.

best to avoid the high traffic on the full moon

It’s important to realise that weather conditions vary considerably on different sides of the mountain.

The northeast side experiences considerably clearer weather and lower rainfall than the southeast and particularly the southwest, making it possible for the Rongai Route to remain reasonably attractive during shoulder seasons when other routes are more seriously affected.

a great deal less rainfall on the northeast side

Here are quick overview summaries of the various seasons for trekking on Mount Kilimanjaro …

Date range : 16JAN to 28FEB
Overall rating : superb
Weather : temperatures reasonable, rainfall medium, not much cloud
Visitor traffic : medium
Routes : All routes open

Date range : 01MAR to 31MAR
Overall rating : variable
Weather : temperatures reasonable, increasing chance of rain and snow, heavy cloud at lower altitudes
Visitor traffic : low
Routes : Leaning towards Rongai Route, especially towards the end of the period

Date range : 01APR to 15JUN
Overall rating : difficult and dangerous
Weather : temperatures reasonable, high rainfall, chances of snow, heavy cloud at lower altitudes
Visitor traffic : very low
Routes : All routes are tough

Date range : 16JUN to 15JUL
Overall rating : variable
Weather : very cold, snow and ice on summit, decreasing rainfall, improving visibility
Visitor traffic : medium
Routes : Leaning towards Rongai Route, especially towards the start of the period

Date range : 16JUL to 31AUG
Overall rating : good
Weather : very cold, snow and ice on summit, low rainfall, often clear
Visitor traffic : high
Routes : All routes open

Date range : 01SEP to 15OCT
Overall rating : very good
Weather : temperatures reasonable, rainfall low, often clear
Visitor traffic : high
Routes : All routes open

Date range : 16OCT to 31OCT
Overall rating : variable
Weather : temperatures reasonable, increasing risk of rain, reducing chances of good visibility
Visitor traffic : medium
Routes : Leaning towards Rongai Route, especially towards the end of the period

Date range : 01NOV to 15DEC
Overall rating : difficult and dangerous
Weather : temperatures reduced, medium rain and snowfall, thunderstorms
Visitor traffic : low
Routes : All routes are tough

Date range : 16DEC to 15JAN
Overall rating : variable
Weather : temperatures reduced, medium rain and snowfall, heavy cloud at lower altitudes
Visitor traffic : very high
Routes : Leaning towards Rongai Route, especially towards the start of the period

nine seasons with extremely wide-ranging trekking conditions

For many people a trek on Mount Kilimanjaro is one of the most difficult physical challenges that they will ever undertake.

In this section we explain the reasons why it’s so difficult, outline some of the risks involved and make some suggestions about how you can make the whole experience safer, more enjoyable and more successful.

Pleasure or pain

Kilimanjaro is a major physical and mental challenge. Most trekkers massively underestimate how difficult their trek will be. But no matter how great the adversity, you very rarely hear anyone say that they regret having taken it on.

When people speak of this degree of difficulty, they are mainly referring to the six to eight hour summit approach, which is undeniably tough, mainly due to the extreme altitude.

The days that precede this ascent are generally not too physically demanding for anyone with a reasonable degree of fitness, although a combination of adverse factors such as bad weather, altitude sickness and general tiredness arising from camping out on the mountain can make even these days quite a challenge.

Kilimanjaro does not promise to be a laugh a minute, but it does promise an experience of life-punctuating magnitude, one which you really will be able to look back on and be proud.

There will be aspects that you enjoy at the time; you should get a buzz from the physical workout; you should love the camaraderie with your crew; you should, on occasion, thrill at the scenery.

But much of the time will be filled with the simple hard slog of a week-long expedition, the lack of sleep, showers and sofas; the periods of fog, rain, snow and freezing temperatures; the blisters and aching limbs; long hours spent reading a book whilst listening to the wind whipping around your tent.

Trekking Kilimanjaro can get tough, but that’s part of the deal.

To provide balance here, we should also mention that some of our guests, usually those who are lucky enough to be young, very fit and outdoorsy, find the whole thing far less taxing. A few people have even described it as ‘no problem’ or ‘easier than expected’, but they’re in a small minority.

Danger

There’s a good chance that a trek on Kilimanjaro will be the most dangerous thing you’ll ever do. Certainly it’s one of the most dangerous things that you’ll ever be able to pay to do. It is statistically much more dangerous than free-fall parachute jumping for example. It’s paramount that you recognise this fact during the early stages and plan accordingly.

To date our own mountain operation has guided more than 17000 people on Kilimanjaro and we have had only one death, a man of senior years who suffered a sudden heart attack near to the summit. This extremely high level of safety is well above the average for the mountain.

The background statistics for all operators are quite frightening.

We estimate that during times of bad weather, trekkers with lower cost operators run a risk of death higher than 1 in 300. During normal weather conditions, trekkers with lower cost operators run a risk of death higher than 1 in 3000.

On the other hand, during normal weather conditions, climbers with reliable operators run a risk of death less than 1 in 10000. As we mentioned, we are presently exceeding 1 in 17000.

The risks of serious altitude sickness are much higher. We will deal with that in a dedicated section to follow.

pleasure or pain, fun or torture

We have worked relentlessly over the decades since 1999 to maximise our summit success rates, which are now around 94% on our recommended routes, which is truly exceptional.

The majority of operators on the mountain have summit success rates below 60%. So trekking with us can easily improve your chances of reaching the crater rim by 50%.

We have managed to edge up our success rates over the decades by a program of careful feedback, analysis and constant improvement of our routes, equipment, catering, staff training, logistics and trekker awareness.

The following statistics refer to trekkers with our mountain partners, The African Safari Trails. They are based on an analysis of over 17000 feedback forms which we received from guests since 2002 and are absolutely accurate …

AFW trekkers : 5 night routes : Crater Rim 86% : Uhuru Peak 76%
AFW trekkers : 6 night routes : Crater Rim 88% : Uhuru Peak 74%
AFW trekkers : 7 night routes : Crater Rim 92% : Uhuru Peak 85%
AFW trekkers : 8 night routes : Crater Rim 91% : Uhuru Peak 85%

Given that we are now at 94% across these routes, you can see quite how much we’ve managed to improve over the years.

Compare those numbers with the official statistics from the park authority for all operators on the mountain …

All trekkers : 4 night routes : Crater Rim 44% : Uhuru Peak 27%
All trekkers : 5 night routes : Crater Rim 64% : Uhuru Peak 44%
All trekkers : 6 night routes : Crater Rim 77% : Uhuru Peak 64%

Remember that these numbers are boosted by a handful of operators who achieve much higher numbers. The reality is that the majority of smaller and cheaper operators struggle to reach 50%.

It’s also worth noting that if you rent an ALTOX Personal Oxygen System then your chances of completing the final stretch from Crater Rim to Uhuru Peak are significantly improved.

We should also point out that our statistics are unusually high because of the quality of trekkers that we appeal to, who tend to be fitter, more outdoorsy, better informed and better prepared than the average; people who have realised that a fair part of the battle is won before you even reach the mountain and planned accordingly.

your choices can double your chances

Enjoyment

We should also not lose track of the fact that a trek should also be fun, enjoyable and memorable for all the right reasons. We work very hard to factor this into our trekking operations.

The primary way to achieve this is by providing you with a deeply reliable, honest and professional operation. You need to be able to concentrate on the physical challenge ahead, rather than be worrying about logistics, safety, security and reliability. Our mountain operations may not be absolutely perfect, but they are darned close. Some of the most common feedback we get from guests is that they were undoubtedly the best looked after of any trekkers they encountered on the mountain.

The removal of doubt and the provision of excellent service makes the whole experience a great deal more enjoyable.

Another major issue is the trekking team itself. You need them to be a cheery, healthy, honest and conscientious group. We pay amongst the highest wages on the mountain in order to attract and retain the best staff. We also provide exceptional levels of training to our 500 or so trek team members. Our mountain teams are amongst the very best in the business, almost certainly the best at this price level.

A great mountain crew is always ready to lift trekkers when times get tough and make the whole experience one of shared enjoyment. Ultimately it’s the people who make the trip.

Distances

Distance is not the main issue on Kilimanjaro. A seven night trek can add up to as little as 150 kilometres or 100 miles, about half of which is optional.

Most days on the trail start with a 2-4 hours morning walk, which covers most if not all of the camp to camp distance.

Every afternoon before the summit attempt trekkers are invited to go on additional acclimatisation treks, designed to take you up much higher, before returning to camp to sleep low. It’s this cycling of high and low which helps your body to adjust to the altitude. These treks are typically 2-5 hours.

The summit day itself typically involved 12-15 hours of walking.

So for a seven night trek you can expect a total of around 56 hours of walking. However the average speed tends to be extremely low.

Fitness

You do not necessarily have to be super-fit to trek Kilimanjaro, but you do need to be committed and resilient.

Trekkers come in all shapes and sizes, from marathon runners to sofa surfers.

Generally speaking, the fitter you are, the greater your chances of summit success, although this is far from being a hard and fast rule. Often it’s the more determined people who get to the top, so mental fitness and focus is also a major component.

The extent to which you will be affected by altitude sickness also seems not to be directly linked to absolute fitness.

difficulty is inversely proportional to fitness

A trek on Mount Kilimanjaro is likely to cause considerable strain on your internal systems, so it can be a good idea to seek medical advice before considering such an undertaking.

We strongly recommend medical checks for people in high and medium risk categories …

High risk

The following people are considered to be at high risk on Mount Kilimanjaro…

… men over 60
… women over 65
… anyone with previous heart or respiratory problems.

If you fall into this category then we urge you to take a full medical before even considering whether to trek and then a further medical a couple of weeks before the trek. You must please advise us of your senior age when making a reservation in order that we might tailor our service on the mountain accordingly.

Medium risk

The following people are considered to be at medium risk on Mount Kilimanjaro…

… men over 40
… women over 50

If you fall into this category then you are advised to have a full medical a couple of weeks before the trek.

Disclaimer

This information is given as a general recommendation only and does not constitute medical advice. It’s up to you to determine whether you’re in a fit condition appropriate for undertaking a trek of this nature. If in doubt please consult a fully qualified medical practitioner.

make sure that you check with your doctor first

Here’s a quick checklist of things you can do to make trekking Mount Kilimanjaro a whole lot easier …

• be as fit as you can
• lose any extra weight
• be mentally prepared
• train at altitude (if possible)
• read all of the relevant information on this website and your itinerary
• select an exceptionally good mountain operator (like us)
• select the right route
• select the right time of year
• travel with people who will encourage you
• book as high a specification trek as you can reasonably afford
• purchase, bring and rent the correct equipment, especially footwear
• book an ALTOX Personal Oxygen System
• arrive in Africa a few days early
• avoid getting food poisoning before you hit the mountain
• listen very carefully to the pre-trek briefing
• follow the instructions of your guide to the letter
• remain mentally focused
• bring reading materials, podcasts and music to provide distraction

You will notice that almost all of those items are done before you hit the mountain. It’s as much about the preparation.

a checklist for success